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Behera C

All India Institute of Medical Sciences

ORCID iD 0000-0003-3280-4778
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About

Prof. Behera serves as the Faculty In-Charge of the DNA Laboratory at AIIMS, New Delhi, and has made substantial contributions to forensic medicine, medico-legal investigations, and molecular forensic medicine. His key areas of expertise include suicide research, forensic genetics, epigenetics, psychological autopsy, development of DNA databases, and providing medico-legal expert opinions in complex cases referred by agencies such as the CBI, NIA, NHRC, Crime Branch, as well as the High Courts and Supreme Court of India.
He has been instrumental in developing India’s first DNA-based identification platform, the UMID (Unidentified Bodies, Missing Persons Identification Portal and DNA database) (https://umid-aiims.icmr.org.in/), designed to assist in the identification of unidentified bodies and missing persons in India. To support identification efforts, he has been working on developing genotype-to-geolocation approaches and DNA phenotyping models tailored for the Indian population.

Dr. Behera’s research focuses on genetic and epigenetic factors, genome-wide analyses, and the discovery of potential biomarkers associated with suicide. His interdisciplinary approach integrates forensic pathology, psychiatry, clinical psychology, sociology and molecular biology, thereby contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of suicide as a complex, multifactorial phenomenon. His expertise is further strengthened by advanced training in ‘suicide biomarkers’ from the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA, as well as certification in psychological autopsy from the American Association of Suicidology, Baton Rouge, USA, which together enhance his capacity to evaluate risk factors and inform prevention strategies. He has been working on the development of a First Indian Database for the Understanding of Suicide (INDUS), which integrates a comprehensive ‘Brain biobank’ and other tissue bank along with detailed clinical data, psychological autopsy findings, suicide notes, and various phenotypic information.

Dr. Behera first coined the term ‘e-suicide note’ and his team’s multiple publications on suicide note analysis revealed distinct behavioral and personality profiles, offering forensic and preventive value. He has assembled one of the largest single-centre cohorts of suicide notes for suicide research. His investigations into psychosocial risk assessment, and postvention models for families have direct clinical implications by informing culturally tailored psychological interventions. He is ranked among the top 10 researchers in Southeast Asia in terms of contributions to suicide research publications.

Additionally, he has contributed to advancements molecular autopsy in cases of sudden and unexplained deaths, SUDEP and injury pattern analysis in intricate medico-legal investigations. Dr. Behera has also engaged in several national and international collaborative research projects, including prestigious NIMH-funded R01 grants, and has authored more than 250 publications in reputed scientific journals, thereby significantly advancing the fields of forensic medicine and suicide research both in India and internationally. He has co-authored two textbooks in the field of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.

Employment

  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences Professor
    2022 - Present
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences

Education

  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences MD
    2001 - 2004

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (324)