"I am glad to recommend Dr. Dinesh Babu for the Lab Leader Awards. I have known him for the last couple of years as a friend. I found Dr. Dinesh is a motivational and dedicated scientist. I always found him very interested in discussing research queries."

Saurabh Garg, Surgery, University of Alberta, Canada

View more nominations for Dinesh Babu

"Dr. Dinesh Babu, is one of my most inspiring personalities in the research field. He is also one the researchers who has sacrificed their life for science. The research publications and awards he secured is the evidence that he is suitable for this award nomination. He is also one of the people who is not only an achiever, he has also trained and has been a reason for growing many young budding researchers including me. I really happy and honored to nominate Dr. Dinesh Babu for this award and I wish him luck for getting this award."

Dr Arjun Karuppaiah, Novel Drug Delivery Lab, PSG College of Pharmacy, India

"It gives me great pleasure to nominate Dr. Dinesh Babu to be considered for the Lab Heroes Award 2021 in recognition of his tireless efforts and outstanding leadership in supporting his own and others' research.

As a teacher for me, he has motivated me with learning strategies and designing the research with innovative ideas at the pharmacy school. He is a very conscientious person and always wants to give his fulfillment in all aspects of what he does. His qualities were not only restricted to his own research but more in his willingness to help other people towards excellence. He always inspires others to get the best out of themselves. He shares his own experience as lessons of life. Despite the multiple difficulties he has faced during his life, he has never stopped searching for his way to learn and achieve in science. I believe his skills and professionalism have earned him a reputation in his research field. Moreover, I have been especially impressed by his perverse interest in guiding people in their struggling times to overcome their hurdles. In my opinion, he always demonstrated commitment, ethics and morale at work, which is of high respect and regard. His communication and interpersonal skills have allowed him to develop a good working relationship at all the friends and colleagues level, and I strongly believe that he is a competent professional. He has motivated me to pursue my doctoral studies, and even being miles away, he is still helping me with the troubleshooting of some experiments. Among all the people I know of, I can confidently say that Dr. Dinesh is the best nominee for this recognition award."

ShivaKumar V, Molecular Oncology Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India

"It is with great pleasure that I endorse Dr. Dinesh Babu for the Lab Heroes Awards™ 2021. I've know him since August 2011 at Ghent University, where I joined as a Post-Doctoral researcher. Dr Dinesh is self-motivated, independent researcher in his field. He has the ability to adapt himself in difficult conditions with no time and he will find the way. In the laboratory he is always full of energy and enthusiasm. He used to help with a smile on his face. I appreciate his ability to learn something new and collect lots of information in his area of research. He has very good communication and writing skills, and he is helping colleagues with writing research articles.

He is not only an excellent researcher but also a kind person as well. He is bundle of energy and inspiration for his colleagues and students. I strongly support his nomination for the Lab Heroes Awards™ 2021."

Santosh Kadam, Process Research & Development, SOLARA Active Pharma Sciences, India

"It is a great honor for me to nominate Dinesh as a Lab Hero. Dinesh and I had a few years of overlap at Ghent University, Belgium when we were doing our PhD. I was new to the country and Dinesh was already there for a year or so before I started. Dinesh ran into me one day and introduced himself and thus began our friendship. Dinesh is a very affable, intelligent and caring person. Getting into scientific discussions left you with ideas on how techniques and protocols could be improved, or you would end up with a new insight, or a different way of analyzing problems. Personal discussions about friends and family showed how much he cared about the people he surrounded himself with. He doesn’t ever shy away from helping anyone when the need arises. On a professional level his scientific skills, technical and analytical, are superb and so are his writing skills. Even though it has been a few years since we moved away to different countries I still am inspired by his dedication, sincerity and above all his hard work. He is certainly one of my lab heroes!"

Ashish Gadicherla, Electron Microscopy and Pathology Lab/Department of Food Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Germany

"I have known Dr. Dinesh Babu since 2017 when I started my job as a research assistant at the University of Alberta. During this time he has displayed great wisdom and kindness to me, always encouraging and supporting my research. Recently I have been assisting him with quantifying compounds and their degraded products using high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. In this project, Dr. Dinesh Babu has shown strong work ethic, expertise and positivity. Not only has he shown great passion and dedication to his work I have seen him act as an excellent mentor to the graduate students in Dr. Siraki’s lab. I can always count on him to be there to answer any questions with his vast experiences both in research and as a person. Dr. Dinesh Babu is an incredible leader and with the exemplary attributes described above I can confidently say that he deserves the award for “Lab Leader”."

Tyson Le, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"Dr. Dinesh Babu is a smart and intelligent researcher who has honed multiple skills, from marketing, formulation production, and research and innovation. He is one of the excellent science personalities I have admired from day one of my meeting. His laboratory and experimental skills are accurate and outstanding, which always gets special attention. His research achievements so far are a sign of his dedication and passion for science. He is good at teaching with demonstrations and illustrations, which could be easily understandable to even a nonscience expert. Our whole class used to admire and benefit from his teaching. His zeal in research has taken him to international research laboratories, and I am sure he will bring novel discoveries to the world. I wish him success with the Lab Hero Award."

