Javaregowda Nagaraju obtained his Ph.D. (Zoology) specializing in genetics from the University of Mysore. He was Research Associate, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Lyon, France (1988-90) and Visiting Scientist, Department of Organismic Biology and Evolution, Harvard University, USA (1997). He was Founder Deputy Director and Head, Seribiotech Research Laboratory, Central Silk Board, Bangalore till 1998; and then Staff Scientist, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) where he established a vibrant molecular genetics research group. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo, Japan, the Kassetsart University, Thailand, the University of Lyon, France; and Consultant Scientist for Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques.

Academic and Research Achievements: Nagaraju’s areas of interest are: molecular genetics and evolution, genetics and genomics of silkmoths and molecular marker genetics. The genome-wide analysis of microsatellite of Bombyx mori, evolutionary conservation of microsatellite loci in saturmid silkworms, construction of framework linkage map and Z-chromosome map, and identification of W-chromosome linked genes are some of his notable contributions. He also developed RNAi-mediated baculovirus resistant transgenic silkworms; identified a series of novel immune genes that are upregulated upon microbial infection, functionally characterized these genes using RNAi strategy; and generated both intellectual property (SSR markers for authentication of Basmati rice) and freely accessible knowledge in the form of published databases: SilksatDb, MICDb, InsatDb, Wildsilk base. He has more than 80 research papers and 7 reviews to his credit.

Other Contributions: Basmati DNA typing protocols developed by Nagaraju resulted in setting up the APEDA-CDFD Basmati DNA Testing Centre at CDFD for genotyping of Basmati export samples. He has been Member of the International Consortium of Lepidopteran Genomics, Genetic Society of America, Japanese Society of Sericultural Science, Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM), Committee for setting up the National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority, RNAi Platform Technology, Taskforce on Animal Biotechnology, Technical Screening Committee of SBIRI, and Association of DNA Fingerprinting and Allied Techniques. He is also on the Editorial Board of Journal of Genetics.

Awards and Honours:Nagaraju won the Biotech Product and Process Development and Commercialization Award (2003) by Government of India, Best Scientist Award by Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Tata Innovation Fellowship (2007) for outstanding contributions to Scientific Knowledge and Platform Technologies by Government of India. He was elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences and Indian Academy of Forensic Sciences.