NCCS Pune Director Dr Mohan Wani passes away, scientific fraternity mourns the loss

Dr Wani was well known for his studies in the fields of bone and cartilage cell biology, osteoimmunology, and regenerative medicine

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New Delhi: Dr Mohan Wani, Director of National Centre for Cell Sciences (NCCS) Pune passed away on April 14, 2024. He had joined the post on June 15, 2022, following his appointment by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
Born in 1965 in the state of Maharashtra, Dr Mohan Wani graduated in veterinary science from Nagpur Veterinary College and earned his master’s degree from Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV). His doctoral studies were at the University of London on a Commonwealth Fellowship and after securing a PhD, he returned to India to join the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) of Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Dr Wani was well known for his studies in the fields of bone and cartilage cell biology, osteoimmunology, and regenerative medicine. He was an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and an elected member of Guha Research Conference. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2009.
Highly accomplished scientist
Dr Wani worked extensively on recombinant mouse IL-3 and developed mouse models of rheumatoid arthritis in humans. His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles and ResearchGate, an online repository of scientific articles has listed 50 of them. He is a member of the Task Force on Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine of the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India and has delivered guest lectures on the subject. He also serves as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Animal Science of the Laboratory Animal Scientists’ Association (India).
The scientific fraternity of the country took to X to express their sorrow.
Former Director General of CSIR, Dr Shekhar Mande wrote, ” Mohan was one of the finest cell biologists of the country. He was trained as a veterinarian from MAFSU, Nagpur. This training helped him lifelong to address critical problems of modern Biomedical Sciences. He joined NCCS very early, soon after the Institute was established. His subsequent contributions in bone regeneration have been well received by peers all over the world. As the Director, he brought new energy to the Institute and relentlessly worked towards establishing collaborations between clinicians and basic Biomedical scientists. His ever-smiling personality and mild mannerism made him a dear friend to all around him. His untimely passing away has taken away one of the most accomplished cell biologists and a fine human being. His absence will be missed by all.
Former Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, Dr K VijayRaghavan said, “Very sad news. Heartfelt condolences to family, friends and the NCCS and DBT family.
Former DBT Secretary, Dr Renu Swarup called it a big loss. “This is extremely sad news. Dr Wani was an excellent scientist and a wonderful human being.”
Dr Nagarajan Subramanian, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune mentioned, “This is tragic and untimely to say the least. Have always found him to be very approachable and helpful as a scientist. Someone who would stop to say hello even if you are not the most important person in the room. RIP Dr. Wani.”
A large number of scientists mourned the loss of a dedicated bio-scientist and humble human being.