Gopu C L, Pharmacokinetics and Bioanalytical Lab, Biocon Biologics Limited, India

"I give my highest possible recommendation for Dr. Dinesh Babu for the Lab Hero Award. I have known him since 2016 when he joined the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, as a postdoctoral fellow. As a research colleague, I had an opportunity to work with him on various collaborative research assignments and conducted meetings on scientific thought processes. Dinesh has excellent communication skills to convey his science. His written work is clear, concise and interesting to read. He also demonstrates good team working skills in group assignments. Overall, he is highly intelligent and has good analytical skills. He had always impressed me by putting in extra hours as necessary to meet specific deadlines of the task or project in which he was involved, which showed his sincerity and commitment. He always beholds a relaxed smile even during long, exhausting, stressful days that inspire co-workers like me. I am proud of our lab hero."

Muhammad Ashraf, Clinical Pharmacist / Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws Chains of Pharmacies, Canada

"It is my pleasure to recommend Dr. Dinesh Babu for the Lab Hero award. In my capacity as his junior at Yeungnam University (Republic of Korea), I had an opportunity to observe his research attributes in biomedical research. I have been impressed by his research skills, commitment, diligence, and independence in carrying out the research. Particularly, after some years of industrial experience, Dr. Dinesh has shown enthusiasm for learning and the commitment necessary to succeed in academic research. The initiative attitude with good interpersonal and communication skills found in Dr. Dinesh is truly unique. He is contagiously self-motivated to spread positivity to others. He is always ready to extend his support to students and colleagues. I believe he would be the right candidate for the award, and I would like to restate my strong recommendation for Dr. Dinesh."

Thiagarajan Madheswaran, Pharmaceutical Technology, School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Malaysia

"I met Dinesh Babu four years ago at the University of Alberta when I started my Ph.D. Since the day I met him, he has been someone who is always willing to listen, whether it is personal or academic-related proceedings. He constantly strives to improve everything he can for students, colleagues, staff, and friends, which takes a lot of perseverance. I regularly discuss both my exciting and challenging research results with him as we share similar interests (nanoparticle and its associated toxicity). He is a great scientist and an honest critic, encouraging others to perform well. He shares his experiences about the difficulties of scientific writing and strategies to improve. He constantly motivates me and inculcates a "can do" attitude to improve my manuscript writing skills. I cannot imagine anyone deserving this award more than him!"

Anuja Tripathi, Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada

"I am glad to nominate Dr. Dinesh for the Lab Hero Award. Since the time I joined my graduate studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (University of Alberta), Dr. Dinesh Babu has been helping me at various levels of my research studies, from designing and troubleshooting with some experiments. He has provided me with clear insights regarding challenging lab work(s) from different perspectives and transformed the mistakes into valuable lessons. His remarkable experience over 15 years in the science field, humbleness, patience, and willingness to help anytime has given me the courage to approach him whenever I require any advice or suggestion regarding research work. In totality, his charismatic and tenacious personality has always given me the drive to go beyond demands in my lab and studies. I confidently would nominate him for the Lab Hero Award!"

Hamdah Al Nebaihi, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"I am lucky to have Dr. Dinesh Babu as a friend, philosopher and mentor in my life. I have known him for the past two decades since he was a senior in our undergraduate pharmacy college. Like other staff and students in my college, I also have high admiration for his knowledge, discipline and dedication to the pharmacy profession. I always look highly upon him for his kindness, humbleness and positivity. Whenever I had challenges with my academic, professional, and personal life, I always sought Dr. Dinesh’s wise advice as my first choice, which helped me sustain and win over the hurdles. Without his inspiration and support, I would not have pursued and completed my Master’s degree successfully. His suggestions for my career choices were timely and thoughtful. I am one of the several others who have benefited from his guidance, and I stand to represent others to support him for the Lab Hero Award."

Gogulanathan Nagappan, Sales and Marketing, Zydusa Cadila Healthcare, India

"Dr. Dinesh is a smart researcher with excellent knowledge, scientific skills and values. He has multi-cultural and multi-national research experience with nice productivity. I came to understand that he was one of the few researchers actively involved in lab life towards research, which shows his dedication to science. In addition, he was leading the publication tasks from drafting till getting it accepted of a nice paper in a 5+ impact factor journal. He was helping me with experimental analysis and scientific writing, which will prospectively be coming out as nice publications soon. I would certify that Dr. Dinesh is a person of support for all who approaches him, and he has all the scientific and leadership skills to be an emerging scientist. In my opinion, he is an eligible candidate for the Lab Hero Award."

Vanitha N, Pharmacology, The Tamilnadu Dr.MGR Medical University, Tamilnadu, India

"Dr. Dinesh Babu is one of the finest researchers I have known in recent years, who has honed a multitude of skills with many achievements. We had a few scientific discussions about some project’s pharmacogenomics, precision medicine and translational research for future collaborations, where I have sensed his sound knowledge in these fields. He has been found sincere, trustworthy, social, pleasant and open to challenge in his area of expertise. He is a good listener and learner who always shows a willingness to learn new science. He was humble in appreciating the rewards while constructive in criticizing with his comments. He has impeccable interpersonal and scientific communications skills, which were evident during our meetings. Taken together, these qualities make him a good leader, and I would sincerely certify him to be considered for the Lab Hero award."

