Dr.B.Sesikeran, Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research has been a nutritional pathologist of repute for over 30 years. He has an MBBS degree from Stanley Medical College, Chennai and an MD in Pathology from Gandhi Medical College, Hyderabad. He nurtured an interest for Nutrition Sciences right in his student days. In fact, as a student he received the Nutrition Medal from the Department of Community Medicine at Stanley Medical College.

He has joined the National Institute of Nutrition in 1977 and has been serving as the Director of the Institute since 2006. His areas of research interest where he has made significant contributions are in nutritional pathology, diet and cancer, micronutrients and apoptosis and iron absorption from the gut. Before assuming charge as the Director of NIN he was the Co-ordinator for the Pre-clinical Toxicology Unit at the Institute which is now known all over the country for its excellence. He has helped in setting up several Toxicology labs in Government as well as in Industrial sectors.

In addition, he is a well known diagnostic pathologist in Andhra Pradesh. He served as Secretary, Indian Association of Pathologists & Microbiologists of AP and Joint Secretary for Nutrition Society of India. He is a Fellow of the A.P. Akademi of Sciences, National Academy of Medical Sciences and International Medical Scientists Academy. He is also guiding many PhDs, MD and MDS students.

He has to his credit over 50 publications in national international journals, 7 chapters in books and monographs, several technical reports, papers in proceedings of conferences and popular articles.

He is a recipient of many awards and honours, the most significant among them being, Best Paper Award at IAPM XIV Annual Conference in 1995; Best Paper Award from Indian Society of Gastroenterology, 1997; Rao Rangayamma Memorial Oration Award from Department of Oncology, NIMS, Hyderabad in 2000, Jubilee S Prathap Kumar Endowment Lecture Award from the Indian Dietetic Association in 2003; Dr.K.V.Rao Memorial Oration from Dr.K.V.Rao Scientific Society in 2007; Fellow of A.P.Akademi of Sciences, Hyderabadin 2007; Fellow of National Academy of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in 2008; Dr.D. Govinda Reddy Memorial Oration Award from NTR University of Health Sciences in 2008; Dr.P.Narasimha Rao International Award from International Medical Sciences Academy, New Delhi in 2009 and Kamalapuri Sabharwal Memorial Oration Award from Lady Irwin College, New Delhi in 2009.

1. Reddy D Raja, Sastry KVR, Subba Rao K, Reddy PK, Naidu MRC, Rao SBP. and Sesikeran B. Cystic Mengiomas in children. Child's Nerv Syst 2: 317-319, 1986.

2. Annapurna VV, Mukundan MA , Sesikeran B. and Bamji MS. Effects of female sex steroids on Concanavalin – A mediated agglutination of hepatocytes from non-regenerating and regenerating rat liver and hepatic tumor marker enzymes. Biochem Med Metab Biol 38(3): 259-264, 1987.

3. Bhat RV, Sesikeran B, Reddy VK. and Radhaiah G. Toxicological evaluation of Gum Karaya in Rhesus Monkeys. J Food Safety 8(3): 161-166, 1987.

4. Giridharan N, Sesikeran B, Bamji MS. and Madhyastha MN. Dose and time related changes in LDH-X activity/epididymal carnitine levels and fertility in gossypol treated male rats. Contraception 35(1): 89-100, 1987.

5. Annapurna VV, Mukundan MA, Sesikeran B, Bamji MS. Long term effects of female sex steroids on female rat liver in an initiator – promoter model of hepatocarcinogenesis. Indian J Biochem Biophys. 25 (6): 708-713, 1988.

6. Annapurna VV, Mukundan MA, Sesikeran B. and Bamji MS. Effect of Ovulen-50 Diethylnitrosamine and phenobarbitol on liver regeneration in female rats. J Biosci. 14(1): 1-7, 1989.

7. Raghuram TC, Sesikeran B. and Bhat RV. Ergot and idiopathic sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis. Lancet. II (8668): 917, 1989.

