Legen
ds are among us, Infact inside us. We all have the capability to become a legend and Devika Sirohi has proved it right for all the aspiring Researchers of India. Yes she was a part of the Team who decoded Zika Virus.Here is everything you need to know about Devika Sirohi, the 29 year lad from meerut who made every Indian Proud.
Devika’s education & career
- Devika completed her schooling from the Meerut-based Dayawati Modi Academy.
- She did her graduation in Biochemistry honors from Delhi University and went on to pursue M.Sc from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.
- Five years ago, Devika began her journey from India to USA, when she began pursuing PhD in ‘Structure and Maturation of Flaviviruses’ from Purdue University located in West Lafayette, Indiana.
- Devika, Purdue University graduate student, is said to be the youngest member of a team of seven researchers, which has for the first time determined the structure of Zika virus, a challenging task. Devika, a graduate research assistant, is now all set to submit her thesis by the end of this year.
- She is the co-author of “The 3.8 Å resolution cryo-EM structure of Zika virus”
“All is well that ends well”, says elated Devika Sirohi Talking to TOI, Devika said, “It took us four months to identify the structure of the virus”, while adding this discovery will help doctors and researchers to find a cure for the deadly disease that has been reported in 33 countries.”
Devika revealed that decoding the structure of Zika was a major hurdle and also expressed happiness over the fact that now it would be possible to create effective anti-viral treatments and vaccines.
Besides Devika, other six researchers who were part of the team are:
- Zhenguo Chen, Lei Sun,
- Thomas Klose (Postdoctoral research associates)
- Michael G Rossmann( Biological sciences professor)
- Richard J Kuhn (Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases director)
- Theodore C Pierson (Chief of the viral pathogenesis section of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
What proud parents of Devika say:
Devika’s parents- Mr SS Sirohi and Ms Reena Sirohi are Meerut-based doctors. Her father is a pathologist and her mother is a pediatrician. Her proud father was quoted saying as, “It is a matter of pride not only for my family, because she is my daughter, but for the whole country that an Indian was part of the team that made this breakthrough.”
Home Minister Rajnath Singh today congratulated her saying the entire country was proud of her achievement. Here’s what he tweeted:
Congratulations to Ms Devika Sihori from Meerut who is part of the US team that has successfully decoded Zika virus.
— Rajnath Singh (@BJPRajnathSingh) April 6, 2016
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