Dr. Kshitij K. Singh

Research Profile

As a background, I have obtained my LL.M. and Ph.D. (Law) degree from the Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University Varanasi, U.P., India. The field of gene patenting and biotech law has been of special interest to me since my LL.M. courses. I completed my LL.M. dissertation on the topic “Human Genome and Cloning: Legal and Human Rights Issues” and published articles on biotechnology law. In my LL.M. dissertation I covered ethical, legal and human rights issues relating to genetic information, assisted reproductive technologies, surrogacy, human reproductive and therapeutic cloning and stem cell research. I completed my Ph.D. thesis on the topic “Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Rights: Legal and Social Implications.” In my Ph.D. thesis I analysed the legal and social implications arising from the recent conjunction of biotechnology and intellectual property rights, focusing particularly on human gene and gene variations. I surveyed the patent approaches of the United States, European Union, Canada and India regarding biotechnological inventions and examined the viability of international patent regime dealing with these inventions. I discussed the effects of gene patents on patients, research

subjects, genetic innovation and public health. I also covered the intricacies involved in the intellectual property protection to bioinformatics and genomic databases, paying heed to open biotechnology.

I am the recipient of Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Asia-Pacific 2010 during my Ph.D. term. To broaden my horizon and experience, I gained legal experience as a research intern (2009) and a visiting research fellow (2010) under the Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship 2010 at the Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. During this period I examined laws governing or needing biotechnology developments in India and Canada. It has also expanded my research interest to the international aspect of the laws governing genetic patents and biotech research.

I have been consistently engaged in studies relating to the ethical, legal and social issues emanating from the interface of law and biotechnology; law and human genetics and law and bioinformatics. Such an engagement has enabled me to understand the intricacies of biotechnology as well as intellectual property law. My training in biotechnology law in Canada has been very helpful in honing my research skills to analyse the techno-legal problems of the present age. I have great interest in biotechnology law and intellectual property laws in general and laws relating to human genetics and genomics in particular. I strongly believe that in the present information age, the situation demands a more sophisticated role of law, where law should not only act as regulator but also a facilitator of social interests.