Murali Munisamy, Translational Medicine Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India

"I nominate Dr. Dinesh Babu for this Lab Heroes Award. I have known Dinesh since 2017, when he first joined as a Postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Siraki’s Toxicology lab at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, UAlberta. Dinesh has an excellent educational background and research experience in the field of toxicology from different international research labs in South Korea, Belgium, and Canada. Dinesh and I have been collaborating in an Alberta Cancer Foundation-supported Cancer drug discovery project, in which Dinesh contributed to pharmacological and toxicity screening of small molecule compounds designed by the team. In this project, Dinesh demonstrated his profound knowledge and practical skills in different in vitro biological assays. He has contributed towards unravelling the toxicity mechanisms of several in-house synthesized compounds, which helped the team in hit discovery and rational design of promising drug-like compounds. He has regularly presented his research findings to our multidisciplinary research team with utmost clarity and in-depth analyses. Further, I understand that Dinesh has also contributed to providing wet lab training to undergraduate and graduate students in Dr. Siraki’s lab at the University of Alberta. Apart from research, Dinesh exhibits excellent interpersonal skills, which is evident from his publication history, his recent Alberta Innovates Postdoc fellowship, his voluntary activities such as peer-reviewing for scientific journals, and his professional network as seen by his nominators for this award. From all these attributes, it is apparent that Dr. Babu is a Lab Hero. This award will not only support his ongoing research projects but also acknowledge him as a young leader in the field."

Aravindhan Ganesan, ArGan's Lab, School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Canada

"I had the pleasure to meet Dr. Dinesh Babu when I joined the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to work as a Postdoctoral Fellow in October 2016. Since the beginning, he showed himself as very friendly, kind, easy-going, and collaborative. Soon after, we started to talk about science in casual conversations during lunchtime and became friends. As we were working in different labs, it was usual that sometimes our group needed some help and extra equipment to perform a given experiment. I would dare say that Dr. Babu would always be willing to support everyone who approached him. Besides being a prominent Scientist, Dr. Babu is a very generous and inspiring person. Some of the best memories I have from my time in Canada are those gatherings at his place when he would cook and share delicious Indian Food with his friends. I would say, without hesitation, he is a kind of “goodwill of science-ambassador” who promoted (and promotes) friendship among colleagues. We had many opportunities to spend time together. I am delighted to have had many science talks, good laughs, and a good time learning about our cultures. In February 2019, we both were part of a group from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences that was invited to the University of Chiba in Japan. There we had a closer chance to share great science and have fun with our Japanese colleagues. I have worked in different labs and countries during my career, nonetheless, I always remember Dr. Babu as a memorable, inspiring, enthusiastic, and experienced Lab Leader that goes the next step and who does not hesitate to help by being a very remarkable and world-class colleague and a kind person. This is why I nominate Dr. Dinesh Babu as my Lab Leader."

David Perez, Faculty of Medicine/Radiopharmacy and Cyclotron, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México

"If I think of Dinesh, I feel optimistic and motivated as he is always a highly energetic person who boosts the spirits of all whom he meets. He is an all-in-one researcher as he is a pharmacist with both academic and industrial experiences having unique skill sets in drug discovery research. In addition to his extensive research experience in many countries, he is a good leader who manages the laboratory to the best standards, helps the trainees to achieve success, and supports fellow researchers in their endeavors. I am specifically impressed by his calm attitude with attention to detail and wholesome knowledge, having answers about everything for everyone in science. He is a warm and friendly person with whom we can discuss anything from a pin to a plane as he makes anyone engage with news and facts. Beyond the lab life, I had a few chances to taste his delicious curry dishes and chats during movie nights after long workdays. He is undoubtedly a person to be defined as a lab hero."

Rami Al Batran, Al Batran Lab, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal, Canada

"Dinesh plays a significant role in the lab; he is not only a postdoc with a lot of knowledge and great expertise when it comes to lab work. He is an excellent colleague to work with. He is always curious and loves to learn. He often engages with everyone in the lab, making them comfortable, and offers words of encouragement and kindness to others. He creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere for all those around him by bringing a positive attitude with him all the time.

Moreover, he helps his juniors expand and grow by giving them advice and is attentive to others' concerns. He is very diligent, friendly, kind, and proactive. He continuously checks if everything is in order and helps others with their experiments. Most importantly, he takes care of those around him. He makes a big difference in the lab; the lab would not be the same without him."

Maryam Jama, KATZ-2-043 Department of Pharmacy, University of Alberta, Canada

"Dr. Dinesh Babu is my colleague at the same faculty. We collaborated on numerous projects. He is knowledgeable, a leader in his group, and knows what he is doing; he is exceptionally hard-working and continually willing to assist anyone. Dr. Babu is honest and trustworthy and an essential player in his team. I am pleased to support his nomination for this award, and sure he is the best candidate because he has all the skills to reach his personal and professional goals."

Farah Mosa, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"I have known Dinesh for one and half years. It is my honor to nominate Dinesh Babu, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta for this award. I have observed that he is a highly dedicated professional who knows how to motivate his students and colleagues.

He is a wonderful person with high moral and ethical values to whom anyone can reach for advice and assistance. I meet him over a coffee and I must say he is a mood booster, always energetic and full of fun. I highly recommend him for this Lab Leader nomination."

Siddhartha Biswas, Applied Pharmaceutical Innovations, Canada

"I have been collaborating with Dinesh and his coworkers for a year. Dinesh is a very knowledgeable and resourceful researcher. He has always made important contributions to our meetings and experiments. Dinesh is not only successful in his academic career, he also has a very kind personality and is one of the favourite people in his lab. Dinesh is unquestionably the ideal candidate for Lab Heroes Awards™ 2021."

