Obaid Siddiqi

Obaid Siddiqi
Born	7 January 1932
Died	26 July 2013 (aged 81)
Citizenship	Indian
Fields	Biology
Alma mater	Aligarh Muslim University University of Glasgow University of Pennsylvania
Doctoral advisor	Guido Pontecorvo
Notable awards	Padma Bhushan(1984) Padma Vibhushan(2006)

Obaid Siddiqi FRS (7 January 1932 – 26 July 2013) was a National Research Professor and the Founder-Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) National Center for Biological Sciences. His work includes research on the genetics and neurobiology of Drosophila.

Early life and education

He was born in 1932 in Uttar Pradesh. He received his early education at Aligarh Muslim University where he completed an M.Sc. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Glasgow, under the supervision of Guido Pontecorvo. He carried out his post doctoral research at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania, and the MRC Laboratory at Cambridge. He was invited by Homi Bhabha to set up the molecular biology unit at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Bombay in 1962. Thirty years later, he became the founding director of the TIFR National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, where he would continue his research into his final days of life.^[1]

Awards and honours

• President of the Indian Academy of Sciences
• Member, Royal Society, London
• Member, US National Academy of Sciences, Washington
• Member, Third World Academy, Trieste
• Visiting professorships at Yale University
• Visiting Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Visiting Professor, The California Institute of Technology
• Visiting Professor, Cambridge University
• Twice Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar at Caltech
• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan International Award for Life Sciences 2009
• Padma Vibhushan, 2006^[2]
• Dr. B. C. Roy Award, 2004
• Sir Syed Life Time Achievement Award, AMUAA New York, 2004
• Pride of India Award, AFMI, USA, 2004
• INSA Aryabhata Medal 1992;
• Goyal Prize 1991;
• Birla Smarak Kosh National Award 1989;
• Padma Bhushan 1984;^[3]
• Bhatnagar Award 1976;
• Life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge.
• Honorary D.Sc., Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
• Honorary D.Sc., Banaras Hindu University, Benaras
• Honorary D.Sc., Jamia Hamdard, Delhi
• Honorary D.Sc., Kalyani University, Kalyani
• Honorary D.Sc., Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
• Honorary D.Sc., Jamia Milia, Delhi
• Honorary D.Sc., Central University of Hyderabad

Legacy

Siddiqi died on 26 July 2013 in Bangalore following a freak road accident on 21 July 2013 which caused severe damage to the brain. He is survived by his wife Asiya, sons Imran and Kaleem, and daughters Yumna and Diba.^[4]

Selected publications

Siddiqi, O. (1961) Polarized replication as a possible condition for recombination. Heredity 16: 328. Siddiqi, O. (1962) The fine structure of the paba-1 region in Aspergillus nidulans. Genet. Res. Camb. 3: 69. Siddiqi, O. and A. Putrament (1963). Polarized negative interference in the paba-1 region of Aspergillus Nidulans. Genet. Res. Camb. 4: 12. Garen, A. and Siddiqi, O. (1962). Suppression of mutations in the alkaline phosphatase cistron of E. coli. Proc Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 48 (7): 1121. Siddiqi, O. (1963). Incorporation of parental DNA into genetic recombinants of E. coli. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. Wash. 49: 589. Siddiqi, O., B.N. Apte and M. Pitale (1966). Genetic regulation of Aryl sulphatase in Aspergillus nidulans. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 31: 381. Joshi, G.P. and Siddiqi, O. (1967). Enzyme synthesis following conjugation and recombination in E. Coli. J. Mol. Biol. 32: 201. Siddiqi, O. and M.S. Fox (1973). The integration of donor DNA in bacterial conjugation. J. Mol. Biol. 77: 101. Sarathy. P.V. and Siddiqi, O. (1973). DNA synthesis during bacterial conjugation. I. Effect of mating on DNA replication in E. coli Hfr. J. Mol. Biol. 78: 247. Sarathy. P.V. and Siddiqi, O. (1973). DNA synthesis during bacterial conjugation. II. Is DNA replication in Hfr obligatory for chromosome transfer? J. Mol. Biol. 78: 443. Sarathy. P.V. and Siddiqi, O. (1973). The effect of chromosome transfer on gene expression in E. coli Hfr. Mol. Gen. Genetics 125: 133. Apte, B.N., P.N. Bhavsar and Siddiqi, O. (1974). The regulation of aryl sulphatase in Aspergillus nidulans. J. Mol. Biol. 86: 637. Siddiqi, O. (1974). Genetic blocks in the elements of neural network in Drosophila. Symposium on regulation of growth and differentiatied function in eukaryotic cell. Ed., G.P. Talwar, Raven Press, New York. Siddiqi, O. and S. Benzer (1976). Neurophysiological defects in temperature-sensitive paralytic mutants of Drosophila melanogaster. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A. 73: 3253. Rodrigues, V. and Siddiqi, O. (1978). Genetic analysis of the chemosensory pathway. Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. B 87: 147-160.

