Vineeta Bal
Scientist, National Institute of Immunology,IndiaVineeta Bal is a retired as a scientist at the National Institute of Immunology, and was a member of the Prime Minister's task force for Women in Science under the Department of Science and Technology. She has worked as an immunologist with wide ranging research interests. Currently she is a member of Scientific Advisory Committee of Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI). She is involved in POWERBio, an initiative that aims to bring together like-minded women scientists from across India working in Biology and allied areas, to work towards issues pertaining to inclusivity, representation and success of women scientists in academia.
Prarthana Banarji
Project Coordinator, Kelso Institute EuropePrarthana Banarji is a Project Coordinator at the Kelso Institute Europe, Berlin, where she is working with KIE's pilot initiative on Renewable Energy Consumer Stock Ownership. Her work focuses on preparation of large scale mixed-methods research and data analysis to evaluate gender - differentiated energy access and participant willingness in co-owned renewable mechanisms. She actively collaborates with local partners to assess the feasibility of community-owned photovoltaic models in vulnerable regions in the Sundarbans. Prarthana is also a Masters student in Development Studies at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
Eva Becher
Research Associate, Medical Faculty OWL of Bielefeld UniversityDr Becher holds a degree in biology and earned her PhD in neuroimmunology from the University of Münster, Germany, in 1998. She later completed advanced studies in Consumer Health Care and Epidemiology at the Berlin School of Public Health (MSc 2021). From 2003 to 2010, she conducted research on women's health at Medical School - Charité - University Medicine, Germany. Since 2021, she has been a research associate at the Medical Faculty OWL of Bielefeld University, Germany. Her work focuses on operationalizing sex and gender in quantitative medical research and analyzing clinical guidelines for integrating sex- and gender-related aspects.
Katja Becker
President, German Research Foundation (DFG)Professor Katja Becker is the President of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). She studied medicine at Heidelberg University, where she also obtained her doctoral degree and habilitation. After a position at the Center for Infectious Diseases, Würzburg University, she accepted a chair in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Giessen University. Education and research led her to Africa, Australia, Switzerland, the UK and the US. Her research interests focus on cellular redox metabolism as a drug target in malaria parasites and cancer cells. Until 2019 she was the coordinator of the DFG Priority Programme, which examines the thiol-based regulation of enzymes, and spokesperson of the LOEWE Center DRUID, which aims to develop novel drugs, vaccines and diagnostics against neglected tropical diseases.
Sabuj Bhattachryya
Scientist and Research Ethics and Integrity Officer, BRIC-inStemDr. Sabuj Bhattacharyya is a Scientist and Research Ethics and Integrity Officer at BRIC-inStem. He received interdisciplinary training in wildlife biology, population genomics, and research ethics during his PhD at the Wildlife Institute of India and the University of Colorado Boulder (Through CSIR and Nehru Fulbright Fellowship), followed by postdoctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science and the University of Sheffield,UK (Through DBT RA and British Commonwealth Fellowship). His current work focuses on research integrity pedagogy, AI and ethics, and publication retraction dynamics.
Amit Chawla
Professor and Dean, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, K.R. Mangalam UniversityProf (Dr.) Amit Chawla currently serves as Dean of the School of Emerging Media and Creator Economy (SEMCE) at K.R. Mangalam University, Gurugram. A thought leader in media, academics, and research with over 24 years of experience, Dr. Chawla has been closely affiliated with institutions like NIFT, Delhi University, Amity, Sharda University and over 50 others. He has also worked with Canon India, Doordarshan, Excel Entertainment, Colour Yellow, Media & Entertainment Skills Council, Sputnik Pro, Jagran Group and other industry majors.He has led many consultancy projects, valued at more than ₹5 million. He is the founder of Photoshala, and is an author of several books, chapters, research papers, and articles. His ongoing work advances gender equity in media via inclusive storytelling and research.
Anil K. Gupta
Anil K Gupta is a scholar in the field of grassroots innovation. He authored the book 'Grassroots Innovations'. His professional roles include teaching at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; Executive Vice Chair, National Innovation Foundation; Founder of the Honey Bee Network, Coordinator of SRISTI, Honorary Secretary of GIAN; Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science; and Member of National Innovation Council. His mission is to expand the global as well as local space for grassroots and young innovators to ensure recognition, respect and reward for them; protection of intellectual property rights of the innovators; ethical issues in conservation and prospecting of biodiversity.
Namrata Gupta
Author of "Gender and STEM: the Indian Context",Dr Gupta is a Sociologist with 25 years of research experience focussed on gender issues in STEM, particularly the position of women scientists in academia and research laboratories. Her research also includes the study of women engineering students, and relationship between gender and technology. She has published extensively in this field and authored two books on the subject. She published articles in collaboration with renowned international researchers. She has been a recipient of several fellowships and grants from the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).She is an editorial board member of international journal 'Work, Employment and Society' since 2021.
