Dr Arijit Mukhopadhyay

Associate Professor in Precision Health

Arijit Mukhopadhyay is currently an Associate Professor in Precision Health at the University of Salford, specialising in genetic and genomic markers for human diseases. Arijit is fascinated by randomly occurring natural variations in our genetic blueprint that shapes non-random physiological and behavioural outcomes.

Arijit has varied interests and works in the interface of a diverse range of subjects. He trained as a chemist and then turned into an internationally known expert in human genetics. He is a certified practitioner of neuro-linguistic programming and a life-coach. He currently leads the Staff Wellbeing efforts for the School of Science, Engineering and Environment for the University of Salford and contributes as a member in the wellbeing steering group of the university.

Arijit is also a very strong advocate of integration of genetic counselling and science communication in all areas of public health so that the public can get the maximum benefit of scientific advancements in genetics. Arijit is keen to use the use of audio-visual medium to highlight the human stories that are often hidden behind data driven objective research projects and presentations. Arijit says, “for me every single individual who contributes to our research with their life’s ‘blueprint’ is a living and breathing story”. According to him, to achieve ambitious goals for precision health or personalised medicine we must integrate the objective data driven science with nuanced, subjective stories of the individuals. Unlike genetics of any other species, Human Genetics cannot overlook the cultural and social aspects of our lives. To highlight the power of integrating both sides of the story, he has created a short film titled Vision of the Blind Lady. The story is based on the real journey of a poor family from rural India and highlighted how genetic counselling can be a game changer to save this family from blindness. This film is funded by the University of Salford.

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In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.