The foundation has been promoted by Ranbaxy laboratories Ltd.

Nobel laureate Prof Rolf M Zinkernagel, director, Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich, Switzerland presented the awards to seven scientists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, today.

Prof. Zinkernagel chaired the Ranbaxy's Science Foundation's XIIth Annual Symposium on "Immuno-therapeutics and disease management" and delivered his key note address on the topic "Why do we not have a vaccine against TB or HIV (yet) ?" Eminent scientists from around the world, deliberated on various topics related to the cellular basis of immune response

They scientists awarded by Ranbaxy are:

Medical sciences - basic research

• Dr Bharat B Aggarwal, Ransom Horne, Jr., distinguished professor of cancer research, professor of cancer medicine (biochemistry) and chief cytokine research section, department of experimental therapeutics at The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston. Aggarwal received the award for his outstanding contributions in the field of cytokine research, which can induce or enhance apoptosis in cancer cells, thereby having a potential for cancer therapy.
  
  
• Dr Amitabha Mukhopadhyay, staff scientist V Cell Biology Lab, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, Mukhopadhyay receives the award for his contributions to biomedical research on the fundamental issues pertaining to host-pathogen interactions that provided conceptual leads towards the identification of new chemotherapeutic target.

• Dr Mohan K. Raizada, Professor, Department of Physiology & Functional Genomics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, received the award for demonstrating that systemic gene transfer, targeting the rennin-angiotensin system (RAS), a viable strategy for long-term control of hypertension and related cardiovascular complications.

• Dr Nita Bhandari, joint director, Society for Applied Studies, New Delhi. She received the award for her work in infant nutrition, particularly the demonstration of severe health consequences of mild to moderate zinc deficiency in humans including increase in severity of lower respiratory tract and enteric infections and reversal of this phenomenon by optimizing daily intake of zinc.
  
  
• Dr Vinod Kochupillai, chief, Institute of Rotary Cancer Hospital and professor and head, Department of Medical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
  Kochupillai received the award for her discovery that, fetal liver liberates cytokines capable of stimulating hematopoiesis even by aplastic marrow is a trend setter and is likely to offer a totally different approach for the management aplastic anemia.

• Dr B. Gopalan, chief scientific officer, Matrix Laboratories Ltd, Secunderabad. Gopalan receives the award for designing and developing a series of novel, orally active small molecules, in the therapeutic area of diabetes, which culminated in six international patents in which he has been cited as the sole inventor, including several backup analogues.
  
  
• Dr Asit K. Chakraborti, professor and head, department of medicinal chemistry, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Punjab. Chakraborti receives the award for his outstanding contributions in developing a large number of new organic reaction methodologies that are potentially useful in the synthesis of drugs and pharmaceuticals.