Dr Rajesh Gokhale
- Secretary, Department of Biotechnology
Government of India
Prof. Rajesh S. Gokhale is the Secretary at Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India. He is presently on deputation from Indian Institute of Science Education & Research IISER Pune. Prior to this, he was at National Institute of Immunology NII and was also Director of CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology CSIR-IGIB for seven-and-half years. During his tenure he established the South Campus of CSIR-IGIB, where he led interdisciplinary initiatives in translational genomics research programs focused in delineating a variety of complex diseases.
Dr. Gokhale is trained as a chemical biologist from Indian Institute of Science IISc , Bangalore and Stanford University, USA. His significant research contributions are in discovering novel metabolites and their pathways, which dictate pathophysiology of human diseases. Recent work from his laboratory have identified two novel metabolites from infectious pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, that are crucial for initiating complex infection process. His group have also significantly contributed to the understanding of autoimmune disease Vitiligo. Studies from his group has elucidated complex interplay between metabolic reprogramming and immune system, to develop novel therapeutic strategies that can tackle the underlying causes, rather than just the symptoms. Scientific work from his laboratory has been published in prestigious journals like Nature, Nature Chemical Biology, Molecular Cell, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences etc. He has mentored more than 200 students and about 25 students have completed PhD thesis from his group. Dr Gokhale co-founded Vyome Biosciences Pvt. Ltd. VYOME in 2010, a biopharmaceutical company developing best in class drugs for dermatology. This company is presently completing Phase IIb clinical trial for drug-resistant acne and has launched OTC products in the market. Dr. Gokhale was a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow, UK and an International HHMI Fellow, USA. He is recipient of several awards, including Infosys Prize, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, National Bioscience Award, J C Bose National Fellowship and IIT Bombay Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also Fellow of all the three Indian National Science Academies.