Kaveri Iychettira
Faculty member, IIT Delhi's School of Public PolicyDr Iychettira's research focuses on managing uncertainties within the transition of energy and related sectors in response to climate change, she approaches problems from the lenses of modelling socio-technical systems, institutional analysis, systems thinking, and economics. Kaveri leads the Net Zero India project at IIT Delhi, in collaboration with Prayas Energy Group, and Princeton University. Previously, she contributed to drafting India's Long Term Low Carbon Emissions Strategies (LT-LEDs), the country's submission to UNFCCC in 2022. She also serves as an Associate Editor with The Energy Journal and is a member of the Board of the Indian Association of Energy Economics.
Pratibha Jolly
Principal Investigator, DST Sponsored Project GATI (Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions)Pratibha Jolly is former Principal of Miranda House, premier college for women at University of Delhi. She is an eminent educator and academic leader renowned for her work in science education, research and innovation as well as institutional excellence in higher education. She chaired the IUPAP International Commission on Physics Education, strengthening collaborations, outreach and capacity building, receiving the IUPAP-ICPE Medal for global impact. She has made significant contributions to S&T policy and led the development of the GATI (Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions) pilot under the aegis of Department of Science and Technology.
Atya Kapley
Professor of Practice, Raisoni Education Group of InstitutionsDr Kapley is an Indian environmental geneticist working currently as Professor of Practice - Environment Remediation and Sustainable Development at the Raisoni Education Group of Institutions. Until recently, she was the Asia & Pacific Coordinator and Vice President for the Organisation for Women In Science for the Developing World. Dr Kapley is former Senior Principal Scientist and Head of the Director's Research cell of the CSIR National Environmental Engineering Research Institute in Nagpur.
Meenal Kowshik
BITS Pilani, Goa campusProf Kowshik works in the field of biofunctionalization of silver-based nanocomposites with antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity for environmental and biomedical applications Her studies also include hydroxyapatite-based nanocomposites for bioimaging and gene delivery applications in prokaryotic as well as eukaryotic systems, as well as synthesis of biocompatible chitin and chitosan-based bilayer scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. She is also involved in exploring the possibility of using nanomaterials for agriculture applications, with special focus on fortification of traditional leafy vegetables grown in Goa with micronutrients such as Zinc.
Franziska Langer
Remote Director, German Research Foundation (DFG) New Delhi OfficeFranziska Langer studied neuroscience at the University of Tübingen, where she completed her PhD in 2012. She then transitioned into science management, joining the German Research Foundation (DFG) at its Office in New York. Upon returning to Germany in 2014, she took on a central role in fostering research collaboration between Germany and its partners in South Asia as well as Southeast Asia. Since July 2022, she has been serving as Remote Director of the DFG Office in New Delhi, leading the organization's strategic engagement with one of the world's most dynamic research regions.
Shekhar C. Mande
President, Indian National Academy of Science (INSA)Shekhar C. Mande is Distinguished Professor at Bioinformatics Center, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU,) and the current President of Indian National Science Academy (INSA). He is also the former Director of the General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). and the Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology. Prior to this, he was the Director of National Centre for Cell Science, Pune. He was awarded in 2005 the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, the highest science award in India, in the Biological Sciences category.
Paro Mishra
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, DelhiDr Mishra's core research interests lie at the intersection of Gender and Technology – New Reproductive Technologies (NRTs) and Information/ Digital Technologies. She has published on intimate migrations, masculinity, aging, care circulation, care work and gendered surveillance. She has recently finished a project on sex-selective technologies, male marriage squeeze and cross-cultural intimacies funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Her current research is examining intersections of Gender, Health and Digital Technologies with a focus on emerging FemTech Landscape in India, funded under the IIITD-IITD MFIRP Scheme.
Debashis Mitra
ICMR Emeritus Scientist, Vice-President (International),INSA, National Centre for Cell Science, SP Pune University CampusDr. Debashis Mitra's primary research areas of interest have been molecular and cellular basis of HIV pathogenesis, host-virus interaction and anti-viral drug discovery. He is currently Vice-president of INSA and a DBT-Distinguished Scientist at National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, since 2023. He was a Scientist at National Centre for Cell Science from 1998 to 2020 and a Professor of Eminence at NCCS from 2020 to 2023. In between, he has served as a Director of DBT-Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad from 2017 to 2020 and also as Interim CEO of DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance for brief period from 2022 to 2023. He did his PhD from CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata in 1988. He did his postdoctoral work in the area of Molecular Immunology with Prof. Elvin A. Kabat at Columbia University, New York followed by tenure of junior faculty at Cornell University Medical College.
