New Delhi, April 24 Eight of India's leading scientists were on Friday honoured with Thomson Reuters Research Excellence – India Research Front Awards for their groundbreaking work and influential contribution to global research and development.

The eight awardees were presented with the accolade after their research was analysed using Thomson Reuters Research Front Methodology to assess their level of influence on specific scientific fields, Thomson Reuters said in a release here.

Aniruddha B. Pandit, Institute of Chemical Technology, and Parag Ratnakar Gogate, University Institute of Chemical Technology, both of University of Mumbai, were honoured for their contribution to research in advanced oxidation processes and techniques.

R. Panneerselvam, Gopi Ragupathi and Abdul Jaleel Cheruth, all from Department of Botany, Annamalai University, were awarded for their contribution to research into antioxidant metabolism and defence system in higher plants.

G.P.S. Raghava and Manoj Bhasin of the Bioinformatics Centre, Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh, were named for their contribution to research into MHC class I binding peptides, using SVMHC, the release said.

Ayyappanpillai Ajayaghosh of the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvanathapuram, was honoured for his contribution to research into chirality – sensing supramolecular systems.

Rajagopala Chidambaram, principal scientific adviser to the government of India, and Deepak Pental, vice-chancellor, University of Delhi, were the guests of honour at the awards ceremony held here as part of a series of Asia Pacific Research Days hosted by Thomson Reuters.