Rodrigues, V. and Siddiqi, O. (1980). Genetic analysis of a complex chemoreceptor. Development and Neurobiology of Drosophila. Siddiqi, Hall, and Hall, eds. Plenum Press, New York. Singh, S. and Siddiqi, O. (1981). Torpid: a new sex-linked paralytic mutation in Drosophila Melanogaster. Mol. Gen. Genetics 181(3): 400. Stocker, R.F., R.N. Singh, M. Schorderet and Siddiqi, O. (1983). Projection patterns of different types of antennal sensilla in the glomeruli of Drosophila melanogaster. Cell Tissue Res. 232:237-248. Siddiqi, O. (1983) Olfactory Neurogenetics of Drosophila. Symposium on Neurogenetics. XV International Congress of Genetics. Genetics: New Frontiers. Oxford, Delhi. Vol. III 243-261. Arora K, Rodrigues V, Joshi S, Shanbhag S, Siddiqi O. (1987). A gene affecting the specificity of chemosensory neurons of Drosophila. Nature. 330: 62-63. Siddiqi, O. (1988) Genetic Variation in Drosophila chemoreception. Genetics and Immunology of Chemical Communication. Monell Research Center, Philadelphia. Ayyub, C., Paranjape, J., Rodrigues, V. & Siddiqi, O. (1990). Genetics of olfactory behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. J. Neurogenet. 6: 243-262. Siddiqi, O.(1990) Olfaction in Drosophila. Chemical senses Vol. 3 Eds. Wyzocki et al. Marcel Dekker, NY, 79-96. Jayaram, V.C. and Siddiqi, O. (1997). gustJ a salt insensitive mutant of Drosophila. J. of Genetics, 76: 133-145. Bala, A.D.S., Panchal,P. and Siddiqi, O. (1998). Osmotaropotaxis in the larva of Drosophila melanogaster. Current science, 75: 48-51. Mistry, Y., R. Mistry, and O. Siddiqi, O. (2000). Evidence of age-related changes in the antennal glomeruli of Drosophila melanogaster using monoclonal antibodies. Arthropod Structure and Development. Vol.29(2)101-110. Khurana S, Abu Baker MB, Siddiqi O. (2009). Odour avoidance learning in the larva of Drosophila melanogaster. J. Biosci. 34: 621-631. Chakraborty TS, Goswami S.P, Siddiqi O. (2009). Sensory correlates of imaginal conditioning in Drosophila melanogaster. J. Neurogenet. 23: 210-219. Iyengar A, Chakraborty TS, Goswami SP, Wu CF, Siddiqi O.(2010) Post-eclosion odor experience modifies olfactory neuron coding in Drosophila. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A. 107(21):9855-60.

References

1. "Prof. Obaid Siddiqi". Retrieved 7 June 2012.
2. "Indian Fellow". Retrieved 7 June 2012.
3. "Padma Awards". Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
4. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/acclaimed-biologist-obaid-siddiqi-dies-aged-81/article4957261.ece

External links

• Obaid Siddiqi's publications on PubMed