Madhu Sudan Kanungo
Encyclopedia
Prof. Madhu Sudan Kanungo (April 1, 1927 – July 26, 2011) was a teacher of molecular biology and biochemistry as well as a researcher in the field of gerontology
and neuroscience
. He is mostly known for his theories on how gene expression changes with age and the how they play a role in aging. For his research work he was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri
in 2005. He was a player and a fan of cricket and tennis. He conducted most of his research from his lab at Department of Zoololgy, Banaras Hindu University
. He held the post of BHU Emeritus professor in zoology
, at Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University and the post of Chancellor, Nagaland University until his death on July 26, 2011.
in the year 1949. After that he moved to Lucknow University from where he completed his M.Sc. in Zoology in 1951. After a short tenure of doing research at Lucknow university followed by serving as a Lecturer in Zoology at the Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, he went to the University of Illinois (Urbana), US for advanced studies. He has completed his Ph.D. on Physiology under the famous scientist Prof. Clifford Ladd Prosser from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, US in 1959 where he worked on the physiological and biochemical adaptation of goldfish to temperature variation and studied its effect on oxygen consumption under both normal and experimental conditions. He also studied oxygen consumption and oxidative phosphorylation of liver mitochondria of goldfish as a part of the same study.
, Cuttack
.He then joined Utkal University in Feb. 1961 as a Reader in Zoology and continued teaching for a year. He joined the Department of Zoology at Banaras Hindu University and served as a reader (1962–69) and as a professor (1970–87). He was Head, Department of Zoology (1974–76 and 1980–82), Coordinator of the Center of Advanced Study , and Dean, Faculty of Science (1986) at Banaras Hindu University. He served as Emeritus Professor of Banaras Hindu University from 1993 to 2011. He was an active and popular teacher of physiology and biochemistry at Banaras Hindu University for more than 40 years.
For research, he took up the problem of aging to find out the biochemical and molecular changes that occur in the brain and other organs of the rat as a function of age. He made the following original and important findings: not only the levels of several enzymes decrease, but also their isoenzymes change with increasing age; the decrease in their levels can be prevented by administration of steroid hormones whose receptors are present in the brain; decrease in enzyme levels is due to increasing compaction of chromatin that prevents acetylation of histones and decreases transcription; he proposed a model for aging and showed that trans-acting protein factors that bind to cis-acting elements in the promoter of genes change with age. As signals from the brain cause expression of neurotransmitters in the brain, the neurotransmitter receptors (NT), both excitatory and inhibitory, change with age; also enzymes necessary for synthesis of NT change during the life span of the rat. Kanungo was the founder director of the Institute of Life Sciences of Government of Orissa at Bhubaneswar. He worked hard with the then chief minister of Orissa, Biju Patnaik, for establishing the institute during late 1980s which is now a DBT Institute.
Until his death Prof. M. S. Kanungo continued working on topics such as expression of genes and proteins involved in neurotransmission and recycling of neurotransmitters in the brain as a function of age;studying genes and proteins to understand the molecular mechanism involved in the process of learning and memory during aging;expression of genes involved in formation of blood brain barrier (BBB) as a function of age and under different types of stress.
M. S. Kanungo’s devotion and dedication to teaching and research in the field of physiology & biochemistry and aging was absolute
His publications and lectures on aging have brought into focus the importance of the problem of Gerontology, and the field has been accepted as a thrust area for research and teaching since the 1970s by several scientific agencies like UGC, CSIR, ICMR, DST and DBT. He has also received grants from International agencies like the Nuffield Foundation, London, UK and PL-480, US.
Also, scientists in several Universities and Research Institutes in India have taken up this problem for research.Prof.Kanungo founded the Association of Gerontology (India) – AGI – with headquarters at Banaras Hindu University in 1982. AGI covers the three main areas of Gerontology: biological, medical and socio-psychological. Moreover,Prof. Kanungo has popularized the subject of Gerontology by writing popular articles on Ageing in Science Today, Science Reporter, etc.and by giving lectures at various Institutes and Universities. The subject is being taught as a course in various Universities, both in Science and Humanities.
He had published 139 papers in the area of ‘Biology of Ageing’ and two single authored books: ‘Biochemistry of Ageing’ (Academic Press, U. K., 1980; translated into Russian) and ‘Genes and Aging’ (Cambridge Univ. Press, U. K., 1994). His research group in aging is internationally well known. He had proposed a theory and a model on aging in 1975, which is known as ‘Gene Regulation Theory of Aging’. His research has shown how activities of many physiological/metabolic enzymes, chromatin structure and its post-translational modifications and function(s) as well as expression of genes change during the aging process in mammals and birds.
Gerontology
Gerontology is the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging...
and neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
. He is mostly known for his theories on how gene expression changes with age and the how they play a role in aging. For his research work he was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
in 2005. He was a player and a fan of cricket and tennis. He conducted most of his research from his lab at Department of Zoololgy, Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
. He held the post of BHU Emeritus professor in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, at Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University and the post of Chancellor, Nagaland University until his death on July 26, 2011.
Education
He completed his Bachelors in Science from Utkal UniversityUtkal University
Utkal University, Bhubaneswar is the oldest university in Orissa and the 17th oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university that has produced some of the best brains in Orissa. There are at 26 post-graduate departments at the university campus for studies and research in...
in the year 1949. After that he moved to Lucknow University from where he completed his M.Sc. in Zoology in 1951. After a short tenure of doing research at Lucknow university followed by serving as a Lecturer in Zoology at the Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, he went to the University of Illinois (Urbana), US for advanced studies. He has completed his Ph.D. on Physiology under the famous scientist Prof. Clifford Ladd Prosser from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, US in 1959 where he worked on the physiological and biochemical adaptation of goldfish to temperature variation and studied its effect on oxygen consumption under both normal and experimental conditions. He also studied oxygen consumption and oxidative phosphorylation of liver mitochondria of goldfish as a part of the same study.
