K. P. Mohanakumar

Kochupurackal P. Mohanakumar (born 1955) is an Indian chemical biologist, neuroscientist and the director of Inter University Centre for Biomedical Research and Super Specialty Hospital, Kottayam. He is a former chief scientist at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology and is known for his studies on Parkinson's disease and Huntington’s disease. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2000.[1]

K. P. Mohanakumar
Born1955
Kerala, India
NationalityIndian
Alma mater
Known forStudies on Parkinson's disease and Huntington’s disease
Awards
  • 1991 ICMR Young Scientist Award
  • 2000 N-BIOS Prize
  • IPS Uvnas Prize
  • IAN Tulsabai Somani Educational Trust Award
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions

Biography
University of Kerala

Born in the south Indian state of Kerala in 1955,[2] Mohanakumar did his undergraduate studies at the University of Kerala to earn a BSc in zoology in 1976. His master's studies were at Aligarh Muslim University and after obtaining an MSc in experimental biology and chemical neuroanatomy in 1979, he enrolled at Saurashtra University for his doctoral studies to secure a PhD in neuropharmacology in 1985. His post-doctoral work and advanced training were at the National Institutes of Health, University of Göttingen, University of Essen, and the University of Virginia Medical Centre.[3]

On his return to India, he joined the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram where he served as a professor of biological sciences.[3] Subsequently, he moved to the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and was serving as the chief scientist at the Cell Biology and Physiology Division[4] and as the head of the Project Monitoring and Evaluation Division,[5] when he returned to his home state as the director of Inter University Centre for Biomedical Research and Super Specialty Hospital, Kottayam, a position he holds to date.[6] He simultaneously serves as the convenor of the governing council of the institution.[7] He has also served as a professor at the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research.[3]

Legacy

Mohanakumar is known to have done notable work on neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.[5] It was under his leadership, an advanced clinical and experimental research laboratory on neurodegenerative diseases was established at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology where research is carried out on the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.[3] AT IICB, he headed a cybrids laboratory, reported to be one of the most advanced ones in India, and was involved in the study of neurodegenerative diseases, with special emphasis to the impact of mitochondria. His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles[8][note 1] and ResearchGate, an online repository of scientific articles has listed 184 of them.[9] Besides, he has edited work books for practicing neurobiologists[10][11] and has contributed chapters to books edited by others.[12] He has mentored several master's and doctoral scholars in their research[3] and has delivered many invited speeches which included the one delivered at Amrita BioQuest 2013.[4]

Mohanakumar has been an elected member of the International Society for Neurochemistry and sits in its conference committee.[13] He is a former president of the Society of Neurochemistry India and a former vice-president of the Indian Academy of Neurosciences.[3] He has been associated with TWAS as well as UNESCO as a professor, with the Department of Biotechnology as a member of its Neurobiology Task Force,[14] and is a member of the Chemical Biology Society.[15] He sits in the editorial boards of journals such as Anatomy and Cell Biology,[16] Neuroscience and Medicine, Journal of Neurochemistry,[17] Neurochemistry International,[18] Neurochemical Research[19]

Awards and honors

Mohanakumar, an elected member of Guha Research Conference received the Young Scientist Award of the Indian Council of Medical Research in 1991. The Indian Academy of Neurosciences elected him as a fellow in 1999[20] and a year later, the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards in 2000.[1] The elected fellowship of the National Academy of Sciences, India was awarded to him 2008.[21] He is also a recipient of the Uvnas Prize of the Indian Pharmacological Society for the best scientific publication and the Tulsabai Somani Educational Trust Award of Indian Academy of Neurosciences. The award orations delivered by him include Coln. R. N. Chopra Memorial Oration of Indian Pharmacological Society and Prof. B.K. Bachhawat Memorial Life Time Achievement(2019).

Selected bibliography

Chapters
  • Alexander Storch, Michael A. Collins (Editors); K. P. Mohanakumar, D. Muralikrishnan )(Chapter authors) (6 December 2012). Neurotoxic Factors in Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 290–. ISBN 978-1-4615-1269-1.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Sengupta T., Vinayagam J., Singh R., Jaisankar P., Mohanakumar K.P. (6 December 2016). Plant-Derived Natural Products for Parkinson's Disease Therapy. In: Essa M., Akbar M., Guillemin G. (eds) The Benefits of Natural Products for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Advances in Neurobiology, vol 12. Springer, Cham.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Articles
  • Chakraborty J, Rajamma U, Mohanakumar KP (2014). "A mitochondrial basis for Huntington's disease: therapeutic prospects". Mol. Cell. Biochem. 389 (1–2): 277–291. doi:10.1007/s11010-013-1951-9. PMID 24374792. S2CID 12998766.
  • Chakraborty J, Nthenge-Ngumbau DN, Rajamma U, Mohanakumar KP (2014). "Melatonin protects against behavioural dysfunctions and dendritic spine damage in 3-nitropropionic acid-induced rat model of Huntington's disease". Behav. Brain Res. 1 (264): 91–104. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.01.048. PMID 24509309. S2CID 926656.
  • Paidi RK, Nthenge-Ngumbau DN, Singh R, Kankanala T, Mehta H, Mohanakumar KP (2015). "Mitochondrial Deficits Accompany Cognitive Decline Following Single Bilateral Intracerebroventricular Streptozotocin". Curr Alzheimer Res. 12 (8): 785–795. doi:10.2174/1567205012666150710112618. PMID 26159195.

See also

Notes
  1. Please see Selected bibliography section

References
  1. "Awardees of National Bioscience Awards for Career Development" (PDF). Department of Biotechnology. 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  2. "NASI fellows". National Academy of Sciences, India. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  3. "Director Profile" (PDF). Inter University Centre for Biomedical Research. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  4. "K. P. Mohanakumar on Amrita Bioquest". Amrita Bioquest. 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  5. "Cell Biology & Physiology Division". Indian Institute of Chemical Biology. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  6. "Contact Us". Inter University Centre for Biomedical Research. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  7. "Governing Council". Inter University Centre for Biomedical Research. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  8. "On Google Scholar". Google Scholar. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  9. "On ResearchGate". 23 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  10. "Work Book 1". Science Direct. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  11. "Work Book 2". Science Direct. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  12. Alexander Storch; Michael A. Collins (6 December 2012). Neurotoxic Factors in Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 290–. ISBN 978-1-4615-1269-1.
  13. "Conference Committee ISN". International Society for Neurochemistry. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  14. "Neurobiology Task Force". Department of Biotechnology. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  15. "Present Council CBS". Chemical Biology Society. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  16. "Editorial Board Anatomy and Cell Biology". Anatomy and Cell Biology. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  17. "Editorial Board Journal of Neurochemistry". Journal of Neurochemistry. 24 November 2017. doi:10.1111/(ISSN)1471-4159. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  18. Neurochemistry International. Elsevier. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  19. "Editorial Board Neurochemical Research". Springer. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  20. "IAN Fellows". Indian Academy of Neurosciences. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  21. "NASI Year Book 2015" (PDF). National Academy of Sciences, India. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
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