PUDUCHERRY: Phanithi Prakash Babu, senior professor in the Department of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics at the University of Hyderabad, has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor (V-C) of Pondicherry University.
President Droupadi Murmu, as the Visitor of the university, made the appointment by exercising her authority under Statute 1(A) of the Pondicherry University Act, 1985, according to an official communication from the Ministry of Education director (CU-I) Subhash Chand Sharu, which was sent to the Pondicherry University registrar.
Babu will hold the office for a term of five years or until he is 70, whichever is earlier. He has three decades of experience in academics and research in the fields of neurosciences and neurodegenerative diseases. In 1992, the professor earned his PhD from the University of Hyderabad, where he later established himself as a leading researcher and educator.
Babu’s career includes long-standing associations with the University of Hyderabad, where he served as a professor in the Department of Biotechnology (2006-present), reader in the Department of Animal Sciences (2001-2006), lecturer in the Department of Animal Sciences (1996-2000), and a lecturer in Department of Zoology at S V University in Tirupati (1992-1996).
Babu held key positions in international neuroscience organisations, including V-P, Society for Neurochemistry India (2012-2013) and general secretary, Society for Neurochemistry India (2006-2011). He received several awards, including B P Pande Memorial Oration Award, Indian Society for Parasitology and Tulsabai Somani Educational Trust Award, Indian Academy of Neuroscience.