Indian girl in the team that created Artificial living cell

A girl who passed out of a Bangalore college is now in global limelight for being part of the team that created the first synthetic cell. Radha Krishnakumar, now in her mid-thirties, did her BSc in microbiology, chemistry and zoology from Mount Carmel College, reads the J Craig Venter Institute website, where her work has created ripples in the institute where she works now.

When contacted some of the teachers at the college who worked during the late 90s, and flashed a photo of her, one of them recollected this "quiet, sweet girl".

"She was a very quiet, unassuming girl. I remember her as a clever and focussed child," said a thrilled Vimala C M, the present head of the department of Zoology, who has been teaching in MCC for the past 25 years.


"I remember students by their face. I am so thrilled. Let her be an inspiration for all the students of this college," she added.

After her UG, Radha did her PG in microbiology from Bharathidasan University in Trichy. "In 2006 she earned her PhD in microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, under the mentorship of Jim Imlay and Jim Slauch," says the website.

After she finished her graduate work, an ad for a position in synthetic biology at JCVI caught her eye. Radha thus joined JCVI in 2006.

"She works under the mentorship of John Glass and Chuck Merryman, her main focus being the creation of a strain of Mycoplasma with the capacity to use 21 amino acids. She also supports the team towards the goal of building the synthetic cell," it reads. The synthetic cell that was created is controlled by man-made genetic instructions, which can also reproduce itself.