Shuce Zhang, Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Canada

"Dr. Dinesh is a dedicated and supportive colleague who is a great strength to our faculty. He is always passionate about learning new things in science and never hesitates to bring up his needs. On the other hand, he is always friendly to reach out for discussion when he shares and teaches the knowledge that is ideally needed for resolving the scientific problem. He is always motivated, smiling and calm, whatever the challenges he faces. Many students and fellow researchers in our faculty appreciate his knowledge as he has diverse experience working in both industrial and academic sectors. He is a person to be appreciated with an award."

Shadab Alam, University of Alberta, Canada

"I had the privilege of working with Dr. Dinesh Babu for a couple of years during my graduate studies at Yeungnam University, and I am very pleased to support Dr. Dinesh Babu's nomination as a Lab Leader. It is very evident from his successful career that Dr. Dinesh has impeccable qualifications, experience, knowledge, accomplishments, etc. However, what makes a person a true leader, is many of the leadership qualities that are an integral part of him that helped/helps everyone in the lab.

A Leader is the one who inspires, and Dr. Dinesh has always been inspirational, and I have personally witnessed many of the colleagues who were inspired to achieve above and beyond their capabilities, including me.

A Leader is the one who serves, and Dr. Dinesh's down-to-earth personality with service mentality went above and beyond during our lab days. He never hesitated to help or collaborate, which in fact motivated others to behave like him. The team got better, more productive, and happier during his presence.

Above all, a leader is the one who believes in others or team members, and helps them identify and amplify their strengths, and Dr. Dinesh did help a lot of our team mates during his presence to hone everyone's skills, and he spent uncountable additional time for other's empowerment.

Overall, in addition to his academic achievements, what makes me remember him and motivates me to write this excerpt after so many decades of hiatus is testament to his impact on anyone's personal life, especially me and my fellow team mates. For this reason, I strongly recommend his nomination and request the judges to entrust him the award. I conclude my support with my gratitude to the organization for this wonderful chance."

Srinivasan Shanmugam, Adare, United States

"Dr. Dinesh is a very friendly, sociable and the most liked colleague in our faculty. I have seen him many times with several lab members with extensive research discussions and experimental assistance to all his junior lab members. We had a few interesting discussions on the interaction of drugs and chemistry as we both are from toxicology and synthetic chemistry fields. He is always ready to assist with any needs with open hands and a good heart. With a wide network of friends with international experience, he has assisted me and others with job referrals and networks for their career growth. He is a close friend with whom I can spend time chatting during the lunch breaks and late evening lab hours about everything from world politics to immigration systems. He always has a positive vibrant aura with a smile that is contagious. He is well deserving to be a lab hero."

Narendar Reddy Gade, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"It gives me great pleasure to nominate Dr Dinesh Babu for the Lab Hero award. He is a great scientist and a wonderful colleague. He is a person with big ambitions. He is also known for being very kind with a warm personality that anybody can get along with very easily. In terms of research capabilities, he is in my estimation one of the best scientists I have ever worked with. He is a true scientist with a great range of views and he has a good understanding of the scientific process."

Marawan Ahmed, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Alberta, Canada

"It is my pleasure to nominate Dr. Dinesh Babu as our Lab Hero. I first met with Dr. Babu when I joined our lab as a Ph.D. student in September 2017. Since then, Dr. Babu has supported me as well as other lab members to overcome different technical difficulties and various obstacles with our research. He is always ready to help every lab member at all times, for instance, even on weekends, to maintain the cells in culture. Having seen him in the lab during the weekends, I started learning to balance the high workload and mental stress by working with some extra hours. Even during the worldwide COVID pandemic situation, he actively continued his research work and communicated with all the lab members to understand our plan and work in concert.

After getting a motivational suggestion from Dr. Babu that a review article will both enhance my literature knowledge about my research topic and fetch me a publication, with the help of his outstanding leadership, I wrote the article that was recently published in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal. He always motivates the lab members to think about the steps involved in the protocols and the reasons for basic sciences involved in each step. Dr. Babu always volunteers to teach us the logic of experimental design, handling of various analytical techniques, statistics, and documentation to manage the research efficiently. He is always friendly and easy to talk to about any problems related to the lab as well as family relationships. When any lab member faces difficulties in experimental failures, Dr. Babu immediately comes as a rescue to handle the situations for troubleshooting and improving the research protocols. Moreover, I observed at several instances that many students from other labs came to meet Dr. Babu to get his help for their experimental troubleshooting to improve their research knowledge. I really appreciate his planning skills in both experiment and lab maintenance. Also, I markedly found him to be an excellent researcher and scientific writer. Dr. Babu’s systematic and organized work style was always admired by every lab member. While working in our lab, Dr. Babu showed the ability to handle multiple parallel projects and worked extremely hard to confirm that all the tasks were completed in a timely fashion. Because of his strong self-confidence, dedication and always eagerness to learn, he acquired vast knowledge in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, which he never hesitated to share with us.

Based on his potentiality and professional acquaintance, I am happy to give my complete support and nomination for Dr. Babu to be considered for the Lab Heroes Award. I wish everyone could appreciate his kindness and attitude to science."

Harunur Rashid, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"I found Dinesh to be a dedicated and devoted science lover and researcher. He well deserves this award."

Shahid Hussain, Basic and Applied Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium

"Dinesh Babu is a marvelous person and scientist."

