Kolkata, Jan 14 (IANS): A researcher at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science here has become the first Indian to win the "Young Investigator Award" from a renowned international scientific organisation.

Inorganic chemistry researcher Abhishek Dey has been selected for this year's honour by the Society of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines.

The society was formed in 2000 to highlight studies on the pigments (porphyrins and phthalocyanines).

Heme, the pigment responsible for the red colour of blood, is an example of porphyrin.

"It is an encouragement to carry out further research and good to see the community responding to our work," Abhishek Dey told IANS.

Dey's findings, which include a technique testing efficacy of Alzheimer's drugs, have been consistently published in several international journals.

Every year the society recognises two young researchers, the other winner being Taku Hasobe from Japan.

The reception ceremony is scheduled during the International Conference on Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines (ICPP) in Istanbul later this year.