Shankar Balasubramanian
{{Short description|Indian-born British chemist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_prefix = Professor
| name = Sir Shankar Balasubramanian
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRS|FMedSci|size=100%}}
| image = Shankar Balasubramanian, Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1966|09|30}}
{{Who's Who | author=Anon| title=Balasubramanian, Prof. Shankar | id = U256669 | year = 2017 | edition = online Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.256669}}
| birth_place = Madras, Madras State
(now Chennai, Tamil Nadu), India
| alma_mater = University of Cambridge
| doctoral_advisor = Chris Abell
| doctoral_students = Julian Huppert{{cite journal|last1=Huppert|first1=J. L.|last2=Balasubramanian|first2=S.|title=Prevalence of quadruplexes in the human genome|journal=Nucleic Acids Research|volume=33|issue=9|year=2005|pages=2908–2916|doi=10.1093/nar/gki609|pmid=15914667|pmc=1140081}}{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Cambridge|title=Studies on genomic G-quadruplexes|first= Julian Leon|last=Huppert|date=2005|url=https://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=44CAM_ALMA21431254530003606&context=L&vid=44CAM_PROD&search_scope=SCOP_CAM_ALL&tab=cam_lib_coll&lang=en_US|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.604822}}|oclc=885437272|website=lib.cam.ac.uk}}
| website = {{URL|http://www.ch.cam.ac.uk/group/shankar}}
https://www.cruk.cam.ac.uk/research-groups/balasubramanian-group
| nationality = British
| thesis_title = Studies on the reaction mechanism of chorismate synthase
| thesis_url = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.386780
| thesis_year = 1992
| awards = {{Plainlist|
- Corday-Morgan Prize (2002)
- EMBO Member (2013)
- Tetrahedron Prize (2013)
- Royal Medal (2018)
- Millennium Technology Prize (2020)
- Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2022)
- Canada Gairdner International Award (2024)}}
| work_institution = {{Plainlist|
- University of Cambridge
- Pennsylvania State University
- Cancer Research UK
- Cambridge Epigenetix
- Solexa
- Trinity College, Cambridge}}
| known_for = {{Plainlist|
- Nucleic acids research
- G-quadruplexes
- Solexa sequencing technology}}
}}
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian (born 30 September 1966) is an Indian-born British chemist{{Cite journal
| pmid = 17582897
| year = 2007
| last1 = Balasubramanian
| first1 = S
| title = From DNA to mountain climbing. Shankar Balasubramanian talks to Alison Stoddart about his research and other interests
| journal = Molecular BioSystems
| volume = 3
| issue = 5
| pages = B37
| pmid = 23522090
| year = 2013
| last1 = Balasubramanian
| first1 = S
| title = An interview with Shankar Balasubramanian
| journal = Trends in Biochemical Sciences
| volume = 38
| issue = 4
| pages = 170–1
| doi = 10.1016/j.tibs.2013.02.006
}} and Herchel Smith Professor{{cite web |title=University of Cambridge, 2011. Herchel Smith Academics . |url=http://www.herchelsmith.cam.ac.uk/community/academics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117205122/http://www.herchelsmith.cam.ac.uk/community/academics/ |archive-date=17 November 2012 }} [Accessed 8 April 2013]. of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge,{{cite web|title=University of Cambridge, 2013. The Balasubramanian Group.|url=http://www-shankar.ch.cam.ac.uk}} [Accessed 4 April 2013].{{cite web | title=Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian FMedSci FRS | website=Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry | url=https://www.ch.cam.ac.uk/person/sb10031 | access-date=13 December 2021}} Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.{{cite web | title=Master & Fellows | website=Trinity College Cambridge | date=10 November 2021 | url=https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/fellows/master-fellows/ | access-date=13 December 2021}} He is recognised for his contributions in the field of nucleic acids.{{Scopus|id=7201550638}} He is scientific founder of SolexaIllumina, 2013. SBS Technology.[online] Available at: <{{cite web |url=http://technology.illumina.com/technology/next-generation-sequencing/solexa-technology.html |title=History of Illumina Sequencing |access-date=2014-10-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141009113509/http://technology.illumina.com/technology/next-generation-sequencing/solexa-technology.html |archive-date=9 October 2014 }}> [Accessed 8 April 2013]{{Cite journal | last1 = Bentley | first1 = D. R. | last2 = Balasubramanian | first2 = S. | last3 = Swerdlow | first3 = H. P. | last4 = Smith | first4 = G. P. | last5 = Milton | first5 = J. | last6 = Brown | first6 = C. G. | last7 = Hall | first7 = K. P. | last8 = Evers | first8 = D. J. | last9 = Barnes | first9 = C. L. | last10 = Bignell | doi = 10.1038/nature07517 | first10 = H. R. | last11 = Boutell | first11 = J. M. | last12 = Bryant | first12 = J. | last13 = Carter | first13 = R. J. | last14 = Keira Cheetham | first14 = R. | last15 = Cox | first15 = A. J. | last16 = Ellis | first16 = D. J. | last17 = Flatbush | first17 = M. R. | last18 = Gormley | first18 = N. A. | last19 = Humphray | first19 = S. J. | last20 = Irving | first20 = L. J. | last21 = Karbelashvili | first21 = M. S. | last22 = Kirk | first22 = S. M. | last23 = Li | first23 = H. | last24 = Liu | first24 = X. | last25 = Maisinger | first25 = K. S. | last26 = Murray | first26 = L. J. | last27 = Obradovic | first27 = B. | last28 = Ost | first28 = T. | last29 = Parkinson | first29 = M. L. | last30 = Pratt | first30 = M. R. | display-authors = 29 | title = Accurate whole human genome sequencing using reversible terminator chemistry | journal = Nature | volume = 456 | issue = 7218 | pages = 53–59 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18987734 | pmc =2581791 | bibcode = 2008Natur.456...53B }} and biomodal (formally Cambridge Epigenetix).