[7] Vinod Bhakuni was born on 24 May 1962 in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, did his graduate and master's studies at the University of Lucknow and joined Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) for his doctoral studies under the guidance of C. M. Gupta, a Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate.
The family lived in Lucknow and it was here he died, aged 49, on 15 July 2011 at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences where he had been admitted after suffering a heart attack.
[citation needed] His researches have assisted in a wider understanding of the regulation of the functional activity of catalytic domains in proteins.
His group at CDRI is credited with the first demonstration of stoichiometry of the cofactor in serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and were the pioneers in deciphering the mechanism of action of hyaluronate lyases (HLs) from Streptococci and bacteriophages.
[5] The Indian Society of Chemists and Biologists have instituted an annual award, Dr. Vinod Bhakuni Memorial ISCB Award, for honoring research excellence in the fields of chemical and biological sciences[14] and the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST) has named an auditorium, Dr. Vinod Bhakuni Memorial Hall, in his honor.