Keshav Gopal, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"Dinesh Babu is one of the most motivating and dedicated researchers I’ve come across. I met him in 2010 at a training institute in India, where we worked on a common project to investigate the anti-ulcer effects of a plant extract. His Master's degree from South Korea and professional background as a pharmacist enabled him to perform experiments with a high level of skill. He helped me write my project report and supported me greatly. He is a very friendly and humble person, for which he was admired by everyone at the institute. I follow his remarkable research accomplishments from Belgium and Canada. I can confidently see him aspiring towards being a real lab hero!"

Neha Goveas, Genomics, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany

"Dr. Dinesh Babu is an inspiring, motivating and fun to work with colleague whom our lab welcomed as a postdoctoral fellow. As soon as he joined the University of Alberta, he quickly adapted to the laboratory very well and gained control of the experiments and instruments in the lab. He rearranged and brought a great working system in our laboratory with documentation, lab chemicals and instrument maintenance. He was always ready to lend his hands to all the colleagues in the faculty at all times with a smiling face. He never hesitated to come forward to resolve any issues with experimental challenges and is always open to scientific discussions. He is both a good teacher and a learner. We have worked in a concerted manner in many stages of my graduate study life – from cell culture maintenance, experimental planning, and drafting the manuscripts, which earned several publications for both of us. All our lab members learned a lot of science, planning, analysis and presentation skills from him as he used to help everyone with all our needs. Out of the lab, I had a chance to taste some of his spicy curry foods and had fun chats during some memorable weekend gatherings. I am happy to nominate Dinesh as our Lab Hero."

Andrew Morgan, University of Alberta, Canada

"I was a colleague of Dr. Babu during my first two years as a PhD student at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of Ghent University. When we first met, his kindness and friendly character immediately stood out to me. At the lab, I have known Dinesh as a hardworking, helpful and enthusiastic colleague who always had time to discuss or explain overlapping topics from our research domains. I recall the one time I went to his desk for a quick question regarding oxidative stress and he took the time to extensively lecture me about the different mechanisms of oxidative stress that come into play. Although I was much less experienced in the scientific field, he was also eager to learn from me and asked me to show him our murine in vivo model of intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury. As I got to know Dinesh better, it became clear how much he valued his family and his Indian heritage; I was privileged to taste his delicious chicken curry dish he had prepared for the whole lab. To summarize Dinesh: his presence will be an added value for every lab, not only for his scientific enthusiasm and hardworking mindset, but also for his kindness and willingness to help other colleagues. Therefore, I strongly recommend Dr. Dinesh Babu for the “Lab Hero Award” as a Lab Leader and wish him success with all his future endeavors."

Jonas Van Dingenen, Department of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium

"I met Dinesh when we were undergraduate classmates in the pharmacy school in India. Since I met him, he has always been sincere and passionate about what he does. During my academic life, I have evidently seen his commendable knowledge of the theoretical and practical problems of laboratory experiments. I sensed that he would emerge as an eminent scientist, which is what he is now. Later on, I witnessed his research skills when he joined the Master in Pharmaceutical Sciences in Korea. At all times, he always shared the knowledge with fellow students and researchers, regardless of the language barriers where he lived. I had several scientific discussions with him to learn the biological aspects of drug actions that helped me a lot to apply that knowledge in pharmaceutics and drug delivery. He is always a very sociable, friendly, and easy-to-approach person with whom anyone can discuss anything. With his international mobility, he has achieved several publications and awards, which speaks for his ability to succeed in science. I strongly believe that he is worthy of being recognized as a Lab Hero."

Prabagar Balakrishnan, Product Development, Aucta Pharmaceuticals Inc, USA

"I am pleased to recommend Dr. Babu for the Lab Heroes Awards 2021. I have known him for last 5 years as a colleague. He has been a part of our multidisciplinary research program that is focusing on developing small molecule inhibitor of immune checkpoints’ receptors for cancer therapy. He is enthusiastic, cooperative in our team setting, and demonstrated honesty, good interpersonal skills and respect for other trainees, staff and supervisors during the years. When some of his scientific results did not support our hypothesis, he carefully reflected on the work, discussed the results thoroughly and critically analyzed possible explanations and designed alternative hypotheses. He was honest with others and has high ethical standards. If technical or analytical errors were made in his work, he openly discussed these and willingly acknowledged that the work should be carefully evaluated or redone. In addition, he is always willing to help others even when he is busy himself. Many students acknowledge his help and support. He is definitely a lab hero!"

Tae Chul Moon, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"Dinesh is an excellent researcher with an inspiring personality. Talking with him will intoxicate anyone to be attracted to science. While working in Europe, we have exchanged experimental suggestions, research ideas and career options for mutual benefit. He has excellent writing and communication skills which he not only uses for scientific writing but also to motivate other peers in the lab. His successful academic ventures in many countries are a sign of his social skills. With all the achievements and accolades he got, he is eligible to be selected for the Lab Hero award."

