The TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences

Established in 2008, this lectureship series is presented by TNQ.
The annual event aims to bring internationally renowned scientists face-to-face with the Indian scientific community—students, researchers, and faculty members. The objective of the lecture series is to showcase current and path-breaking research in the life sciences and facilitate interaction between the speakers and the Indian scientific community. Over the years, these lectures have been presented across the major cities of India—Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi.
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Speakers from
previous years

SERIES II
john-jumper
2024

John Jumper

Highly Accurate Protein Structure Predictions:
Using AI to Solve Biology Problems in Minutes Instead of Years

John Jumper, a Breakthrough Prize laureate, was the second Featured Speaker of the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences – 2024. This was the first year TNQ has been presented with the remarkable opportunity of hosting a second speaker in the same year.

david-julius
2024

David Julius

How We Sense Pain

David Julius, a biochemist and molecular physiologist, and a recipient of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, was the 2024 Featured Speaker of the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences. His topic was ʻHow We Sense Painʼ.

ron-vale
2023

Ron Vale

Marvelous Molecular Motors

Ron Vale, the Vice President of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and Executive Director of its Janelia Research Campus, was the 2023 featured speaker of the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences.

SERIES I
venki-ramakrishnan
2020

Venki Ramakrishnan

My Adventures in the Ribosome

Dr Venki Ramakrishnan, the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 62nd President of The Royal Society, was the 2020 Speaker of the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences.

helen-hobbs
2019

Helen Hobbs

Genetic Disorders of Dietary Excess:
Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Dr Helen H. Hobbs, Breakthrough Prize Laureate, Investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, was the 2019 Speaker of the ninth edition of TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences.

david-anderson
2018

David Anderson

The Neural Circuitry of Sex and Violence

California Institute of Technology neurobiologist Dr David J. Anderson, a leader in the neurobiological foundations of emotion, was the Featured Speaker of the Eighth Annual Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series.

mary-claire-king
2017

Mary-Claire King

Understanding Inherited Breast and Ovarian Cancer:
From Gene Discovery to Precision Medicine and Public Health

University of Washington geneticist Dr Mary-Claire King who pioneered the idea that breast cancer could be a heritable disease, gave lectures in the Seventh Annual Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series.

karl-deisseroth
2016

Karl Deisseroth

Illuminating the Brain

Stanford University neuroscientist and psychiatrist Karl Deisseroth, who developed methods that have revolutionized our ability to visualize and manipulate brain circuits, was the Featured Speaker of the Sixth Annual Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series.

eric-lander
2015

Eric Lander

The Human Genome and Beyond:
A 35-year Journey of Genomic Medicine

Dr Eric Steven Lander, a recipient of the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for 2013, and mathematician
turned biologist turned geneticist was the 2015 Speaker of the TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences.

huda-zoghbi
2014

Huda Zoghbi

A Journey from the Clinic to the Laboratory
to Understand Brain Disorders

Huda Zoghbi, a physician-scientist in the field of neurogenetics and the recipient of the 2013 pearl Meister Greengard Prize, the 2013 Dickson Prize in Medicine, and the 2011 Gruber Prize in neuroscience was the Featured Speaker of the Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series 2014.

shinya-yamanaka
2012

Shinya Yamanaka

New Era of Medicine with iPS Cells

Noble Laureate Shinya Yamanaka, physician and celebrated adult stem cell researcher, delivered the Third Edition of The Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series in 2012.

elizabeth-blackburn
2009

Elizabeth Blackburn

Chromosome Ends and Human Health and Disease

Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine Dr Elizabeth H. Blackburn was the Second Edition Speaker of the Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series. Professor Blackburn was rated one of Times Magazines 100 most influential people in 2007.

2008

David Baltimore

New Avenues to Health

David Baltimore, the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1975 delivered the inaugural Cell Press-TNQ India Distinguished Lectureship Series.