In Kochi, India, the HZI scientist Prof Gursharan Singh Chhatwal was honoured today with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2013. With this award, the Indian government dignifies the merits of non-resident Indians that have helped to improve the international reputation of India. Chhatwal has continually rendered outstanding services to the Indo-German scientific cooperation.
The award was founded in 2003 and is conferred to 15 recipients every year as part of the festivities for “Pravasi Bharatiya Divas”, the “Day of the Non-resident Indian”, on 9th of January.
Singh Chhatwal is only the fourth Indian resident in Germany to receive this honour. He has been working at HZI since 1988 and became head of the department “Medical Microbiology” in 1994. Chhatwal dedicates his research to bacteria of the genus Streptococcus. These microorganisms are the causative agent of the so-called rheumatic fever when undetected and thus untreated. Singh Chhatwal’s team thrives to develop a quick test for the identification of those particular Streptococcus strains.