Gayatri Nair
Assistant Professor of Sociology, Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, IndiaProf Nair's research interests lie in urban informal labour with an emphasis on the question of caste, gender and technology. With a focus on political economy, she has published work that interrogates the role of caste and gender in shaping ‘traditional' livelihoods and new forms of work specifically platform-based gig work; also detailing how workers organise. This work has appeared in journals such as Contemporary South Asia, Journal of South Asian Development and the Sociological Bulletin. Her recent book is 'Set Adrift; Capitalist Transformations and Community Politics Along Mumbai's Shore' published by the Oxford University Press (2021).
Susheela Negi
Associate Head of the S&T Capacity Building Division, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of IndiaSusheela Negi is a distinguished leader in STEM empowerment and climate research. She spearheads the Women in STEM (WISE-KIRAN) program, driving transformative policies, funding initiatives, and mentorship programs to bridge gender gaps in science and research. Through her dedicated efforts, she contributes to building a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient scientific ecosystem in India. Dr. Negi led two critical National Missions on Climate Change under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. She was instrumental in establishing a Center of Excellence in Climate Change Research in India, recognizing the power of collective scientific efforts.
Brajesh Pandey
Executive Director, Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New DelhiDr Pandey coordinates the INSA-Centre for Science and Technology Policy and is the Principal Investigator of the DST-Centre for Policy Research. Under his visionary leadership, he spearheads various DST-funded projects, contributing significantly to policy research and science governance. Prior to his tenure at INSA, Dr. Pandey was a Professor in the Department of Applied Sciences at Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune, where he made substantial contributions to physics education and research. Dr Pandey earned his PhD in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in 2008. He has conducted numerous workshops to train teachers in innovative pedagogy using demonstration-based teaching.
Vandana Ramachandran
Co-founder Singapore women in science (SgWIS), Ex-Director of Research & Academic Affairs at Singapore EYE research institute, Singapore women in science (SgWIS)Dr Ramachandran was Head of Research Administration at A*STAR’s Institute of Medical Biology, During this time, she founded APECSS (A*STAR Postdoc and Early Career Scientists Society) and received the Singapore Ministry of Trade & Industry's Outstanding Activist Award for her advocacy work. She then joined the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) as the Director of Research & Academic Affairs, overseeing research, academic initiatives, and leading strategic projects locally and internationally. Vandana co-founded Singapore Women in Science, and in 2019, co-led the Gender Summit Asia Pacific in Singapore (GS16), She is the founder of Dr. Vandana STEM Consultancy.
Geetha Vani Rayasam
Director, CSIR-NIScPRDr Rayasam Is a highly experienced and accomplished scientist with extensive experience in academia, industry, Government of India, and abroad. Dr Rayasam has a PhD in Biochemistry from IISc Bengaluru and has post-doctoral experience in IGBMC, France and at the National Institute of Health, USA. She has worked in Industries such as Ranbaxy (Daiichi-Sankyo) and SMART ANALYST as a senior scientist in the areas of new drug discovery and development. At CSIR she contributed extensively to the Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) Programme and was instrumental in launching many new initiatives and increasing public outreach of CSIR during Covid-19 pandemic.
Eva Reichwein
Director, German Research Foundation (DFG)Dr Reichwein has been working at the DFG Head Office in Bonn since 2009. She is head of the team “Equal Opportunities” within the group Research Culture. In this capacity, she is responsible for the DFG’s Research-Oriented Equity and Diversity Standards as well as the DFG’s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Concept. She is member of the EDI Working Group of the Global Research Council (GRC) and of the EDI Task Force of Science Europe.
Sandeep Sancheti
Elsevier's Vice President of Research Relations & Academic Ambassador for India, ElsevierProf Sandeep Sancheti has a long-standing and stellar career spanning over 40 years. He is recognised for his outstanding leadership roles in esteemed organisations. A distinguished institution builder, Prof. Sancheti served as President at both the Association of Indian Universities and Manipal University, Jaipur; as well as held key positions as the Director of NITK Surathkal, NIT New Delhi, NIT Tiruchirappalli, NIT Calicut and School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. Prof. Sancheti was also Vice-Chancellor at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai and most recently, at Marwadi University Rajkot. His vision also encompassed mentoring roles for NIT Goa, NIT Puducherry and NIT Sikkim.
Sudeshna Sarkar
AVLN Rao and Tulasi Ramalakshmi Aluru Chair Professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology KharagpurProf Sarkar's research interests span different areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and in particular data and text mining, natural language processing, and information retrieval. She is using these technologies to build large scale practical systems that can be used to solve real life problems, especially for Indian languages and multilingual issues in retrieval of information relevant to the needs of a given user.
