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Professor Narinder Mehra is the National Professor (endowed chair of the ICMR) and ex-Dean (Research) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. His primary research interests include Transplant Immunology and clinical immunogenetics with special focus on infectious and autoimmune diseases, stem cell research and regenerative therapy. After finishing his graduation from the Govt Medical College, Amritsar in 1969, he did his Masters (1971) and PhD in 1975 from the AIIMS. He is credited with establishing the specialty of Transplant Immunology and Clinical Immunogenetics in India starting from virtually nothing and culminating in establishing the first independent department at AIIMS which is now recognized as a world class facility.
Professor Mehra is the 'Founder Secretary General' of the Federation of Immunological Societies of Asia-Oceania (FIMSA) and is Visiting Professor to several international universities. He has been elected 'Council Member' of the International union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) and of the International Histocompatibility Advisory Council. He is Past President of the Indian Immunology Society and of the Asia Pacific Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Association (APHIA). He is chair and member of the Scientific Advisory committees of several institutions under the ICMR, DBT, CSIR and others. He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (FNASc), Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (FNA) and ‘Member Honoris Causa’ of the prestigious Hungarian Academy of Sciences (only one from India). He was also elected as Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (FTWAS).
Professor Mehra has several awards and honors to his credit. Some of the significant ones include S.S. Bhatnagar Award of the CSIR (considered to be the highest award for science in India), Ranbaxy Science Foundation Award, O.P. Bhasin Science Foundation Award , Chief of the Army Staff Award and several awards from the ICMR and other science organizations. In 2003, the French President conferred on him the title of ‘Chevalier of the National Order of Merit’. The Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST) awarded him their highest international award. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) elected him for their ‘Tata Innovation Fellowship’ award. He was a member of the ‘international jury’ for the prestigious Else Kroner Frsenius Award in Immunology and is recipient of the Dr B.R. Ambedkar award for excellence in Medical Research. This is the highest award of the ICMR.
Professor Mehra is an internationally well known and respected immunologist who has in parallel with his outstanding clinical services, performed truly distinguished research in several diseases which has helped greatly in understanding the molecular basis of their susceptibility. Most of his research has direct clinical implications, opening the door for further research on new therapeutic approaches and MHC based vaccination strategies.
He has more than 460 research publications to his credit and has trained more than 33 PhD, 45 MD/MS and several postdoctoral students. He can truly be described as a ‘Translational Medical Scientist’.
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