Professor Krishnaswamy VijayRaghavan FRS FMedSci

Krishnaswamy ‘Vijay’ VijayRaghavan, now an Emeritus Professor in developmental genetics, was Principal Scientific Adviser to the Indian government from 2018 to 2022. On being appointed to this role, this keen user of social media responded with a tweet summarising what he hoped to achieve, and illustrating the underpinning philosophy of his work: “Speedy and sustainable development is possible when we scientists are organically connected with society and society sees value in scientific approaches. For this, scientists must come from every section of society.”

Vijay held a previous Indian government role, as Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, from 2013 to 2018 and his outstanding career and inspirational leadership have seen him receive numerous international accolades. We were delighted to award him an Honorary Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2015, to be able to celebrate this now, and look forward to continuing to work with him to expand the range and reach of our international collaborations.

Vijay completed both his bachelor of technology degree in chemical engineering and master of technology degree in bio-medical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Having originally enrolled for a PhD in bio-engineering in Switzerland, he describes how, while there, he read an article by Obaid Siddiqi, one of India’s most prominent molecular biologists, where Siddiqi wrote about understanding the nervous system using genetics. As Vijay later told Nature magazine, “I found the formalism of genetics easy to grasp, and that excited me very much.”

He moved back to India, to the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, where he studied for a PhD in molecular biology, under Siddiqi’s supervision. His research focused on developmental biology, genetics and neurogenetics, primarily investigating the mechanisms controlling the nervous system and muscles during development and how these neuromuscular systems direct specific locomotor behaviours.

Using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, his work shed light on the functions of Hox genes and how these oversee the specialisation of muscles and nerves during the development of an embryo, in particular contributing to our knowledge of the molecular and cellular steps in the growth of flight muscle.

In 1984, during his PhD, Vijay went to the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge University from where he moved to become a research fellow and then a senior research fellow at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena (Caltech).

Leaving Caltech in 1988, Vijay returned to the TIFR as a reader, moving in 1992 to the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) which had been founded under the aegis of the TIFR. Moving to Bangalore in 1991, he was a key figure in the establishment of the NCBS there, working under the leadership of Siddiqi, and succeeding him as its Director in 1996. Vijay is credited with being one of only a few professors to support the establishment of a master’s programme in wildlife ecology and conservation, which went on to become one of the NCBS’ most successful courses.

In 1997, Vijay was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, in 1998, he received the Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the following year became an honorary faculty member of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research as well as a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy.

His extraordinary tally of accolades continued, when, in 2003, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award of IIT Kanpur, from where he had studied for his two first degrees. In 2006, he was awarded the Infosys Prize, in the life sciences category - which endeavours to elevate the prestige of science and research in India and inspire young Indians to choose a vocation in research - and in 2009, the J.C.Bose Fellowship, awarded to active scientists in recognition of outstanding performance.

In 2010, Vijay was elected a fellow of TWAS, the World Academy of Sciences, and in 2012, he received the H K Firodia Award "for his original contributions to the field of life sciences, particularly to developmental biology, genetics and neurogenetics."

Also in 2012, he was one of six scientists of Indian origin elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, following luminaries such as Newton, Darwin and Einstein.

Arguably his highest accolade came in 2013, when he was conferred the Padma Shri by the President of India. His country’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri recognises "distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, acting, medicine, social service and public affairs.”

In April 2014, Vijay was elected a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences and in 2021 elected to the American Philosophical Society.

He is a member of the board of governors of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology and a senior editor of the journal eLife, having previously served as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Genetics.

Vijay’s inclusive leadership style has seen the National Centre for Biological Sciences become recognised internationally as a world-class institution, and he is an exemplary mentor, forging partnerships to grow life sciences research, establish new institutions and draw the best young scientists to India. We are honoured to welcome him formally to the Academy of Medical Sciences.