8. Thavaraj V. and Sesikeran B. Histopathological changes in skin of children with clinical protein-calorie malnutrition before and after recovery. J Trop Pediatr 35(3): 105-108, 1989.

9. Polasa K, Sesikeran B, Prasanna Krishna T. and Krishnaswamy K. Turmeric (Cucuma longa) – induced reduction in urinary mutagens. Food Chem Toxicol 29(10): 699-706, 1991.

10. Srinivasa Rao P, Udayasekhara Rao P. and Sesikeran B. Serum cholesterol, triglycerides and total lipid fatty acids of rats in response to Okra (Hibiscus esculentus) seed oil. J Am Oil Chem Soc 68(6): 433- 435, 1991.

11. Sundeep Reddy G, Sesikeran B. and Syamala Bhaskaran C. Nucleolar organizer regions in smooth muscle and breast tumors. Indian J Pathol Microbiol 35(3): 219-228, 1992.

12. Harinarayana Rao S and Sesikeran B. Congenital anophthalmia in CFY rats : A newly identified autosomal recessive mutation. Lab Animal Sci 42(6): 623-625, 1992.

13. Quadri SSYH. and Sesikeran B. Spontaneous malignant fibrous histocytomas in Sprague Dawley rat. Lab Animals India 1(4): 43-46, 1992.

14. Jagadeesan V, Jayanthi Rao N and Sesikeran B. Effect of iron deficiency on DMH-induced gastrointestinal tract tumours and occurrence of hepatocyte abnormalities in fischer rats. Nutr Cancer 22 (3): 285-291, 1994.

15. Sesikeran B, Harinarayana Rao S, Krishnamurthi D, Raja Reddy D. Studies on sural nerve biopsies in endemic skeletal fluorosis. Fluoride 27(4): 189-193, 1994.

16. Ghafoorunissa, Reddy V. and Sesikeran B. Palmolein and groundnut oil have comparable effect on blood lipids and platelet aggregation in healthy subjects. Lipids 30(12): 1163-1170, 1995.

17. Nagababu E, Sesikaran B. and Lakshmaiah N. The protective effects of eugenol on carbon tetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in rat. Free Radical Res 23(6): 617-627, 1995.

18. Lakshmy R, Srinivasa Rao P, Sesikeran B. and Padmini Suryaprakash. Iodine metabolism in response to goitrogen induced altered thyroid status under conditions of moderate and high intake of iodine. Horm Metab Res 27(10): 450-454, 1995.

19. Babu S, Bhat RV, Udayakumar P, Sesikeran B, Visweswara Rao K, Aruna P, Ramachandra Reddy, P. A comparative clinicopathological study or oral submucous fibrosis in habitual chewers of pan masala and betel quid. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol 34(3): 317-322. 1996.

20. Udayasekhara Rao P, Sesikeran B, Srinivasa Rao P, Naidu AN, Vikas Rao V, Ramachandran EP. Short term nutritional and safety evaluation of fenugreek. Nutr Res. 16(9): 1495- 1505, 1996.

21. Babu S, Sesikeran B. and Bhat RV. Oral sub-mucous fibrosis among teenagers chewing tobacco areca nut and pan masala. Lancet 348 (9027): 692, 1996.

22. Nair KM, Sesikeran B, Ranganthan S. and SivaKumar B. Bioeffect and safety of long term feeding of common salt fortified with iron and iodine (double fortified salt) in rat. Nutr Res 18 (1): 121-130, 1998.

23. Kamala Krishnaswamy, Goud VK, Sesikeran B, Mukundan MA, Krishna TP. Retardation of experimental tumorigenesis and reduction in DNA adducts by turmeric and curcumin. Nutrition and Cancer 30(2): 163-166, 1998.

24. Ayesha Ismail, Raghunath M, Sesikeran B. and Raghuramulu N. Effect of oral administration of vitamin D on glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Metab Nutr 11(5): 261-265, 1999.

25. Sesikeran B, Krishnamurthi D, Hari Narayana Rao S, Ramachandran EP and Raja Reddy D. Studies on skeletal muscle biopsies in endemic skeletal fluorosis. Neurology India 48: 187-188, 2000.