Professional life
He started his early life as a Lecturer in Zoology, Ravenshaw CollegeRavenshaw College
Ravenshaw College is located in Cuttack, India.The college was established in 1878 for Thomas Edward Ravenshaw, a descendant of William Withers...
, Cuttack
Cuttack
Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the...
.He then joined Utkal University in Feb. 1961 as a Reader in Zoology and continued teaching for a year. He joined the Department of Zoology at Banaras Hindu University and served as a reader (1962–69) and as a professor (1970–87). He was Head, Department of Zoology (1974–76 and 1980–82), Coordinator of the Center of Advanced Study , and Dean, Faculty of Science (1986) at Banaras Hindu University. He served as Emeritus Professor of Banaras Hindu University from 1993 to 2011. He was an active and popular teacher of physiology and biochemistry at Banaras Hindu University for more than 40 years.
For research, he took up the problem of aging to find out the biochemical and molecular changes that occur in the brain and other organs of the rat as a function of age. He made the following original and important findings: not only the levels of several enzymes decrease, but also their isoenzymes change with increasing age; the decrease in their levels can be prevented by administration of steroid hormones whose receptors are present in the brain; decrease in enzyme levels is due to increasing compaction of chromatin that prevents acetylation of histones and decreases transcription; he proposed a model for aging and showed that trans-acting protein factors that bind to cis-acting elements in the promoter of genes change with age. As signals from the brain cause expression of neurotransmitters in the brain, the neurotransmitter receptors (NT), both excitatory and inhibitory, change with age; also enzymes necessary for synthesis of NT change during the life span of the rat. Kanungo was the founder director of the Institute of Life Sciences of Government of Orissa at Bhubaneswar. He worked hard with the then chief minister of Orissa, Biju Patnaik, for establishing the institute during late 1980s which is now a DBT Institute.
Until his death Prof. M. S. Kanungo continued working on topics such as expression of genes and proteins involved in neurotransmission and recycling of neurotransmitters in the brain as a function of age;studying genes and proteins to understand the molecular mechanism involved in the process of learning and memory during aging;expression of genes involved in formation of blood brain barrier (BBB) as a function of age and under different types of stress.
Promotion of Gerontology
Kanungo was an active member and chair in many committees related to U. G. C., C. S. I. R., D. S. T., D. B. T., I. N. S. A., I. C. M. R., U. P. S. C. and I. C. A. R. He was the founder president (1981–88) and patron (1989–2011) of the Association of Gerontology of India (AGI), which had three components: biological, socio-psychological and medical for research and planning on the aging and the elderly. He was also an active member of the National Council for Older Persons (N. C. O. P.) of Govt. of India, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment from 1999–2011, which proposed the National Initiative for Care of Elderly (NICE) policy.M. S. Kanungo’s devotion and dedication to teaching and research in the field of physiology & biochemistry and aging was absolute
His publications and lectures on aging have brought into focus the importance of the problem of Gerontology, and the field has been accepted as a thrust area for research and teaching since the 1970s by several scientific agencies like UGC, CSIR, ICMR, DST and DBT. He has also received grants from International agencies like the Nuffield Foundation, London, UK and PL-480, US.
Also, scientists in several Universities and Research Institutes in India have taken up this problem for research.Prof.Kanungo founded the Association of Gerontology (India) – AGI – with headquarters at Banaras Hindu University in 1982. AGI covers the three main areas of Gerontology: biological, medical and socio-psychological. Moreover,Prof. Kanungo has popularized the subject of Gerontology by writing popular articles on Ageing in Science Today, Science Reporter, etc.and by giving lectures at various Institutes and Universities. The subject is being taught as a course in various Universities, both in Science and Humanities.
He had published 139 papers in the area of ‘Biology of Ageing’ and two single authored books: ‘Biochemistry of Ageing’ (Academic Press, U. K., 1980; translated into Russian) and ‘Genes and Aging’ (Cambridge Univ. Press, U. K., 1994). His research group in aging is internationally well known. He had proposed a theory and a model on aging in 1975, which is known as ‘Gene Regulation Theory of Aging’. His research has shown how activities of many physiological/metabolic enzymes, chromatin structure and its post-translational modifications and function(s) as well as expression of genes change during the aging process in mammals and birds.
Books written
- Genes & Aging, Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, (1993) ISBN 0521382998, 9780521382991 - Biochemistry of Aging, Academic Press, London, (1980) ISBN 0123964504, 9780123964502
Awards
- Padma ShriPadma ShriPadma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
(2005) - SS Bhatnagar Prize (Biology) (1971)
- Jawaharlal Nehru fellowship (1987)
- Golden Jubilee Commemoration medal, INSA (1992)
- Sir Sriram memorial Oration award, National Academy of Medical Sciences, (1998)
- Fellowship of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)(1989)
- Third Age Award-14th International Congress of Gerontology, Mexico (1989)
- Fellow of Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi (1975)
- Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore (1975)
- National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad (1989)
- National Academy of Medical Sciences, India (1996)
- Indian Academy of Neuroscience (2008)
- National Fellow (1976–77)
- National Lecturer (1982) of UGC
- Emeritus Scientist of C. S. I. R. (1989–94)
- Senior Scientist INSA (1995–99)
- Chancellor of Nagaland University (2009–2011)
External links
- Dept. of Zoology, Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff, Banaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
- http://www.bhu.ac.in/zoology/kangaru.html