Vinoth Khandelwal, Global Strategic Insights, WNS Global Services, India

"I supervised Dinesh Babu as a PhD student in my laboratory in Gent, Belgium, from August 2010 till August 2016. His passion for biomedical research and his working spirit became exemplary in the laboratory. He quickly mastered a multitude of techniques and experiments were performed with great precision, allowing him to gather a huge amount of results supporting his PhD. He followed the literature in his research field with great attention and our research meetings to follow up the project became very lively scientific discussions. It was typical for him that late in the night after the meeting, he already sent an email with his proposal for the adapted protocol or manuscript when required. Research results were presented with care at national and international meetings, where he easily made new contacts. He is indeed a very social person, friendly and diplomatic to colleagues, always ready to help where possible. The head of the collaborative laboratory, where he spent quite some time to obtain the flow cytometric results for his PhD, informed me how appreciated Dinesh was there because of his agreeable character, working spirit and helpfulness. At the end of his stay, Dinesh had become a soulmate not only because he had become an experienced researcher but also because he is such a kind person, with high family values, steadiness in his friendship and interest in the world. He always was the last man in the laboratory and 2-3 times per week, I passed by his office before leaving in the evening to hear about his results but also to shortly chat on family happenings and world news. After his move to Canada in 2016, we stayed in contact and I followed his scientific career, to notice as expected the progressive growth of his scientific output. I now wholeheartedly support the nomination of Dinesh for the Lab Hero award as a Lab Leader. PhD students can be in no better hands than his to learn how to set up projects and protocols, to learn techniques and to perform precise experiments, keeping in mind to be a kind cooperative human being; technicians will feel fully supported by him because of his great interest in new technology and his eagerness to help them in solving technical problems."

Romaine Lefebvre, Department of Basic and Applied Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium

"It is with immense pleasure that I nominate Dr. Dinesh Babu, a postdoctoral fellow at the Faculty of Pharmacy, as a Lab Hero. I have known him for the past two years, since the time I joined as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta. I have had the privilege to engage with Dr. Babu on fruitful research discussions on advanced materials coupled with the biofield. I observed Dr. Babu as an enthusiastic, self-motivated researcher who has remarkable problem-solving skills in his professional service. Dr. Babu’s contribution to the research community is outstanding and he has recently received Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Fellowship for Health Innovation 2021 for his research activities. I am excited to collaborate with Dr. Babu in the area focusing on next-generation materials for orthopaedical applications. His diverse experience in drug formulation and research proves Dr. Babu’s aptitude and commitment to work on different projects in the biomaterial field.

I have found him to be a conscientious and hardworking researcher who has the full potential to attain greater heights in the future. This Lab Hero Award would indeed celebrate his achievements and recognize his research contributions in his professional career. It is for these reasons I support his nomination."

Rakesh Nair, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada

"Dr. Dinesh is a highly inspiring person to work with. At the time when Dinesh joined the Faculty of Pharmacy as a postdoctoral fellow, I was about to relieve myself from my duty as a lab technician in a fortnight. During that time, he immediately took charge of the lab maintenance. He adapted himself quickly to the new lab environment and started training all other students in the lab. He brought up many research questions and ideas, which showed his zeal for research. In the following years, he was instrumental in transforming some raw results into publishable reports, which helped me to have two co-authorship publications with him. Even after five years out of the lab, our friendship still continues. He deserves to be identified as a lab hero."

Nutan Srivastava, University of Alberta, Canada

"I know Dr. Dinesh Babu after being introduced by my fellow researcher. Since the day I met him, he has been a good collaborator with lots of innovative ideas and inspiration. I am a great admirer of his scientific writing, without which some of our research projects would not have been published. His diverse knowledge and experience in all facets of pharma and medical research are very impressive. We have discussed some good research ideas to be developed as grant applications, and he always comes out with challenging questions and criticisms, which greatly helped us to design our experiments properly. Dinesh is a person of sincerity, dedication and commitment to whom we can count as the best supporter to work in a team. He has also helped some of our students with their projects and career guidance. I wish Dr. Dinesh many successes, including the Lab Hero Award."

Arvind Kumar Goyal, Department of Biotechnology, Bodoland University, India

"Dr. Dinesh Babu is a wonderful and amazing person who extends his support to everyone, even during his extensive research activities. Apart from dedication towards his work, he has the power to instill a high level of motivation and confidence in the people around him. His integrity and work discipline are exemplary. He has constantly motivated me to pursue my doctoral studies and immensely supported me at all the stages of my study life. He has helped me to get the rare journal articles that are not accessible at my host institute for my research studies. Even though he would have lots of experimental challenges, his attitude towards helping others at the time of need without even considering his criticality is well recognized and highly appreciated by other fellow researchers. I believe that he is the best person to be awarded as "Lab Hero" and I strongly recommend him for this award."

Suganthi Natarajan, Department of Chemistry, LRG Government Arts College for Women, India

"Dr. Dinesh Babu is a remarkable and inspiring personality. As a senior at my undergraduate pharmacy college, I've known him for nearly two decades. He has been a professional guide, well-wisher and guardian throughout my career. My focus and involvement in the research were enlightened only through his constant support and guidance. Since the day I kmet him, he has always astonished us with his pharmacy knowledge and skills. All my classmates and research co-workers adore him as a versatile researcher. Whenever I discuss my experimental research work with him, I will definitely get a wonderful breakthrough to proceed with my ideas. His ideas and approaches towards addressing a problem are unique and exceptional. I have always seen him as a sincere, dedicated, committed and highly involved person in research. He has also provided education abroad and career guidance advice to many of my students as he has international academic experiences studying in many countries.

He has been a key source of scientific ideas whom I reach out to for many of my student projects as he knows and understands the ability and execution difficulties of the students very well. Moreover, his exceptional research experience and scientific writing advice have helped me to get some good publications in good scientific indexed journals. Beyond professional relationship, he is a good friend and philosopher with whom I can discuss about anything in life. It has been a privilege to know this brilliant and dedicated scientist and humanitarian. I fully nominate him as I cannot think of anyone other than him in my network more deserving of this award."

