NIH Remembers CSR’s Krishnan
Dr. Krish Krishnan, formerly of the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), passed away on December 29. He was 82.
Krishnan retired in 2013 from NIH, where he had been a scientific review officer (SRO) in CSR. He coordinated study sections and special emphasis panels related to metabolic diseases. His focus on diabetes as an SRO and in his own research stemmed in part from family history with the disease.
After earning a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Madras in southern India, Krishnan graduated first in his class with an M.S. from the University of Baroda, then received a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science, both in biochemistry. He was the only person in his family of three brothers (the other two are engineers) who aimed for study in the United States.
In 1972, Krishnan was accepted into the John Fogarty International Fellowship Program at NIH and worked in labs at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
At NHLBI, his research focused on the role of second messengers in pathophysiological processes in tissue and cellular systems. He stayed on as a senior staff fellow at NINDS from 1978 to 1984, when his research shifted to understanding underlying mechanisms of ion channels.
A 6-month consultancy in the National Eye Institute and 1-year stint with NHLBI gave him, as he had described it, “a wonderful opportunity to see what extramural was like.”
In 1986, Krishnan joined the then Division of Research Grants (now CSR). He administered the metabolism study section for more than 15 years, when he took over special review study sections related to endocrinology, metabolism, nutrition and reproductive sciences. The portfolio included small business grants, fellowships, applications that would have conflicts of interest if reviewed in chartered study sections and continuous submissions.
Krishnan served on a number of NIH committees, including the peer review best practices, seminar and employee advisory committees in CSR. For 4 years, he was on the diabetes mellitus interagency coordinating committee organized by NIDDK.
Krishnan is survived by his wife Lakshmi, brother N. Lakshmanan, brother-in-law K. Chandrasekhar and nephew Dr. Ashwin Kumar Mani and their families.