The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has won national recognition, with the institute’s scientists bagging awards instituted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for the year 2017.
Senior scientist Kajal Chakraborty won the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai award in recognition of his research in the area of marine bioprospecting, especially to develop various nutraceutical products from seaweeds for different diseases.
Basically an organic chemist, he has developed nutraceuticals for arthritis, diabetes and cholesterol. All his inventions are patented by CMFRI, and a few have been out-licensed for commercial production. The award includes an amount of Rs 5 lakh along with citation.
Alongside, Anusree V Nair won the Lal Bahadur Shastri Outstanding Young Scientist Award. Her research work was the first study from Indian sub-continent which involved isolation of potential pro-biotic bacteria from marine environments and its application in the form of antagonistic shrimp larval feed that can be applied as substitutes to antibiotics in aquaculture practices. The award includes an amount of Rs 50,000.