Prof. Balaram is a distinguished scientist and former Director of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc). He is among India’s leading biochemists and has received the Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri for his contributions to the field. Prof. Balaram has been associated with ATREE’s BoT since 2020. He has played a significant role in steering the organisation during the pandemic and building strong academic governance structures. Prof. Balaram graduated in Chemistry from Pune University, Pune (1967), and he joined the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur for his Master’s in Chemistry (1969). He did his Ph.D from Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh (1972) and underwent Post-Doctoral training at the Department of Chemistry in Harvard University, U.S.A. He has published more than 402 papers and 4 book chapters.