Sujatha Byravan

Sujatha Byravan is Principal Research Scientist at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP). Until 2012, she was Senior Fellow at the Centre for Development Finance in IFMR where the focus of her work was primarily on adaptation to global warming. Her interests are in the broad areas of science, technology and development and are grounded in her technical background and education in the biological sciences. Her recent projects and publications have been on India's National Action Plan on Climate Change, sea level rise, environmental migrants and exiles, including so-called 'climate refugees', biotechnology policy, innovation, and science for sustainable development.

Between 2002 and 2007, she was Executive Director and President of the Council for Responsible Genetics (CRG), a non-profit/non-governmental organization devoted to fostering informed debate on the social, ethical and environmental implications of new genetic technologies. CRG carries out policy research, education and advocacy.

Byravan received a PhD in molecular biology in 1989 from the University of South Carolina. She completed post-doctoral work from 1993 to 1995 at UCLA. She then worked in India as a science writer and freelance journalist. Topics she has written on include science policy, gender issues, and Indian environmental concerns and politics. During that time, Byravan also became a fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation's LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) Program (1995 to 1997). She later served as Director of the Fellows Program at LEAD International from 1999-2002, and in that capacity was responsible for developing and executing the program for the graduates of LEAD, who number over 1,300 and work all over the world in various sectors.

Byravan is also a fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar on Biotechnology: Legal, Ethical and Social Issues. She received a Rockefeller Foundation Residential Fellowship at Bellagio in 2007. She is on the board of LEAD (India).

Selected publications

• "Before the Flood". New York Times. May 9, 2005.
• "Ensuring privacy in genetic testing". Boston Globe. Byravan & Matlaw. November 2, 2005.
• "DNA Typing - A Technology of Fear".Development, Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 28–32, 2006
• "Louise Brown will turn 28 this year. The Indian Express. March 17, 2006.
• "Gender and Innovation in South Asia (PDF)". Innovation, Policy and Science. February 2008.
• "The Climate Exile Alarm"" The Hindu. July 15, 2009.
• "Where's the science in GM crops?". IndiaTogether. November 6, 2009.
• "Warming up to Immigrants: An Option for US Climate Policy".Economic and Political Weekly, November 7, 2009.
• "The Ethical Implications of Sea-Level Rise Due to Climate Change".Ethics and International Affairs, Fall 2010.
• "The Inter-Academy Report on Genetically Engineered Crops: Is It Making a Farce of Science?". Economic and Political Weekly, October 23, 2010.
• "Climate Change: Sea Level Rise Initiative". November 2010.
• "Development Benefits from a Low-Carbon Pathway". Economic and Political Weekly, August 20, 2011.

External links

• "LEAD page on Byravan"
• "NAPCC Evaluation"