Innovation drives Himalaya’s R&D. It is an institution for experimentation, discovery and development of some of the world’s best therapeutic and personal care products. And now we want it to be an institution of learning for young minds with a passion to make a difference in the field of herbal medicine.

To make certain that students who come to Himalaya for further research, are given a formal degree certificate at the end of their studies, we got the R&D center affiliated to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Health Sciences, Bangalore way back in 1999. Accordingly, a student on completion of their research thesis from Himalaya, will be given a PhD. Certificate.

In fact, our first PhD student passed out of the ‘Himalaya University’ in August! Venkat Rangana, now…..Dr. Venkat Rangana, became the first student to complete his Research at the Himalaya R&D center and receive a PhD degree certificate from the Rajiv Gandhi institute of Health Sciences. His thesis was on Investigation of estrogenic & anti-osteoporotic activity of Nigella Sativa and Murraya Koenigii. These herbs have high therapeutic value but little research has been done to understand and analyze their efficacy in a scientific way.

While evaluating Dr. Rangana’s thesis and after the rigorous Viva session, Prof. Kulkarni, member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Punjab University, commented, “ This is the first time in my long academic career where I have conducted a PhD. Defence examination…in a private R&D establishment.” He further added that the examination was held in a highly academic environment with many Himalaya scientists being present during the viva.

After receiving his degree, Dr. Rangana was appreciative of the support, technical assistance, guidance & training given to him by Himalaya scientists. When asked about his long-term goal, he answered, ‘I would like to develop various models for screening herbs and standardization.’ Just what the herbal industry needs!

This is a great achievement for Himalaya as we believe that everything begins with an unending quest for knowledge. By encouraging research & investigation, we can help give the world better scientists, who in turn may develop products which make a big impact on human life.