Leading scientists to visit India as part of Royal Society Yusuf Hamied Visiting Fellowships

The Royal Society has announced five recipients of the Royal Society Yusuf Hamied Visiting Fellowships to India, which supports scientific collaboration across international borders.

The programme was launched in 2017 through a generous donation from the Yusuf and Farida Hamied Foundation, and promotes excellence in science by bringing the Indian and international scientific communities together. Scientists will make visits to partner organisations in India, building and strengthening relationships between their research teams and sharing expertise on topics of vital shared importance.

The scientists who will take up their positions from the 1st of April 2024 to 31st of March 2025, are:

Professor Russell Foster CBE FRSB FMedSci FRS, University of Oxford
Partner organisations:

• The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMHANS), Bengaluru
• National Centre for Biological Science (NCBS), Bengaluru
• Delhi University, Delhi
• Ashoka University, Sonipat
• Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut
• Lucknow University, Lucknow
• North Eastern Hill University, Shillong
• Mizoram University, Aizawl

Professor James Jackson CBE FRS, University of Cambridge
Partner Organisations

• Indian Institute of Scientific Education and Research, Kolkata (IISERK)

Professor Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan FRS, Harvard University
Partner organisations:

• National Centre for Biological Sciences
• International Centre for Theoretical Sciences
• Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) Bengaluru

Professor Philip Maini FMedSci FRS, University of Oxford
Partner organisations:

• Indian Institute of Science

Professor Rajeev Varshney FRS, Murdoch University Partner Organisations:

• Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi
• National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi
• Principal Scientific Adviser to Prime Minister of India, New Delhi
• Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India
• Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India

Dr Yusuf Hamied FRS, said: “My foundation believes that collaboration and knowledge sharing between researchers and innovators is an integral part of scientific innovation. This is why we are delighted to partner with the Royal Society to continue building connections between the Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society and India’s science communities. In order to bring about great scientific discoveries, we must work together, and the work of these esteemed scientists will be vital in achieving this.”