The Dr M.O.T. Iyengar Memorial Award was instituted in 1983 by Mrs Rukmani Iyengar in memory of her husband Dr M.O.T. Iyengar, a well known entomologist and malariologist. This award is given annually to an eminent scientist for outstanding contributions in the fields of Malaria, Filaria, Plague or Medical entomology. The award for 2000 is being presented to Dr Balachandran Ravindran, Deputy Director, Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar for his research work on "Immunological studies in filariasis". Dr Ravindran has been working in the field of immunology for two decades. His main research interest has been in immunology of lymphatic filariasis. His major research work includes the development of immunoassays, studies on antilarval and antimicrofilarial immunity in human and experimental filariasis and antigenic mimicry between filarial parasite and antifilarial drugs. The outcome of his studies has led to a better understanding of pathogenesis, diagnosis and possibility of developing transmission blocking vaccine for filariasis. He has more than 50 publications to his credit in national and international journals and recipient of the Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize of ICMR in 1989. He is the member of several advisory committees.

The Dr M.O.T. Iyengar Memorial Award was instituted in 1983 by Mrs Rukmani Iyengar in memory of her husband Dr M.O.T. Iyengar, a well known entomologist and malariologist. This award is given annually to an eminent scientist for outstanding contributions in the fields of Malaria, Filaria, Plague or Medical entomology. The award for 2000 is being presented to Dr Namita Surolia, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore for her research work on "Molecular basis of drug resistance in malaria". Dr Surolia has been working in the field of molecular biology and genetics of parasites for more than two decades. Her experimental work on malarial parasite has led to the identification of novel targets for antimalarial drug development. She found that chloroquine sequesters heme which leads to the inhibition of protein synthesis and hence the death of the malarial parasite. She also showed that the malarial parasite is capable of synthesizing its own heme. Dr Surolia is a fellow/ member of several scientific bodies and has about 40 publications to her credit.

This prize was instituted by the ICMR in 1983 for significant contributions by a scientist for their research in any field of biomedical sciences in an under-developed area. The prize for 2000 is being presented to Dr P. Vijayachari, Assistant Director, Regional Medical Research Centre, Port Blair for his research work on "Diagnosis and characterization of leptospires". Dr Vijayachari has been actively engaged in carrying out research on the emerging public health problem of leptospirosis, earlier known as Andaman Haemorrhagic Fever (AHF). As a member of the research team, his contributions in the diagnosis of hitherto undiagnosed illness led to establishing the cause of AHF in Andaman Islands. His contributions have also led to the establishment of a National Reference Centre for Leptospirosis which has all the facilities for diagnosis and characterization of leptospires. This Centre has also helped several states of India in identifying the cause of outbreaks of unknown fever as leptospirosis. Dr Vijyachari has several publications to his credit in the field of leptospirosis.

The M.N. Sen Oration Award was instituted in 1977 by Dr K.N. Sen, Ex-Professor of Medicine at the School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta in memory of his brother Shri M.N. Sen. This prize is given to an eminent scientist for outstanding work carried out in the field of Practice of Medicine. The award for 2000 is being presented to Dr Anita Panda, Additional Professor of Ophthalmology, Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi for her research work on 'Lamellar keratoplasty'. Dr Panda is an ophthalmologist of more than 25 years standing. She has been undertaking research in the field of corneal blindness with special stress on surgical interventions. Her outstanding contribution has been in the field of lamellar keratoplasly (LK). Using it as an alternative procedure to penetrating keratoplasty, her work has shown that LK is a cost effective mode of surgical management for different corneal lesions involving upto Descement's membrane. Dr Panda has more than 100 publications in various scientific journals. She recieved the Kshanika Oration Award in 1993 for her commendable work on penetrating keratoplasty.

The Kshanika Oration Award was instituted in 1977 by Dr K.N. Sen, former Professor of Medicine, School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta to be given annually to eminent women scientists for outstanding contributions in Biomedical Sciences. The award for 2000 is being presented to Dr Poonam Salotra, Assistant Director, Institute of Pathology, New Delhi for her research work on Leishmaniasis - development of vaccine and diagnostic tests. Dr Salotra has been working in the field of 'Leishmaniasis' and has successfully established the culture facilities for L.donovani and also has been successful in developing a highly sensitive and specific PCR based diagnostic test for kala-azar (KA) and post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients. The highlight of her research achievement has been the identification of novel genes exhibiting stage specific expression in L. donovani. She has been able to identify a gene specifically expressed during the promastigote stage that codes for centrin and was able to show that modificatiom of this gene resulted in the reduction of parasite growth. These results have paved the way for the development of attenuated parasites for evaluation as a potential candidate for vaccine. She has published more than 20 research papers in scientific journals of repute.

The Kshanika Oration Award was instituted in 1977 by Dr K.N. Sen, former Professor of Medicine, School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta to be given annually to eminent women scientists for outstanding contributions in Biomedical Sciences. The award for 2000 is being presented to Dr Prabha Balaram, Additional Professor and Head, Research Division, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram for her research work on "Biology of gestational trophoblastic diseases". Dr Balaram is an immunologist of more than 20 years standing and has established a well organized laboratory to undertake research in immunological, molecular, cytogenetic and ethnopharmacological aspects of cancer. She has been actively involved in routine immunological evaluation of cancer patients and patients with immune deficiency disorders. Her fields of interest in research encompasses the study of the biology of gestational trophoblastic diseases and identification of markers for identification of aggressive disease mechanisms of metastsis in various cancers such as those of breast, uterine cervix, radio resistance mechanism in oral cancer, molecular biology and viral association in oral and nasopharyngeal cancers. The contributions made by Dr Balaram have significantly contributed to our understanding of the biology and clinical management of cancer. She has also guided many scholars for their M.D./Ph.D. Degrees. She has more than 100 publications to her credit and is a recipient of several awards and honours.