{{cite web |date=19 January 2020 |title=Shankar Balasubramanian |url=https://biomodal.com/team/shankar-balasubramanian/ |access-date=13 December 2021 |website=biomodal integrates multiple modes of biology from a single sample in a single experiment to provide transformative insights into health and disease.}}{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706081324/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/Ba6y-nMuKv3KG3r7164IhB0Nrs8/appointments|archive-date=2016-07-06|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/Ba6y-nMuKv3KG3r7164IhB0Nrs8/appointments|website=companieshouse.gov.uk|publisher=Companies House|location=London|title=Shankar BALASUBRAMANIAN}}
Education
Born in Madras (now Chennai) India in 1966, Shankar Balasubramanian moved to the UK with his parents in 1967. He grew up in a rural area just outside Runcorn, Cheshire, and attended Daresbury Primary School, then Appleton Hall High School (which has since amalgamated to form Bridgewater High School). He went on to study the Natural Sciences Tripos at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he did his undergraduate degree from 1985 to 1988 and continued with a PhD{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Shankar|last=Balasubramanian |title=Studies on the reaction mechanism of chorismate synthase |publisher=University of Cambridge |date=1991 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=5839|oclc=60112382|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.386780}}|website=lib.cam.ac.uk}} for research on the reaction mechanism of the enzyme chorismate synthase supervised by Chris Abell (1988–1991).{{cite web|url=http://www.fitz.cam.ac.uk/about/newsitem-3-198|title=Fitz alumni on top science list|year=2014|publisher=Fitzwilliam College|access-date=6 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222004916/http://www.fitz.cam.ac.uk/about/newsitem-3-198|archive-date=22 February 2014}}
Career and research
Following his PhD, Balasubramanian travelled to the United States as a SERC/NATO Research Fellow and worked in the group of Stephen J. Benkovic at Pennsylvania State University (1991–1993). {{citation needed|date=January 2023}}
He began his independent academic career in 1994 at the University of Cambridge and has remained there ever since, first as College Lecturer, then University Lecturer (1998), University Reader in Chemical Biology (2003) and Professor of Chemical Biology (2007). He was most recently appointed Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in 2008.{{cite web | title=Home | website=Balasubramanian Group | date=19 August 2016 | url=https://www.balasubramanian.co.uk/ | access-date=13 December 2021}}
He currently{{when|date=July 2016}} directs research laboratories in the Department of Chemistry and also the Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Cambridge Institute at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.{{cite web | title=Balasubramanian Group | website=Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute | date=6 September 2021 | url=https://www.cruk.cam.ac.uk/research-groups/balasubramanian-group | access-date=13 December 2021}} His former doctoral students include Julian Huppert.
Balasubramanian works in the field of nucleic acids. His citation on election to the Royal Society reads: {{centered pull quote|Shankar Balasubramanian is an internationally recognised leader in the field of nucleic acids who is distinguished for pioneering contributions to chemistry and its application to the biological and medical sciences. He is a principal inventor of the leading next generation sequencing methodology, Solexa sequencing, that has made routine, accurate, low-cost sequencing of human genomes a reality and has revolutionised biology. He has made seminal contributions to the identification, elucidation and manipulation of non-coding genetic elements, particularly four-stranded structures called G-quadruplexes. His work on the intervention of nucleic acid function using small molecules has revealed a number of molecular mechanisms that can be exploited, e.g. to modulate the biology of cancer.{{Cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/fellowship/2012/shankar-balasubramanian/|title = Shankar Balasubramanian | Royal Society}}}}
More recently Balasubramanian has been inventing and applying new chemical methods to study epigenetic changes to DNA bases including single base resolution sequencing of 5-formylcytosine, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and 5-methylcytosine.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1126/science.1220671| title = Quantitative Sequencing of 5-Methylcytosine and 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine at Single-Base Resolution| journal = Science| volume = 336| issue = 6083| pages = 934–937| year = 2012| last1 = Booth | first1 = M. J.| last2 = Branco | first2 = M. R.| last3 = Ficz | first3 = G.| last4 = Oxley | first4 = D.| last5 = Krueger | first5 = F.| last6 = Reik | first6 = W.| last7 = Balasubramanian | first7 = S.| pmid = 22539555| bibcode = 2012Sci...336..934B| s2cid = 13922525}}{{Cite journal
| pmid = 22902005
| year = 2012
| last1 = Raiber
| first1 = E. A.