Viswajanani Sattigeri
Scientist-H and Head, CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library UnitDr. Sattigeri is Scientist-H and Head, CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library Unit. The TKDL is a tool for defensive protection of Indian Traditional Knowledge. The TKDL currently contains information of about 5.15 lakh formulations and practices from Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga. Prior to CSIR, she was associated with the New Drug Discovery Research at Ranbaxy Research Laboratories Ltd. She led various drug discovery programs across different therapeutic areas. Dr.Sattigeri was also instrumental in progressing a drug candidate to Phase II clinical trials for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) under the Glaxo SmithKline-Ranbaxy collaboration. Later at SmartAnalyst Pvt. Ltd., a market consultancy firm, she was responsible for providing decision analytics support to big Pharma and biotech companies in the US and Europe.
Ylann Schemm
Executive Director, Elsevier FoundationAs the Elsevier Foundation's Director, Ylann Schemm drives inclusive health and research partnerships to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals building research capacity in developing countries and tackling health inequities. She has been an integral part of the Foundation's growth since joining in 2008. In addition, Ylann is Elsevier's VP of Corporate Responsibility, building on two decades of corporate relations and responsibility roles which focus on gender, 'sound science' and sustainability collaborations. Since 2015, she has served as the Co-Chair of Elsevier's Gender Equity Taskforce which shapes Elsevier's contributions to inclusive research from gender balance in editorial boards to sex and gender analysis in Research. From June 2020- June 2022, Ylann was also served as the Chair of Research4Life's Executive Council, a UN-publisher partnership to bridge access gaps for researchers and doctors in developing countries. Prior to joining Elsevier in 2005, Ylann held various roles in publishing and the non-profit sector, representing the European Platform for Dutch Education at the European Commission. She started her career as a writer and researcher for Time Life Books and holds an MA in Film & Television Studies from the University of Amsterdam and a BA, magna cum laude in English from Amherst College in Massachusetts.
Amrita Sekhar
Senior Program Officer at the Digital & Health Innovation cluster, India Country Office of the Gates FoundationDr Sekhar has a PhD in Biology from the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore. Her role now is to support the local diagnostic and device innovation ecosystem in line with public health priorities. Prior to this she worked as a Consultant at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute and the Christian Medical College in Vellore. Her work spans issues pertaining to vaccines and infectious disease policy. Her primary focus is to strengthen the clinical research ecosystem in India.
Vartika Shukla
Former Chairman & Managing Director of EIL, a Navratna public sector undertaking under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), Government of India, EILVartika played a pivotal role in delivering complex, high-value business services worth more than US $100 billion, spanning engineering consultancy, project management, and EPCM solutions for energy and infrastructure sector clients, including Oil & Gas majors across the globe and Government firms in her career of near 38 years in EIL. She envisioned five pillars for the organization's sustainable growth- Business Diversification, Strategic Alliances, Geographical Expansion, Innovation through Technology and Operational Excellence. She has co-authored 30+ patents in proprietary hardware, process design, and energy technologies and is the recipient of several recognition awards.
Naima Tiné
Consultation Team, InkE projectNaima studied Interdisciplinary Indian Studies and the Transcontinental History of Modernity in Europe at the University of Göttingen. She is currently writing her doctoral thesis on the political economy of motherhood in the Weimar Republic. Since 2025, she has been part of the InkE project, where she works on the consultation team.
Philipp Töpfer
Project Coordinator of the 'Inclusive Excellence in Medicine' initiative and a postdoctoral researcher, Department of Internal Medicine A, University Medicine Greifswald, GermanyDr. Töpfer holds a diploma in Psychology (University of Osnabrück, Germany) and a PhD in psycho-neuroendocrinology and behavioral genetics (Charité Medical School, Berlin, Germany). He is currently Project Coordinator of the 'Inclusive Excellence in Medicine' initiative and a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Internal Medicine A, University Medicine Greifswald, Germany. His research focuses on sex and age effects in child maltreatment–associated long-term cardiometabolic health outcomes. Dr. Töpfer is also a psychotherapist in training, with clinical experience in psychosomatic medicine, psycho-traumatology, personality disorders, and psycho-oncology. His scientific and clinical work integrates biological, psychological, and social perspectives to advance personalized and equitable approaches in medicine and mental health care.
Susam Varughese
Research Programme Manager, WELL LabsSusan Varughese is the Research Programme Manager at WELL Labs and Project Coordinator for the FCDO UKAID funded CLARITY initiative. She has worked in highly collaborative, multinational, interdisciplinary, and scientific environments, especially in the field of hydrology. Some of the projects she has worked on include establishing conservation reserves in the North-East India, establishing hydrological instrumented sites in the Western Ghats, and capacity building programmes. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Science from Pondicherry University.