26. Bhanuprakash Reddy G, Yadagiri Reddy P, Vijayalakshmi A, Satish Kumar M, Suryanarayana P. and Sesikeran B. Effect of long term dietary manipulation on the aggregation of rat lens crystallins: Role of -crystallin chaperone function Molecular Vision 8: 298- 305, 2002.

27. Ghafoorunissa, Vani A, Laxmi R, Sesikeran B. Effect of dietary alpha linolenic acid from blended oils on biochemical indices of coronary heart disease in Indians. Lipids 37(11): 1077-1086, 2002.

28. Bhaskaram P, Madhavan Nair K, Balakrishna N, Ravinder P, Sesikeran B. Serum transferring receptor in children with respiratory infections. Eur J Clin Nutr 57: 75-80, 2003.

29. Anand K Kondapi, Neelima Mulpuri, Mandraju RK, Sesikeran B, Subba Rao K.Analysis of age dependant changes of Topoisomerase II ά and ß in rat brain. Int J Devl Neurosci. 22: 19-30, 2004.

30. Vasanthi Siriguri, Sesikeran B. and Ramesh V Bhat. Starlink genetically modified corn and allergenicity in an individual. J Allergy Clin Immunol 13(5): 1003, 2004.

31. Madhavan Nair K, Bhaskaram P, Balakrishna N, Ravinder P. and Sesikeran B. Serum Transferrin receptor to detect iron deficiency and evaluate the effect of iron supplement in pregnant women- A prospective study. Nutrition 20(10) , 2004.

32. Lakshmi B Vijaya, Sesikeran B, Udaykumar P, Kalyanasundaram S, Raghunath M. Effects of vitamin restriction and supplementation on rat intestinal epithelial cell apoptosis. Free Radical and Medicine 38: 1614-1624, 2005.

33. Vijayalakshmi B, Sesikeran B, Uday Kumar P, Kalyanasundaram S and Raghunath M. Chronic low intake of protein or vitamins increases apoptosis in the intestinal epithelial cells in WNIN rats. Nutrition – The Int. J Basic Appl. Nutr. 21: 949-960, 2005

34. Jeyakumar SM, Vajreswari A, Sesikeran B and Giridharan NV. Vitamin A supplementation induces adipose tissue loss through apoptosis in lean but not in obese rats of the WNIN/Ob strain. J Mol Endocrinol 35: 391-398, 2005.

35. Syed Qadri SYH, Uday Kumar P. and Sesikeran B. Spontaneous pathological lesions of liver and lungs in pre-clinical toxicology evaluation studies. Ind J Vet Pathol. 29(2): 102-105, 2005.

36. Vijayalakshmi B, Sesikeran B, Uday Kumar P, Kalyanasundaram S and Raghunath M. Chronic low vitamin intake potentiates cisplatin induced apoptosis in the intestinal epithelial cells in WNIN rat. World J Gastroenterol 21, 12(7): 1078-85, 2006.

37. Uday Kumar P, Dinesh Kumar B, Annapurna VV, Prasanna Krishna T, Kalyanasundaram S, Suresh P, Harishankar N, Jagadeesan V, Hariharan S, Nadamuni Naidu A, Krishnaswamy K, Rangarajan PN, Srinivasan VA, Reddy GA. and Sesikeran B. Non-clinical toxicology study of recombinant-plasmid DNA anti-rabies vaccines. Vaccine 24: 2790-2798, 2006.

38. Sesikeran B. Micronutrients and cancer. The Ind. J. Nutr. Dietet. 43: 259-261, 2006.

39. Mahesh Kumar J, Reddy L, Aparna V, Srinivas G, Nagarajan P, Venkatesh R, Sreekumar C, Sesikeran B. Strobilocerus fasciolaris infection with hepatic sarcoma and gastroenteropathy in a Wistar colony. Veterinary Parasitology 141: 362-367, 2006.

