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DR RAJIV SONI JOINS PANTANJALI RESEARCH FOUNDATION AS PRESIDENT-R & D Baba Ramdev ’ s Haridwarbased Patanjali Research Foundation has surely got a shot in the arm as one of the best research brains of the country will be heading its research initiatives . Dr Rajeev Soni has taken over as the President-R & D of Patanjali Research Foundation and will spearhead the ayurvedic drug discovery and development in the organization . With over 20 years of research and development experience including industry and academia , Dr Soni has worked as the Manager ( R & D ) at Novozymes South Asia and as the Associate Vice President R & D , Biocon in the near past .
Dr Soni is a PhD in molecular biology and biotechnology from the University of Cambridge , UK . He has been responsible for the design and management of state of the art molecular biology labs at Lidak ( Avanir ) Pharmaceuticals , La Jolla , USA , De
Montfort University , Leicester , U . K ., The Naval Research Lab , Washington D . C ., USA , Ranbaxy biotechnology , Gurgaon , India and at PREMAS , Gurgaon , India . He has managed mutliskilled and mutli-lingual teams across various functions and countries .
In 2005 , he founded Premas Biotech ,
along with a team of entepreneurs and investors and served as President and COO from inception until January , 2012 . He was responsible for in-house and contract research and development . He managed marketing and business development aspects of the business as well and has keen understanding of the life science market in India , Europe and USA .
Patanjali Research Foundation that was initiated in August 2010 , is a part of Patanjali Yogpeeth , Haridwar . The Foundation ( and the parent body , Patanjali Yogpeeth ) are named after the great Indian sage , Patanjali ( circa 900 B . C .) who first compiled the numerous writings on yoga . The foundation aim to evaluate indigenous systems of medicine , particularly yoga and ayurveda , so that their physiological effects are studied using presentday scientific methods , with an aim of using these systems of medicine to promote health and manage the disease . Besides that , it is also studying the scientific basis for ancient practices used in various areas of life ( e . g ., farming and architecture ) so that these ancient practices can be better understood and hence preserved .
While the Foundation largely uses actual scientific studies carried out in laboratories , it says the aim would also be to review the ancient texts for contemporary reading . It also wants to evaluate
40 BioVoiceNews | March 2017