PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Karthik Raman

Karthik Raman is a computational systems biologist at IIT Madras who builds algorithms and models of metabolic and microbial networks, and whose work now reaches into AI for drug discovery. He trained at ICT Mumbai and the Indian Institute of Science, where a PhD under Nagasuma Chandra modelled the tuberculosis bacterium, and did postdoctoral research at the University of Zurich with Andreas Wagner. He joined IIT Madras as an assistant professor in 2011, co-founded the startup qBiome Research, and wrote the 2021 textbook An Introduction to Computational Systems Biology. In January 2026, Ohio State announced PURE, an AI framework for generating drug-like molecules that combines self-supervised learning with reinforcement learning, developed with IIT Madras collaborators including him. He is a professor in the Department of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras's Wadhwani School, coordinates the Centre for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine, and leads a team of faculty and industry partners on generative AI in education.

Badges

Timeline

  1. By 2011

    Bangalore PhD and Zurich postdoc

    He studies chemical technology at ICT Mumbai and computational science at the Indian Institute of Science, where his PhD under Nagasuma Chandra models a pathway in the tuberculosis bacterium to find drug targets. Postdoctoral work with Andreas Wagner at the University of Zurich follows, before he moves back to Chennai in 2011.

  2. 2011

    Assistant professor at IIT Madras

    In 2011, he joins IIT Madras in Chennai as an assistant professor. His Computational Systems Biology Lab builds tools such as COSMOS, which enables rational design of microbial systems, and Panera, a framework for handling uncertainty in microbial community modelling.

  3. By 2021

    Co-founding qBiome Research

    By 2021, he is co-founder and director of the startup qBiome Research Private Limited, coordinator of the Centre for Integrative Biology and Systems Medicine at IIT Madras, and a core faculty member of the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. His team studies the microbiome of the International Space Station using a dataset from NASA.

  4. 2021

    A systems biology textbook

    In 2021, Chapman & Hall publishes his textbook An Introduction to Computational Systems Biology: Systems-Level Modelling of Cellular Networks. The book covers static networks, dynamic models and constraint-based models.

  5. July 2024

    Designing minimal microbiomes

    In July 2024, a Springer Nature Behind the Paper post by Raman and two coauthors presents an algorithm that identifies the smallest subsets of a large microbial community able to perform a desired function. These minimal microbiomes contain the keystone species that achieve the required purpose.

  6. January 2026

    The PURE drug-design framework

    In January 2026, Ohio State announces PURE, an AI framework from Ohio State and IIT Madras researchers that generates drug-like molecules designed to be easier to synthesize. He is among the IIT Madras collaborators on the system, which blends self-supervised learning with policy-based reinforcement learning.

  7. As of October 2026

    Professor at the Wadhwani School

    He is a professor in the Department of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras's Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI. He coordinates the Centre for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine, is a core member of the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and AI, and coordinates a team of faculty and industry partners on generative AI in education.

Career

  1. Since 2011IIT MadrasAssistant Professor
  2. University of ZurichPostdoctoral Researcher
  3. qBiome Research Private LimitedCo-founder and Director

Education

  1. Institute of Chemical Technology
  2. Indian Institute of SciencePhD

From the biography.

  1. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes IIT Madras. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes IIT Madras. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes IIT Madras. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes IIT Madras. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Karthik Raman yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Meet Dr. Karthik Raman | Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence rbcdsai.iitm.ac.in. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Karthik Raman | Wadhwani School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence wsai.iitm.ac.in. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Home | Computational Systems Biology Lab | IIT Madras ramanlab.github.io. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. An Introduction to Computational Systems Biology: Systems-Level Modelling of Cellular Networks | Routledge routledge.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Karthik Raman | Research Communities by Springer Nature communities.springernature.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. International collaboration spurs AI-powered drug discovery tool | The Ohio State University news.osu.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Karthik Raman | Department of Biotechnology | IIT Madras home.iitm.ac.in. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Karthik Raman | Centre for Responsible AI cerai.iitm.ac.in. Checked 21 October 2026.