40. Vasantha LK, Sesikeran B. and Madhavan Nair K. Evidence for a sequential transfer of iron amongst ferritin, transferrin and transferrin receptor during duodenal absorption of iron in rat and human. World J Gastroenterol 21; 13(7): 1042-1052, 2007.

41. Ranganathan S. and Sesikeran B. Development of the Double Fortified Salt from the National Institute of Nutrition. Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 7: 390-396, 2008.

42. Sesikeran B. and Siruguri Vasanthi. Constantly evolving safety assessment protocols for GM foods. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 17(S1): 241-244, 2008.

43. Hemalatha R, Ramalakshmi BA, Quadri SSYH, Balakrishna N, Annapurna VV. and Sesikeran B. Intrauterine growth restriction in term women with histologic chorioamnionitis. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 1(1):18-24, 2008.

44. Dorisetty RK, Sashi Kiran G, Malathi RU, Sesikeran B. and Bhonde RR. And Vijayalakshmi Venkatesan. Immunolocalization of nestin in pancreatic tissue of mice at different ages. World J Gastroenterol 14(46): 7112-7116, 2008.

45. Bhaskarachary K, Ramulu P, Udayasekhara Rao P, Bapurao S, Kamala Krishnaswamy, Syed Qadri, Udayakumar P. and Sesikeran B. Nutritional and toxicological evaluation of wheat grown on soils with or without fly ash treatment. J Sci Food Agric 89: 384-389, 2009.

46. Uday Kumar P, Neelam L, Kaladhar M. and Sesikeran B. Immunohistochemical study of Aging Rat Brain – Effect of High Aluminium and Restricted Calcium in Diets. Ann Natl Acad Sci (India) 45(2): 117-129, 2009.

47. Harishankar N, Uday Kumar P, Sesikeran B. and Giridharan NV. Obesity associated pathophysiological and histological changes in WNIN obese rats. Laboratory Investigation (communicated), 2009.

48. Quadri SSYH, Uday Kumar P. and Sesikeran B. Importance of pathology in toxicological studies (communicated)

1. Sesikeran B. and Kamala Krishnaswamy (Book Review): Human Nutrition in the Developing World, ed. M.C.Latham, FAO Food Nutr, Sr 29 ( Reviewed in Current Science) 75 (9) : 963, 1998.

2. Sesikeran B. A historical dictionary of OF INDIAN FOOD, ED.BY K.T.ACHAYA. Oxford Univ.Press, Delhi, 1998. (Reviewed in Indian J Med.Res.109 (5):195, 1999.

3. Patnaik R, Choudary TN, Sesikeran B. Nutrition and the skin. IADVL Text Book and Atlas of Dermatology ed. Valia RG, Valia AR. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. (2001), Bhalani Publishing House, Mumbai, India.

4. Sivakumar B, Rameswara Sarma KV, Brahmam GNV, Sesikeran B, Venkaiah K, Dinesh Kumar B, Hari Kumar R, Radhakrishna KV, Babu JJ, Arlappa N, et al. In: Tsunami: ICMR Response” ed. & publ. By M.D.Gupte, NIE, ICMR, Chennai, 35-36, 2005..

5. Sesikeran B. Emerging Viruses : The greatest challenge to Biosecurity – A historical perspective In: Biosecurity, Eds. Shetty PK, Ajay Parida and Swaminathan MS., pp. 153-159, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, 2008.

6. Qadri SSYH, Uday Kumar P. and Sesikeran B. Importance of Pathology in Toxicological studies. In: Good Laboratory Practice: Emphasis on Medical Devices, ed. Mohanan PV. & Mahader Murthy, pp. 126-130, Thiruvananthapuram, SCTIMST, 2009.

7. Enika Nagababu Joseph M Rifkind, Sesikeran Boindala and Lakshmaiah Nakka Assessment of antioxidant activity of Eugenol In vitro and In vivo. In : Free Radicals and Antioxidant Protocols, Methods in Molecular Biology, Eds. Uppu RM et al, Humana Press, pp. 165-180, 2009.

