Lucknow, Sep 6 (IANS): Eminent scientist Radha Rangarajan is the new director of CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow.

She is the second woman to occupy the post since the inception of the institute.

Dr Madhu Dixit was the first woman director of the institute between 2015 and 2017.

The post was lying vacant since February and was being handled by the director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu Prof D. Srinivasa Reddy, who was given the additional charge after the then director Prof Tapas Kundu superannuated.

Rangarajan has been actively involved in translational research and product development in the public health arena for the last two decades.

Working closely at the interface between academia, startups and industry, her experiences span the drug discovery, diagnostics and medical devices sectors.

CDRI spokesperson Sanjeev Yadav said, "Between 2003 and 2009, Rangarajan worked in the Drug Discovery division of Dr Reddy's Laboratories in Hyderabad. She served in multiple roles, successfully developing early-stage molecules for various therapeutic areas such as anti-infectives, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Thereafter, she co-founded Vitas Pharma, a drug discovery and development company focused on novel therapies to treat infection."

She is a member of the steering council of the MedTech Incubator, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H), a member of the Scientific Program Committee of IHub-Data, IIIT-H, member of the Selection Committee of the NIDHI-Seed Support System at the Atal Incubation Centre-CCMB and member of the selection committee for DST INSPIRE Faculty Fellows.