{"id":55201,"date":"2025-12-01T17:28:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T11:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/?p=55201"},"modified":"2025-12-01T17:28:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T11:58:33","slug":"the-passing-on-of-a-celebrated-indian-microbiologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matribhumisamachar.com\/en\/2025\/12\/01\/the-passing-on-of-a-celebrated-indian-microbiologist\/","title":{"rendered":"The Passing on of a Celebrated Indian Microbiologist"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dr Shivaji SisinthyCelebrated Scientist and Microbiologist, Emeritus Director of Research and Senior Scientist, L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hyderabad, 1st December 2025<\/strong>:\u00a0Dr Shivaji Sisinthy<\/strong>, celebrated scientist and microbiologist, Emeritus Director of Research and Senior Scientist at the\u00a0L V Prasad Eye Institute<\/strong>\u00a0(LVPEI), passed away due to illness earlier this month.<\/p>\n

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Dr Shivaji had published over 375 research papers and is famous for being the first Indian biologist to have been part of expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctic. He spent a few weeks at India\u2019s Dakshin Gangotri station near the Schirmacher oasis. His work on the microbiota at the Earth\u2019s poles, including the Himalayas and the higher altitudes of the atmosphere, and their survival mechanisms at temperature extremes earned him a unique position in Indian science. He ended up identifying 3 novel bacterial clusters unique to these extreme regions and was awarded the Antarctic Award for excellence in Biological Sciences in 2002 for his work, the Carl Woese Memorial Award in 2014 by the Association of Microbiologists, India, and the National Award in Polar Sciences and Cryosphere by the Government of India in 2016.<\/p>\n

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Shivaji graduated with an MSc in Biology from BITS Pilani in 1973. He went to do his PhD from Delhi University in 1978, and post-doctoral research at the Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bengaluru. He then joined the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad in 1980 as a microbiologist. During his tenure at CCMB, he worked with researchers at the Max Plank Institute at G\u00f6ttingen, Germany, and later at the National Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology at Okazaki, Japan as part of an Indo-German and Indo-Japanese scientific collaboration. Shivaji ran a robust group of Ph. D students and postdoctoral researchers publishing many papers in reputed journals. He is listed amongst the top 2% of microbiologists in the Elsevier\/Stanford University list of scientists in India.<\/p>\n

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He worked as a director-grade scientist at the CCMB and helped establish the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LACONES) campus at Hyderabad. Besides animals in local areas, he went on to study<\/p>\n

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endangered species of wild cats, elephants and tigers in Central India. He retired from CCMB in 2012 and joined the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) Hyderabad in 2013, going on to serve as Director of the Prof Brien Holden Eye Research Centre at LVPEI from 2016 to 2020. He was a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Science (IASc), the National Academy of Sciences (NASI) and the Telangana Academy of Sciences (TAS).<\/p>\n

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At LVPEI, in his last decade, his research was focused on the ocular microbiome and its relationship to the gut microbiome. Using conventional cultures and next generation sequencing methods, he documented the various fungal genera, and characterizing a \u2018core\u2019 microbiome that represented a healthy, \u2018Indian\u2019 ocular surface. His contributions to microbiology and molecular microbiology of the human ocular surface are worth noting and celebrating today. He had also written 3 books in the area of microbiomes, two of which are already published by Springer-Nature and the third one will come out soon.<\/p>\n

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“In the passing of Dr. Shivaji, India lost an eminent scientist, and we at the LVPEI lost one of the biggest contributors to our research program. He was a rare combination of intellect, integrity, and humility, making him an inspiring example for the future generation of scientists,” said\u00a0Dr Gullapalli N Rao<\/strong>, Founder-Chair of the L V Prasad Eye Institute.<\/p>\n

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India mourns a unique scientist who studied microbes in the vast Polar regions and in our gut. Dr Shivaji is remembered by his family, friends and colleagues from across the scientific community.<\/p>\n

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About LVPEI:<\/strong>\u00a0Established in 1987, with the vision, \u201cto create excellent and equitable eye care systems that reach all those in need,\u201d the L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), a comprehensive eye health institute, is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness.<\/p>\n

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The LVPEI\u2019s five-tier \u2018Eye Health Pyramid\u2019 model, covering all areas of the community from villages to cities, provides high-quality and comprehensive preventive, curative, and rehabilitative eye care to all. The LVPEI Eye Care Network has 310+ centres across the Indian states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Karnataka. To date, it has offered over 24 million centre-based services (2 crores 40 lakh services), with more than 50% entirely at zero cost to the patient, irrespective of the complexity of care needed. For more information, please visit the Institute\u2019s website at\u00a0www.lvpei.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Featured Article<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hyderabad, 1st December 2025:\u00a0Dr Shivaji Sisinthy, celebrated scientist and microbiologist, Emeritus Director of Research and Senior Scientist at the\u00a0L V Prasad Eye Institute\u00a0(LVPEI), passed away due to illness earlier this month. 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