1. Harinarayana Rao S, Madhusudhan Rao N. and Sesikeran B. Zajdela ascitic hepatoma (ZAH) in Wistar female rats : a model for tumor induced immune hemolytic anaemia (TIIHA). In "Proc of Indian Society of Cell Biology”, 13th All India Conference, held at CCMB, Hyderabad, on 27-29 Dec 1989, p.58.

2. Polasa K, Sesikeran B. and Krishnaswamy K. Antimutagenicity of Turmeric (Curcuma longa). In : Proceedings of Nutrition Society of India, Vol. 36, p. 102, 1990.

3. Sesikeran B. Intestinal mucosal cell apoptosis and its relevance to nutrient absorption and enteral nutrition In "Souvenir of 5th Annual Conference of Indian Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ISPEN), Pune. p.88-92, 1999.

4. Sesikeran B. and Kalpagam Polasa. Clinical assessment of allergy – safety issue and evaluation. In : National seminar on food safety and quality control in India, organized by Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, Hyd’bad, pp. 73-77, 2005.

5. Kalpagam Polasa and Sesikeran B. Genetically modified food – safety and risk. In : National seminar on food safety and quality control in India, organized by Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, Hyd’bad, pp. 78-82, 2005.

6. Vijayalakshmi V, Maniprabha C, Sesikeran B. and Bhonde RR. Identification and characterization of pancreatic progenitors from adult pancreatic tissue. In : Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Symposium “Stem Cell Research : From Bench to Bedside”, eds. Dr.O.P.Sood and Dr.R.S.Bakshi, pp. 29-33, held at LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, 2005.

7. Sesikeran B. and Shahnaz Vazir. Nutrition and the millennium development goals. Proc. A.P. Akademi of Sciences 10 (3 & 4): 185-191, 2006.

8. Srinivasa Reddy Y, Prasanna Krishna T, Ramalakshmi BA, Chandra Sekaran K, Sesikeran B, Dinesh Kumar B. Interaction between nutrients and heavy metal pollutants in post-harvest women and their neonates. In: Nutrition Society of India, Vol., p.17, 2006.

9. Ranganathan S. and Sesikeran B. Fortification of Salt Past, Present and Future, In: National Nutrition Policy : Essential Elements, Proceedings of Nutrition Foundation of India 27-28 June, 2008, pp.90-103, NFI, New Delhi.

1. Sesikeran, B. Alcohol and its ill effects. Nutrition 17(4): 12-21, 1983.

2. Sesikaran B and Quadri SSYH. Pathology of laboratory animals. LAIS Centre News. 23(1): 1-8, 1990.

3. Sesikeran B. Apoptosis. IAPM (AP Chapter) News Bulletin 3: 3-4, 1996.

4. Sesikeran B. and Jagadeesan V. Alcohol drinking - A concern in India. Monitor: Central European Health & Environment Newsletter 5 (2): 1,6, 1997.

5. Uday Kumar P, Sesikeran B, Nagalakshmi and Ramachandra Reddy P. Nucleolar organizer regions (NORS) in oral mucosal biopsies. Amala Res Bull. 20: 1-3, 2000.

6. Sesikeran B, Vijayalaxmi A, Uday Kumar P, Kalyanasundaram S, Raghunath M. Diet and apoptosis. Nutrition News 23 (2): 1-4, 2002.

7. Ummeayman Rangwala and Sesikeran B. Naturally occurring carcinogens (cancer promoters) & anticarcinogens (cancer inhibitors) in human diet. Bulletin of PFNDAI, 3-8, 2006.

8. Sesikeran B. Nutrition and Fitness. Bulletin of PFNDAI, 3-5, 2006.

9. Sesikeran B. Lifestyle and health. PFNDAI Bulletin 3-6, 2007.

10. Sesikeran B. National Institute of Nutrition – Profile. Biotech News 2: 9-10, 2007.

11. Sesikeran B. Salt and Hypertension. Nutrition 38(1): 3-15, 2007.

12. Sesikeran B. Nutrition and Health. Bulletin of PFNDAI, 2008.

13. Hemalatha R. and Sesikeran B. Role of probiotics in Nutrition