T. A. Venkitasubramanian

{{Infobox scientist

| name = T. A. Venkitasubramanian

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1924|1|1}}

| birth_place = Thrissur, Kerala, India

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2003|11|8|1924|1|1}}

| death_place = Ottapalam, Kerala, India

| residence =

| nationality = Indian

| fields = Medical biochemistry

| workplaces = {{ublist | Indian Institute of Science | Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute | Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology }}

| alma_mater = {{ublist | Maharaja's College, Ernakulam | University of Madras | University of Madison, Wisconsin | Columbia University }}

| doctoral_advisor =

| doctoral_students =

| known_for = Biochemistry of Tubercle Bacillus

| awards = 1968 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize

}}

Tathamangalam Ananthanarayanan Venkitasubramanian (1924–2003), popularly known as TAV, was an Indian biochemist, known for his researches on tuberculosis and the biochemistry of bacillus.{{cite journal | url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/nov102004/1303.pdf | title=T. A. Venkitasubramanian (1924–2003) | author=Jaya Sivaswamy Tyagi | journal=Current Science | date=10 November 2004 | volume=87 | issue=9 | pages=1303}} He was a professor and the head of the department of biochemistry at Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, Delhi.{{cite web | url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/53365/4/04_acknowledgment.pdf | title=Acknowledgement | publisher=Shodhganga | date=2016 | access-date=14 September 2016}} The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1968, for his contributions to biological sciences.{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/Content/AwardeeList.aspx | title=View Bhatnagar Awardees | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=4 September 2016}}

Biography

Born in Thrissur district of the south Indian state of Kerala on 1 January 1924 to T. P. Ananthanarayana Iyer and Narayani Amma, Venkitasubramanian did his early schooling at a local school before securing his bachelor's (BSc) and master's (MSc) degrees from Maharaja's College, Ernakulam. He started his career at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, simultaneously doing his doctoral research at the University of Madras to secure a PhD in biochemistry in 1951. The next four years were spent in the US as a post-doctoral fellow at University of Madison, Wisconsin and Columbia University before returning to India to join Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, Delhi as a senior research officer in 1956 and he stayed at the institute holding various positions till his superannuation as a professor and head of the department of biochemistry in 1988. After his official retirement, he served as an emeritus professor at Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (then known as the Centre for Biochemical Technology) till 1994. He was known to have done pioneering research on the biochemistry of tubercle bacilli and his researches assisted in the better understanding of the intermediary metabolism in cultured mycobacteria and in experimental tuberculosis models.{{cite book|author1=T.K. Ghose|author2=P. Ghosh|title=Biotechnology in India I|url=https://archive.org/details/springer_10.1007-3-540-36488-9|date=3 July 2003|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-540-36488-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/springer_10.1007-3-540-36488-9/page/n223 214]–}}{{Refn|group=note|His research findings have been used by others in their researches on mycobacterium.{{cite journal | url=http://ilacadofsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/069-34-print.pdf | title=Fatty Acids of Mycobacterium Smegmatis Lipids | author=Hugh J O'Neill, Leon D. Gershbein | journal=Transactions, Ill. State Acad. Sci. | year=1976 | volume=69 | issue=3}}}} His work also helped in understanding the biochemical pathology of tuberculosis.{{cite web | url=http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/ssb.pdf | title=Handbook of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Winners | publisher=Council of Scientific and Industrial Research | date=1999 | access-date=12 September 2016 | pages=37}} He also worked on Aspergillus parasiticus, a type of mold which produces aflatoxin and in the biosynthesis of those cancer-causing chemicals.{{cite book|author1=A.K.Roy & K.K.Sinha(ed)|author2=Awadh Kishore Roy|title=Recent Advances in Phytopathological Researches|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7U-Rj6w5TXkC&pg=PA177|date=1 January 1995|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.|isbn=978-81-85880-76-1|pages=177–}} He published over 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals, detailing his research findings; PubMed, an online knowledge repository have listed 247 of them.{{cite web | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed | title=Search results | publisher=PubMed | date=2016 | access-date=14 September 2016}}{{Refn|group=note|Search criterion: Venkitasubramanian T. A.}}

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research awarded Venkitasubramanian the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for his contributions to biological sciences in 1968.{{cite web | url=http://ssbprize.gov.in/content/Detail.aspx?AID=283 | title=Brief Profile of the Awardee | publisher=Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | date=2016 | access-date=13 September 2016}} He was married to L. Sarada, a biochemist, and the couple had two daughters, Viveka and Divya. The family was staying in Pune but moved later to Ottapalam in his home state where he died on 8 November 2003, succumbing to progressive supranuclear palsy.{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/2003/11/30/16hdline.htm | title=Obituary | newspaper=The Hindu | date=30 November 2003 | access-date=14 September 2016}}

Selected articles

{{cite journal | title=High Aflatoxin Production on a Chemically Defined Medium | author=T. V. Reddy; L. Viswanathan; T. A. Venkitasubramanian | journal=Applied and Environmental Microbiology | date=September 1971 | volume=22 | issue=3 | pages=393–396| doi=10.1128/AEM.22.3.393-396.1971 | pmid=5119206 | pmc=376320 | doi-access=free }}
{{cite journal | title=Biosynthesis of aflatoxins | author=K. K. Maggon; S. K. Gupta; T. A. Venkitasubramanian | journal=Bacteriol Rev | date=December 1977 | volume=41 | issue=4 | pages=822–855 | pmc=414029 | pmid=23090| doi=10.1128/MMBR.41.4.822-855.1977 }}
{{cite journal | title=Inhibition of aflatoxin biosynthesis by tolnaftate | author=S. N. Khan; K. K. Maggon; T. A. Venkitasubramanian | journal=Appl Environ Microbiol | date=August 1978 | volume=36 | issue=2 | pages=270–273 | pmc=291213 | pmid=697362| doi=10.1128/AEM.36.2.270-273.1978 | bibcode=1978ApEnM..36..270K }}
{{cite journal | title=Regulation of aflatoxin biosynthesis: effect of adenine nucleotides, cyclic AMP and N6-O2' -dibutyryl cyclic AMP on the incorporation of (1-14C)-acetate into aflatoxins by Aspergillus parasiticus NRRL-3240. | author=Khan S. N.; Venkitasubramanian T. A. | journal=J Environ Sci Health B | date=February 1986 | volume=21 | issue=1 | pages=67–85 | doi=10.1080/03601238609372511| pmid=3011881 | bibcode=1986JESHB..21...67K }}
{{cite journal | title=Purification and properties of aspartate transcarbamylase from Mycobacterium smegmatis. | author=Masood R.; Venkitasubramanian T. A. | journal=Biochim Biophys Acta | date=March 1988 | volume=953 | issue=1 | pages=106–113 | pmid=3342242 | doi=10.1016/0167-4838(88)90014-3}}
{{cite journal | title=Changes in liver polyamines due to aflatoxin B1. | author=Chaturvedi A.; Khanna Y. P.; Taneja S. K.; Venkitasubramanian T. A.; Raj H. G. | journal=Toxicol Lett | date=November 1986 | volume=34 | issue=1 | pages=1–4 | pmid=3097877 | doi=10.1016/0378-4274(86)90138-4}}