Dr. Rakesh Mishra, Director of the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society, is a globally recognized scientist with a PhD from the University of Allahabad. Formerly the Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), he led significant contributions to India's genomic surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the COVID-19 pandemic. An expert in science communication, he holds leadership roles at AcSIR and CCMB, and his research focuses on genomics, developmental biology, and infectious diseases.