Bangalore – Merck, a leading science and technology company, announced the winners of the Merck Young Scientist Award 2025, honouring and recognising India’s brightest researchers driving groundbreaking innovations in Life Sciences. The fourth edition of the award ceremony, held in Bangalore, was attended by prominent academicians, researchers, and industry experts, reflecting Merck’s commitment to empowering India’s next generation of scientists.
Announcing the winners, who have been awarded with one of India’s most prestigious academic recognitions, Dhananjay Singh, Managing Director, Merck Life Science in India, said, “Merck continues to celebrate India’s brightest minds who are expanding the horizons of Science & Research. The winners of the 2025 edition reflect the spirit of innovation, resilience, and mission-driven research, driving the country towards a global R&D powerhouse. Their groundbreaking work aligns with Merck’s vision and reinforces the company’s belief that scientific excellence can transform society. We are proud to empower these changemakers, who are shaping the future of science in India.
This year’s award program was structured around two main categories — Emerging Talent (early-career scientists, within five years of Post-PhD) and Scientific Excellence (mid-career researchers, five to ten years post-PhD). Within each category, winners were recognized across two disciplines: Biological Sciences and Chemical Sciences. Now in its fourth edition, the award received over 2000 registrations across India, showcasing the reach across scientific talent in the country.
A total of 16 finalists were selected after a comprehensive review process, four winners and four runners-up each in Biological Sciences and Chemical Sciences across the two categories. The winners of the Merck Young Scientist Award 2025 are as follows:
| Category 1: Chemical Sciences | ||
| Scientific Excellence Winners | Dr. Janakiram Vaitla, IIT Delhi | Dr. Bishnu Prasad Biswal, NISER- Bhubaneswar |
| Scientific Excellence Runners-up | Dr. Basudev Sahoo, IISER Thiruvananthapuram | Dr. Ritika Gautam, IIT Kanpur |
| Emerging Talent Winners | Dr. Susanta Hazra, IISc | Dr. Vignesh Palani, IISC |
| Emerging Talent Runners-up | Dr. Sanjib Panda, IIT Madras | Dr. Indu Bala, IIT Mandi |
| Category 2: Biological Sciences | ||
| Scientific Excellence Winners | Dr. Gaurav Ahuja, IIIT-D | Dr. Tapomoy Bhattacharjee, NCBS |
| Scientific Excellence Runners-up | Dr. Jogender Singh, IISER Mohali | Dr. Amitesh Anand, TIFR Mumbai |
| Emerging Talent Winners | Dr. Swati Sudhakar, IIT Madras | Dr. Amit Nain, IIT Delhi |
| Emerging Talent Runners-up | Dr. Jyoti Tanwar, RCB | Dr. Naziya Chaudhary, ACTREC |
Winners in the Emerging Talent category received INR 2,50,000, while runners-up were awarded INR 1,00,000 each. Each winner in the Scientific Excellence category received INR 3,50,000 (including a travel grant of INR 1,00,000), while runners-up were awarded INR 1,25,000.
The prestigious Merck Young Scientist Award applications were reviewed by a panel of accomplished experts, bringing their extensive knowledge and experience. The jury panel for 2025 was chaired by three eminent scientists: Prof. Ullas Kolthur-Seetharam, Director, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad; Prof. Vinay Nandicoori, Director, Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology, Hyderabad; and Dr. D. Srinivasa Reddy, Director of CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad.
The eminent jury comprised leading researchers from respected institutes across India. The jury panel included: Dr. Chepuri V. Ramana from CSIR-NCL Pune; Prof. Kavirayani R. Prasad from IISc Bangalore; Prof. Tharmalingam Punniyamurthy from IIT Guwahati; Prof. Krishna P. Kaliappan from IIT Bombay; Dr. Buddhadeb Chattopadhyay from IISER Pune; Prof. Vivek Polshettiwar from TIFR Mumbai; Prof. Tapas Kundu from JNCASR Bangalore; Dr. Deepak Modi from ICMR-NIRRCH Mumbai; Prof. Yogeeswari Perumal from BITS Pilani Hyderabad; Prof. Pankaj Seth from NBRC Haryana; Dr. Taruna Madan Gupta from ICMR Delhi; Prof. Annapoorni Rangarajan from IISc Bangalore; Mukesh Jain, PhD, FNASc, FNAAS from JNU New Delhi; and Dr. Renu Pandey from ICAR-IARI New Delhi.
