22. Shubha Thole

 


 

Subha Thole is a renowned neuroscientist. The gene that controls the function of the most critical part of the human brain has been discovered by her. A recipient of the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award in 2010, Subha is currently a Professor and Principal Researcher at the Tata Institute of Research, Bombay. She  was the 2014 Infosys Prize winner.

Subhas   was  born as the  daughter  of   Aruna P Thole in 1967. Her   mother was involved in the manufacture of  artificial organs for the disabled and cancer patients. Her father was the director of SAMEER, an institute in the Department of Electronics, Government of India. With the encouragement of her parents and school teachers, Subha studied well and showed considerable interest in science subjects. After basic education, biochemistry and biology were chosen for her  college education. Instead of medical school, she studied at St. Xavier's College, Bombay. From there too her  MS. She joined the California Institute of Technology in the United States for her Ph.D. She then joined the University of Chicago for postdoctoral research. In 1999, after doing academic research for 10 years in America, Subha came to India and joined Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Her chosen field was how the human brain develops. She has published many articles and blogs for youth on this subject.

Professional life and research

Subha had already begun studying the development of the mammalian brain in Chicago. She and her husband felt that the results of their research should be useful to their own countrymen, so they went back home. Not many people were working in his field of research in India. She stated “  I thought that our country would benefit if we could attract more young men and women to this sector”. It was then that she got a job offer at Tata Institute. There she started preparing her research laboratory in a few years.

But they quickly realized that it was not an easy task. The huge cost of the equipment was also a reason for that. But the cost of this was covered by the Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship. Equipment brought from abroad took a long time to reach here. Some of the research materials could not be stored at low temperatures and there was a chance that they would go bad. After overcoming all the problems, in 2000, the first paper was prepared from the research results obtained from there. A number of papers were subsequently published. Soon it was more than 40.

Tholey's research was on the development of the human brain. Neuroscience also involved how certain brain diseases occur. However,  their most important contribution was a specific gene (Lhx2) that controls brain development. Much has been learned about brain development in mammals. Many of their inventions were innovative.

 

Subha was a neuroscientist as well as a matric teacher who was very active with students. They also found opportunities to interact with children in blogs and other Q&A sessions. Many post-doctoral researchers work under them. In addition, she is active in many international neuroscience organizations, including the American Society of Cell Biology and the International Affairs Committee. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and the Indian Academy of Sciences.

During her  PhD work in Chicago she met Sandeep Trivedi, a student of Physics, and married in 1989. In 1999, they returned to India together. They had two children

 

Special prizes and awards

 

1. Wellcome Trust Senior International Fellowship (1999)

2. Swarna Jayanti Fellowship from the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

3. National Women Bio scientist Award (2005) from Department of Biotechnology

4. Research Innovation Award from the American Neuroscience Society (2008)

5. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (2010)

6. Wellcome Trust Travel Award, to work at Stanford University for a year.

7. Infosys Award 2014 for discovery of gene that controls brain development. (Rs. 55 lakhs)

Important publications

• LHX2 Interacts with the NuRD Complex and Regulates Cortical Neuron Subtype Determinants Fezf2 and Sox11

• Dmrt5, a Novel Neurogenic Factor, Reciprocally Regulates Lhx2 to Control the Neuron-Glia Cell-Fate Switch in the Developing Hippocampus

• Novel functions of LHX2 and PAX6 in the developing telencephalon revealed upon combined loss of both genes.

 

 

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