| title = Genome-wide distribution of 5-formylcytosine in embryonic stem cells is associated with transcription and depends on thymine DNA glycosylase
| journal = Genome Biology
| volume = 13
| issue = 8
| pages = R69
| last2 = Beraldi
| first2 = D
| last3 = Ficz
| first3 = G
| last4 = Burgess
| first4 = H. E.
| last5 = Branco
| first5 = M. R.
| last6 = Murat
| first6 = P
| last7 = Oxley
| first7 = D
| last8 = Booth
| first8 = M. J.
| last9 = Reik
| first9 = W
| last10 = Balasubramanian
| first10 = S
| doi = 10.1186/gb-2012-13-8-r69
| pmc = 3491369
| doi-access = free
=Honours and awards=
Honours and awards include:
- 1998 Glaxo Wellcome Award for Innovative Organic Chemistry
- 2002 Corday–Morgan Medal and Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry{{cite web | title=Corday-Morgan Prizes | website=Royal Society of Chemistry | date=10 September 2020 | url=https://www.rsc.org/prizes-funding/prizes/find-a-prize/corday-morgan-prizes/ | access-date=13 December 2021}}
- 2009 Royal Society Mullard Award{{cite web | title=Royal Society Mullard Award | website=Royal Society | date=12 November 2021 | url=https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/mullard-award/ | access-date=13 December 2021}}
- 2010 BBSRC Innovator of the Year[https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20210302194829/https://bbsrc.ukri.org/innovation/maximising-impact/fostering-innovation/innovator-of-the-year/ BBSRC Innovator of the Year], BBSRC.ukri.org. Accessed 30 January 2023.
- 2010 BBSRC Commercial Innovator of the Year
- 2011 Elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci){{cite web | title=Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian | website=The Academy of Medical Sciences | url=https://acmedsci.ac.uk/fellows/fellows-directory/ordinary-fellows/fellow/Shankar-Balasubramanian-0033z00002qIJGCAA4 | access-date=13 December 2021}}
- 2012 Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS){{cite web | title=Shankar Balasubramanian | website=Royal Society | date=19 September 2015 | url=https://royalsociety.org/people/shankar-balasubramanian-11031/ | access-date=13 December 2021}}
- 2012 Elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO){{cite web | title=Find people in the EMBO Communities | website=Find people in the EMBO Communities | url=https://people.embo.org/profile/shankar-balasubramanian | access-date=13 December 2021}}
- 2013 Tetrahedron PrizeElsevier Tetrahedron prize winners: <{{cite web |url=http://www.elsevier.com/physical-sciences/chemistry/organic-chemistry/tetrahedron-prize-for-creativity-in-organic-chemistry-or-bioorganic-medicinal-chemistry |title=Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry or Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry | Elsevier |access-date=2015-01-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909101444/http://www.elsevier.com/physical-sciences/chemistry/organic-chemistry/tetrahedron-prize-for-creativity-in-organic-chemistry-or-bioorganic-medicinal-chemistry |archive-date=9 September 2014 }}>
- 2014 Biochemical Society Heatley Medal and PrizeBiochemical Society, 2009–12.2014 Biochemical Society award winners announced[online] Available at: <{{cite web |url=http://www.biochemistry.org/Awards/2014Winners.aspx |title=2014 Winners |access-date=2013-04-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616235734/http://www.biochemistry.org/Awards/2014Winners.aspx |archive-date=16 June 2013 }}> [Accessed 10 April 2013].
- 2015 Chemical Research Society of India Medal{{Cite web|url=https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/news/honour-for-trinity-fellow-professor-shankar-balasubramanian/|title = Honour for Trinity Fellow Professor Shankar Balasubramanian|date = 10 January 2017}}
- 2017 Appointed Knight Bachelor in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to science and medicine.{{London Gazette|issue=61803|supp=y|page=N2|date=31 December 2016}}
- 2018 Royal Medal{{Cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/royal-medal/|title=Royal Medals | Royal Society|website=royalsociety.org|accessdate=13 December 2021}}
- 2020 Millennium Technology Prize{{cite web | title=Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian co-awarded Millennium Technology Prize | website=Trinity College Cambridge | date=19 May 2021 | url=https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/news/professor-sir-shankar-balasubramanian-co-awarded-millennium-technology-prize/ | access-date=13 December 2021}}
- 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences{{cite web | title=Trinity Fellows awarded Breakthrough Prizes | website=Trinity College Cambridge | date=10 September 2021 | url=https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/news/trinity-fellows-awarded-breakthrough-prizes/ | access-date=13 December 2021}}
- 2023 Elected international member of the National Academy of Sciences{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2023-nas-election.html | title=News - NAS }}
- 2024 Canada Gairdner International Award[https://www.gairdner.org/winners Canada Gairdner International Award 2024]
References
{{Reflist}}
{{FRS 2012}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Scientists from Chennai
Category:Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge
Category:Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Category:Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization
Category:Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society
Category:Members of the University of Cambridge Department of Chemistry