A recipient of many prestigious awards, Dr Sharma has worked at several key positions including Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister. She has played a crucial role in promoting bio-sciences in India and was instrumental in establishing five research institutions namely: the National Institute of Immunology, Biomass Research Centre, Madurai Kamraj University, the Plant Molecular Unit at Delhi University, the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting at Hyderabad and the Plant Genome Research Centre at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

The National Brain Research Centre at New Delhi is her latest project. "The idea of this centre was put forward in 1990, but it got formal approval only last year. It is going to be an autonomous society, attached to a network of 30 to 40 premier institutes through computers," she discloses. A fund of Rs 3 crore has already been sanctioned for the centre for the current year and Rs 14 crore for the next two years.

She explained that biotechnology involves isolation and manipulation of individual genes, while genetic engineering -- or, recombinant DNA technology, to use the more scientifically correct term -- refers to modification and transfer of genes using the techniques of molecular biology.

"Biotechnology offers innumerable possibilities for developing preventive measures and cures for deadly diseases in an era, when people are fast developing resistance to common antibiotics. Diagnostic kits, recombinant vaccines, including oral vaccines are in great demand. However, every biotechnology product does not come through genetic engineering. It can be through traditional biotechnology, which dates back thousands of years" Sharma clarifies.

Illustrating how biotechnology has entered the arena of pollution control in a big way, Dr Sharma says: "Bio-sensors and bio-indicators are playing a significant role in bringing down the level of atmospheric pollution; the Biotechnology Department uses microbial consortia to combat pollution of the ocean by by oil and coal tar; Indian farmers are increasingly adopting bio-control methods instead of chemical fertilisers and tissue-culture of plant is becoming common. Both are significantly improving crop-yield. Transgenic plants have been immensely successful in China and they have a promising future in India."

Globalisation is generally seen as a welcome development but Dr Sharma sees it from a different angle: "With the growth of travel, trade and tourism, the world is indeed becoming a global village but the dark side of this is that infections are spreading and antibiotic resistance is developing fast. Forty per cent of the total deaths due to infectious diseases are reported from the South East Asian Region. Therefore, top priority must be given to public health care systems in developing nations such as ours."