Draft:B. Ashokkumar

Balasubramaniem Ashokkumar is an Indian geneticist who serves as an Associate Professor at the Department of Genetic Engineering of School of Biotechnology, Madurai Kamaraj University. He is best noted for his works on rare genetic disorders of metabolism within South Indian population and rare neurological disorder like Madras motor neuron disease (MMND). In 2021, the Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology, Government of Tamil Nadu honoured him with the Tamil Nadu Scientist Award (TANSA), the highest science award in the state for his groundbreaking research on MMND. In 2011, he was also awarded the Young Investigator award at the "International conference on 'Environment, Genes, Health and Disease-2011" conducted by Bharathiar University. He was also a recipient of international fellowship for Young Biomedical Scientists from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for 2016-2017. He served as Editorial Board member at Journal of Neurology Forecast, Annals of Medical Case Reports, SM Journal of Genetic Syndromes and Gene Therapy, International Journal of Cancer Biology, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology and International Journal of Science and Technology. Besides being a Life Member of reputed organizations like The Biotech Research Society (BSRI) and Society fror Biological Chemists, Bangalore, he is also an elected member of European Federation of Biotechnology, Spain since 2005. He was also involved in developing one of the fastest COVID-19 diagnostic kits along with Dr. T. Arockiadoss for which he came into fame in 2021.