Gayathri Rajaram, Pharmaceutics, KMCH College of Pharmacy, India

"I met Dr. Dinesh Babu while doing my PhD research in 2010. I have known and worked with Dr. Dinesh Babu for more than 2 years. He presents himself with kindness, knowledgeability, and professionalism. Dr. Dinesh Babu was always approachable and was a huge helping hand in the laboratory and very knowledgeable in various laboratory techniques (aseptic, cell-line work, assays, etc) and always supports his team. With his diverse experience as a researcher and as an individual, Dr. Dinesh Babu acts with high compassion and professionalism towards students and other colleagues, and he is willing to go the extra mile to support others in all aspects. With the above qualities and experience, I nominate Dr. Dinesh Babu for this award."

Pradeep Alava, Quality Control, Fujifilm Diosynth, United States

"He is a very responsible person who helps the preparation and training projects to work. He helps to do experimentation and collect data. A technically skilled person, he has the best communication skills. He clearly plans and schedules his experiments."

Sneha K K, Pharmacology, KMCH College of Pharmacy, India

"My meeting with Dr. Dinesh dates back to 2010 when I did a six-month short stem cell technology summer training program in India. My friends and I were interested in learning flow cytometry. Upon seeing our interest, Dinesh referred and enabled us to visit a research institute, where he has already undergone training in clinical trials. Since then, he has been a mentor and guide for my career.

He used to share his research experience with me, which immensely helped my career choice. Dinesh has helped me design the experiments, analyze the data and draft my thesis. With his guidance only, I have completed my post graduation project in clinical trials along with a great opportunity to learn animal handling and diabetes research.

Moreover, he also helped me design my presentation and job interview questions, which literally helped me land my current job. I am one of the many who got inspired by his personality and benefited from his guidance within a short six-month period. I am undoubtedly confident that Dr. Dinesh would have guided many people in the past decade to find their careers. So, I am really glad to nominate him as a Lab Leader and Hero."

Vijayaragavan Subburaj, Product Master Data, VWR Lab Products Ltd, India

"Dr. Dinesh is a smart researcher with excellent knowledge, scientific skills and values. He has multi-cultural and multi-national research experience with nice productivity. I came to understand that during the pandemic he was one of the few researchers actively involved in lab life towards covid-related research, which shows his dedication to science. In addition, he was leading the publication tasks from drafting till getting it accepted of a nice paper in a 5+ impact factor journal. He was helping some of my students in their experimental analysis and scientific writing, which will prospectively be coming out as nice publications soon. I would certify that Dr. Dinesh is a person of support for all who approaches him, and he has all the scientific and leadership skills to be an emerging scientist. In my opinion, he is certainly eligible for the Lab Hero Award."

Doblin Sandai, Infectomics Cluster, Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

"Dr. Dinesh is the most kind and helpful person I have ever met in my life who has helped me a lot in my lab work. He is a fantastic human being who is always ready to help anyone who seeks his assistance. He is an excellent teacher who can explain any complex scientific concept in a very easy and understandable way to a non-science person, and this one distinct ability of his is an extraordinary skill. All our college members reach out to him for all our queries, and he answers everyone patiently with utmost concern and effort until it is well perceived. He has helped many people at all stages of their lives. In particular, he has played a significant role in my graduation, job search abroad and career growth. He is more than a friend, philosopher and guide for me. I would really love to shout out for him to be my Lab Hero."

Balasubramanian Pitchaimuthu, Nadha Scientific Lab, Nanda College of Para Medical Sciences, India

"Dr. Dinesh Babu has been like a mentor and friend since the first day I met him even though I landed in Canada to pursue my Master’s in Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta. His friendliness with compassion for fellow human beings is commendable. He has helped me (and many other new students), from helping with the essentials like groceries in the cold winter months to sharing his amenities and appliances; he has provided it all! On top of that, he was open to discussing science (and philosophy!) about chemical extraction, food chemistry and pollution toxicity. I would always look up to him for my thesis research discussions, where his comments and suggestions helped me structure things better. And that's why, he's my lab hero!"

Raunil Raj, Chemical Engineering, University of Canada

"Dr. Dinesh Babu is one of the excellent researchers I have met in my life so far. His quest for science and his aspirations towards gaining knowledge are commendable. I met Dinesh at Ghent University while I was pursuing my graduate studies, and his support both inside and outside the lab is of great value to my life. He has a wealth of knowledge and research ideas and never shies away from sharing his wisdom with others. We had several nice science discussions on the drug-receptor interactions and how medicinal chemistry works, which are still immemorable. Many students and fellow researchers who met Dinesh during the social gatherings and scientific meetings appreciate his friendly personality. I certainly knew at that time that he was going to cross horizons in research and now I come to understand that he is working in a drug discovery team involving some top researchers in Canada. In my opinion, I feel Dr. Dinesh is highly capable of being recognized to be a Lab Hero."

Jignesh Lunagariya, R&D, Process Development and DoE, Asymchem Lifescience (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, China

"Dr. Dinesh Babu is one of the best researchers in my scientific network and I greatly admire his personality for all the personal and professional skills he has. I've known him for more than a decade as a fellow researcher in India, and during this time, he has helped me to process some job applications abroad. He is a person of good heart, thoughts and vibes, which immediately makes anyone comfortable to reach out to him. I am always astonished by his time management as he has never said “no” to anyone who reaches to him for any help. I have introduced many of my students for their research and career guidance, and he was always taking his time and effort to do his best to support them. He also inspires me with novel research ideas, which helped me to develop some projects, the outcomes of which are waiting to be soon published reports. He has introduced me to a few researchers and initiated good research collaborations too. His humbleness, respect and friendliness are the qualities that I have always admired. His “can do” attitude with patience and perseverance is the one fine qualities I look highly on in him. I sincerely recommend him for this award that I feel he deserves!"

