Anand Ranganathan
| Anand Ranganathan | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 4, 1972 Tamil Nadu, India |
| 🏫 Education | |
| 💼 Occupation | Scientist, writer, columnist |
| Notable work | Hindus in Hindu Rashtra (2023) India’s Forgotten Scientists (2024) |
| 👴 👵 Parents |
|
| 🏅 Awards | Young Scientist, World Economic Forum, for the New Champions Summit in 2012, Young Scientist Medal of the Indian National Science Academy in 2007 |
| 🌐 Website | anandranganathan |
Anand Ranganathan (born 4 December 1972) is an Indian molecular biologist, columnist and author. He is a professor at the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine in Jawaharlal Nehru University.[1]
He writes columns for DNA, Newslaundry, Firstpost, Swarajya, etc. He also makes recurring appearances on television on channels like NDTV, Times Now, and Republic TV.
Early life and education
Prof Ranganathan was born in Tamil Nadu, India. His parents were scientists. His mother, Darshan Ranganathan, worked as a bioorganic chemist, she developed a protocol for synthesising imidazole, a compound used to make antifungal drugs and antibiotics. Her works include "Pioneering Work in Protein Folding".[2] His father, Subramania Ranganathan, was also a bioorganic chemist, a professor, and the head of the chemistry department at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur.[3]
Prof Ranganathan obtained his BSc (Hons) degree, in Chemistry from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi in 1992. He then travelled to Cambridge, in UK where he obtained a Nehru Centenary Scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge, where he obtained his BA (Tripos) in Natural Sciences, his MA, and his PhD. Following the completion of his studies he returned to India.[1]
He is married to Sheetal Ranganathan, who holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Human Biology, a Master’s in Medical Biotechnology from AIIMS, and an MBA from Xavier Institute of Management. She works as a columnist for Swarajya on topics regarding global health and science outreach.[4][5]
Career
Following his return to India, Ranganathan joined the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology as a Staff Research Scientist. He spent approximately 16 years there leading a laboratory focused on molecular evolution, infectious disease biology, and protein engineering. His work explored tuberculosis, malaria, and the molecular basis of pathogen-host interactions.[6][7]
In 2015, he joined Jawaharlal Nehru University as an associate professor at the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine. He was elevated to full Professor in 2019, Ranganathan’s laboratory invented codon-shuffling, a novel method for the directed evolution of proteins, using which a de novo protein was unearthed that was able to disrupt ICAM dimerisation and block host cell invasion by both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Plasmodium falciparum. The major objectives of this research group are as follows:
1. To study the role of host ICAMs in cell invasion by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Plasmodium falciparum.
2. To discover new molecules for TB therapy.
3. To focus on the emergence of Plasmodium falciparum resistance and the repurposing of existing drugs against artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum.
4. To discover de-novo peptide binders against target proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Plasmodium falciparum, and Leishmania donovani.[1]
Writing and media
Parallel to his scientific work, Ranganathan is a writer and political commentator. He has contributed columns and commentary to publications such as Swarajya, Newslaundry, DNA, The News Minute. He serves as a consulting editor and columnist for Swarajya and frequently appears in television debates on politics, science, constitutional questions, and social commentary.[8]
He advocates for free speech absolutism and participates in public discourse involving law, religion, media, and governance. He identifies himself as a centrist, neither leaning right or left.[9]
Publications
Books
Apart from his scientific works he has authored fiction and non-fiction works spanning political commentary, satire, and social analysis.[1][9]
- The Land of the Wilted Rose (2012) – Fiction / Novel
- For Love and Honour (2015) – Historical fiction novel
- The Rat Eater (2019) – Co-authored investigative thriller
- Soufflé (2023) – Fiction / literary novel
- Hindus in Hindu Rashtra: Eighth-Class Citizens and Victims of State-Sanctioned Apartheid (2023) – Non-fiction / socio-political commentary
- Forgotten Heroes of Indian Science (co-authored with Sheetal Ranganathan) – Science history and biographical work
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Anand Ranganathan". Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
- ↑ "Darshan Ranganathan". Asia Research News. 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
- ↑ Sathyamurthy, N (December 2014). "LIVING LEGENDS IN INDIAN SCIENCE" (PDF). Current Science. Retrieved 23 April 2026. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Sheetal Ranganathan". Penguin Random House India. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
- ↑ Ranganathan, Anand; Ranganathan, Sheetal (2026-05-26). Forgotten Heroes of Indian Science. Ebury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-670-09628-2. Search this book on
- ↑ Marothia, Manisha; Behl, Ankita; Maurya, Preeti; Saini, Monika; Shoaib, Rumaisha; Garg, Swati; Kumari, Geeta; Biswas, Shreeja; Munjal, Akshay; Anand, Sakshi; Kahlon, Amandeep Kaur; Gupta, Pragya; Biswas, Saurav; Goswami, Bidhan; Abdulhameed Almuqdadi, Haider Thaer (2024-06-21). "Targeting PfProhibitin 2-Hu-Hsp70A1A complex as a unique approach towards malaria vaccine development". iScience. 27 (6): 109918. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.109918. ISSN 2589-0042. PMC 11134565 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 38812541 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ Chaurasiya, Ayushi; Kumari, Geeta; Garg, Swati; Shoaib, Rumaisha; Anam, Zille; Joshi, Nishant; Kumari, Jyoti; Singhal, Jhalak; Singh, Niharika; Kaushik, Shikha; Kahlon, Amandeep Kaur; Dubey, Neha; Maurya, Mukesh Kumar; Srivastava, Pallavi; Marothia, Manisha (2022-12-20). "Targeting Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria by Repurposing the Anti-Hepatitis C Virus Drug Alisporivir". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 66 (12): e0039222. doi:10.1128/aac.00392-22. ISSN 1098-6596. PMC 9765015 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 36374050 Check|pmid=value (help). - ↑ "Dr. Anand Ranganathan: Scientist-Scholar, yet a fierce Hindutva Warrior". Sanatan Prabhat. 2025-05-14. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Pandey, Shreya (2024-01-25). "From Words To Triumphs – A Glimpse Into Author Anand Ranganathan's Inspiring Journey". THE LITERATURE TODAY. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
Further reading
- Marothia, Manisha; Behl, Ankita; Maurya, Preeti; Saini, Monika; Shoaib, Rumaisha; Garg, Swati; Kumari, Geeta; Biswas, Shreeja; Munjal, Akshay; Anand, Sakshi; Kahlon, Amandeep Kaur; Gupta, Pragya; Biswas, Saurav; Goswami, Bidhan; Abdulhameed Almuqdadi, Haider Thaer (2024-06-21). "Targeting PfProhibitin 2-Hu-Hsp70A1A complex as a unique approach towards malaria vaccine development". iScience. 27 (6): 109918. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.109918. ISSN 2589-0042. PMC 11134565 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 38812541 Check|pmid=value (help). - Chaurasiya, Ayushi; Kumari, Geeta; Garg, Swati; Shoaib, Rumaisha; Anam, Zille; Joshi, Nishant; Kumari, Jyoti; Singhal, Jhalak; Singh, Niharika; Kaushik, Shikha; Kahlon, Amandeep Kaur; Dubey, Neha; Maurya, Mukesh Kumar; Srivastava, Pallavi; Marothia, Manisha (2022-12-20). "Targeting Artemisinin-Resistant Malaria by Repurposing the Anti-Hepatitis C Virus Drug Alisporivir". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 66 (12): e0039222. doi:10.1128/aac.00392-22. ISSN 1098-6596. PMC 9765015 Check
|pmc=value (help). PMID 36374050 Check|pmid=value (help).
External links
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