M. Radhakrishna Pillai (scientist)
Madhavan Radhakrishna Pillai (born 18 August 1960) is an Indian cancer biologist and the former director of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology. Known for his studies on papilloma viruses, Pillai is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, India, Royal College of Pathologists and the National Academy of Medical Sciences. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2002. Biography Born on 18 August 1960 in the south Indian state of Kerala, Radhakrishna Pillai earned a PhD in tumor immunology from the University of Kerala and did his post-doctoral work in molecular biology and immunopharmacology at the University of Arizona. Returning to India, he joined the Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram in his home state where he served as the head of the Department of Molecular Medicine, Drug Development and Chemoinformatics. In 2005, when he was appointed as the director of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) at the age of 44, he became the youngest director of a national research institution in India, and he holds the post till date.