Bhaskar Reddy Kesavan, Sri Venkateswara College of Pharmacy, India

"I have known Dinesh since 2012 when he was pursuing his doctoral study at Ghent University (Belgium) and have always been impressed by his hard work, passion for science and humbleness. His dedication and willingness to learn & achieve more have brought him across continents, from Asia to North America through Europe. His diverse work experience and teaching capabilities show his scientific and leadership skills. His wide range of research experience and achievements, from Pharmaceutics to Medical Science and from Cellular to Molecular Biology, make him suitable for an emerging scientific leader.

I have seen his potential to work independently as well as in a team, which shows his strength of conceiving research ideas and implementing them. His dedication and passion for science are also seen by his keen interest in participating in long discussions with colleagues and mentors (including me). I have found him determined and focused to his work with very high ethical and professional values, which are must qualities in a scientific leader. His wide range of expertise in lab work and knowledge in the field shows his resourcefulness that could be utilised by his colleagues and collaborators. On a personal note, he has been away from his newly married wife and family for more than two years because of the pandemic, but still has surrounded himself by science, which makes him a deserving candidate to be a scientific leader. I wish him great success!"

Jitesh Neupane, Department of Physiology Development and Neuroscience, Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, UK

"I am pleased to nominate Dr. Dinesh Babu as my lab hero. I came to know Dr. Dinesh when I joined our lab as a Ph.D. student in the January of 2018 under the supervision of Dr. Khaled Barakat, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta. Since then, I have worked with him on the Immune Checkpoint team project led by Dr. Khaled Barakat. Dr. Dinesh plays an essential role in the project with his significant contributions that are helping the team to understand the toxicology and the metabolism of the newly synthesized molecules designed for their anticancer effects. After his assessment, the group decides whether to continue investigating the compound's functionality as a potential therapeutic agent or not.

I am currently working with Dr. Dinesh as a part of my project. During my work with him, I got the privilege to observe his characteristics and qualities up close. He is a great team player with a reliable research background. Dr. Dinesh stood up as a critical thinker who keeps coming up with research ideas, and even more impressive is his work ethic. He displayed excellence in problem solving and technical and research capacity. He showed ability in handling multiple parallel projects and worked extremely hard to ensure that all the tasks were completed in a timely fashion. He has strong self-confidence, dedication and is always eager to learn. Dr. Dinesh is superb in his choice of pharmacological questions and efficient in his experimental skills. He has got excellent ability in writing and publishing his work. He proved to be very reliable, competent, and diligent. He never hesitates to visit the lab during the weekends for any experimental assistance or research help. Working with him is fun while learning. I had the honor to publish two high-impact research papers with him. He has always been the person of choice for my first-hand help in the lab related to science. With his warm, friendly support and guidance, he makes our lab colleagues feel at home.

Dr. Dinesh has also been involved in a myriad of academic and societal activities at international and local organizations (Alberta melanoma Society, Red Cross, Alberta Community Health, etc.) as a key member who participates in important organizational committees for various successful engagements.

Based on my extensive personal and professional acquaintance with him, I give my complete support and nomination for him to be considered for Lab Heroes Award."

Yasser Tabana, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada

"It has been such a great pleasure and honor to work with Dr. Dinesh at the Erode College of Pharmacy, India. I have known him since 2008 when he was working as a lecturer at the college. We have designed some practical sessions and course works. During that time, I evidently found him to be an excellent researcher and scientific writer. His systematic and organized work style was always admired by everyone in our college.

I take this opportunity to express my deep and sincere gratitude for all the support and invaluable guidance he has provided me throughout my career. He has always been my first-hand help for any of my professional needs. I have collaborated with him on many projects. He has vast knowledge in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, which he never hesitated to share with all who approached him. Since the time I got to work with him, I have gained valuable knowledge and precious experience from him throughout my research career. I have taken his suggestions for experimental designs, protocols and presentations of the different projects I have performed in my research career. He has supported me with his mentorship skills and his constant encouragement.

He is a person of good friendship and empathy with a great sense of humor and wisdom. He has an excellent character, kind attitude, and a good heart to motivate and encourage others. He was always ready to extend his best support to all the fellow faculty staff in our college. He was also a guide and mentor for many of my students to find their career choices. With his workaholic nature, dedication and sincerity, he consistently insists on others stating that beholding the ethics and values is an essential trait needed for a good researcher. He truly is a person of choice for the Lab Hero Award!"

Sengottuvel T, Pharmacology, KMCH College of Pharmacy, India

Nomination Category: Lab Leader

View more nominations for Dinesh Babu

_____________________________________

Who's your Lab Hero?

This is your chance to give back to the scientists who make – or who have made – a positive difference to your life, career, and workplace. That might be putting in extra effort in the lab, supporting their colleagues in difficult times, producing incredible results through their work, or making the lab a better place for everyone...

NOMINATE YOUR LAB HERO NOW!

Nominations close 8th December 2021. T&Cs apply.