Prof. Raju had taken over charge as Head of Department from the late Prof. Desiraju, founder and Head of department of Neurophysiology from 1975-1992. Dr. Desiraju was a visionary who conceptualized the department and built up each of the labs from scratch to efficient functioning.
Under some extraordinary circumstances, Dr. Raju stepped up to the plate as a young professor to become head of department. He went on to recruit the faculty, modernize the department and add breadth and depth to the research activities. As Dr. Bindu mentioned in her talk, he has been the "the voice of the department". He has, until recently, served as Dean for the "Basic Sciences" wing of NIMHANS.
Dr. Raju has been recognized for his significant contributions and promoted to the post of "Senior Professor". He continues to be a guiding light and mentor for the department.
Dr. Bindu is one of the earliest students of Nphy Nimhans and was mentored by Dr. Desiraju. She completed her MPhil in 1985 being the second student to be awarded the MPhil degree. She earned her PhD also from the department and continued on to serve as faculty.