Dear Friends,

Science in our country has witnessed an upsurge in the past two decades, both in terms of funding that the sector has attracted as well as the output that has been generated. The latter could be exemplified by the path-breaking discoveries that have been made in this South-Asian heartland of scientific research. Besides quality publications, two noteworthy features eminent today in Indian science are the huge number of collaborative projects being pursued in the country and the ever-increasing number of national and international platforms for dissemination of scientific findings. Furthermore, the scientific outreach programs also deserve accolades for developing scientific temper across different age groups as well as different strata of the society. More specifically, the above-mentioned features become increasingly evident when one brings the biological research of our country into the perspective. In that direction, SBC (I) has a long-standing legacy in bringing together the diverse research minds of our country together in its annual meetings.

SBC (I) annual meetings are held each year in different geographical landscapes of our country. The most heartening thing of organizing SBC meetings has been in finding regular volunteers who come forward to host such meetings. Each year, the theme of the meeting has been different that enables to cover not only recent discoveries but also highlights biological research being pursued in that area. For instance, the 87th SBC (I) annual meeting was successfully held in the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal with a focus on “Genome Biology in Health and Disease” and the current year’s annual meeting which is being held in the Bhabha Atomic Research Center between October 31- November 3, 2019 will have “Interface of Biology and Chemistry: Health and Nutrition” as a focus of its attention.

Apart from Annual meetings, SBC (I) with the guidance of its well-managed headquarters housed permanently in the New Biological Sciences premises at IISc, Bangalore, with its limited resources help in organizing several events around the year across the country. For instance, SBC(I) during past year supported an outreach program – workshop on “Research on Antibiotics: Past, Present and Future”, held in the Malda district of West Bengal between June 30 - July 1, 2018; North-East Chapter for organizing National conference on “Translational Drug discovery: Current trends and future interventions” held at the Assam Downtown University, Guwahati, Assam during November 10-11, 2018, Bangalore Chapter for organizing a conference on “Perspectives in Malaria Research and Growth of Biotechnology in India” held at IISc, Bangalore during March 23-24, 2018.In order to promote exposure of our students to excellence in science, we regularly award a few International travel grants. During 2018, SBC (I) provided International Student Travel Fellowship to Mr. Rajiv Kumar Jha, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. On behalf of SBC(I), our distinguished members also attended various international conferences. Dr. Dipshikha Chakravortty, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore attended the International Conference of KSMCB during September 17-19, 2018 held at Seoul, South Korea; Prof. Manju Bansal, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore was selected for the G N Ramachandran Lecture Award at 24th IUBMB-15th FAOBMB Congress during June 4-9, 2018 at Seoul, South Korea; Prof. Umesh Varshney, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore attended the 24th IUBMB-15th FAOBMB Congress during June 4-9, 2018 at Seoul, South Korea as a

Vol. No. 112 July 2019 Email: sbcihq@gmail.com http://www.sbcihq.in

OFFICE BEARERS OF SBC(I) 2019

PRESIDENT

Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Amity University, Haryana

VICE-PRESIDENTS

Dr. Usha Vijayraghavan

IISc, Bangalore

Dr. R. Sankaranarayanan

CCMB, Hyderabad

Dr. Madhu Dikshit

THSTI, Haryana

SECRETARIES

Dr. N. Ganesh

IISc, Bangalore

Dr. Utpal Nath

IISc, Bangalore

Dr. Gaurishankar SaBose Institute, Kolkata

TREASURER

Dr. Deepak K. Saini

IISc, Bangalore

Kindly note the change in the website address: http://www.sbcihq.in

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FAOBMB Delegate. The 2019 International Conference of the Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology (KSMCB) will be held at the COEX Center in Seoul, South Korea. During the 86th SBC (I) annual meeting, Prof. M. Shadaksharaswamy Endowment Lecture Award and P. B. Rama Rao Memorial Award were bestowed upon Dr. Kumaravel Somasundaram, IISc and Dr. Tanya Das, Bose Institute, Kolkata, respectively. Dr. U. K. Misra Best Poster Award has been instituted from this year in the name of the country’s eminent biochemist Dr. U. K. Misra, Founder Professor and Head, Department of Biochemistry, IVRI, Izatnagar in the area of Animal Biochemistry.

It is also encouraging to note that the number of SBC (I) membership has swollen to more than 4000, most of which are life members. Although it is a good number but considering the vast number of researchers engaged in biological research in our country, we should expect and encourage more memberships, particularly from our student community.

With this news letter, I will probably have more chances to communicate with you. I extend my wishes to all active researchers and students engaged in biological research for a very productive year and hope that our endeavours will make us even more noticeable around the globe.

Prof. Rajendra PrasadPresidentSociety of Biological Chemists (India)

88th SBC(I) Annual Meeting Theme of the Meeting: “Interface of Biology and Chemistry:

Health and Nutrition”

Date: Oct 31 to Nov 3, 2019

Venue: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, Maharashtra

Organizer: Prof. Hari MisraMolecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai- 400085

Tel: 91-22-25593821/25595417/25512579E-mail: hsmisra@barc.gov.in, harimisra38@gmail.com, sbci19@gmail.com

Please refer to the following website for more information

http://www.sbci2019.com/

NOMINATIONS FOR 2019 SBC (I) AWARD

This year P. S. Sarma Memorial Award, P. A. Kurup Endowment Lecture Award, D. P. Burma Memorial Award and A. Krishnamurthy Award (best paper published in an Indian Journal) will be given at the Annual Meeting to be held at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. Please send one hard copy and a soft copy of the nomination including membership status and a brief resume of the nominee to:

Hon. SecretarySociety of Biological Chemists, IndiaD-Wing, 1st Floor, New Biological Science BuildingIndian Institute of ScienceBangalore 560012Phone: 080- 23601412Email: sbcihq@gmail.com

The complete application should reach the SBC(I) office on or before August 31, 2019.

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Report on the 87th SBC(I) Annual Meeting held at MAHE, Manipal

The 87th Annual Conference of the Society of Biological Chemists (India) on the topic ‘Genome Biology in Health and Disease’ was organized at the School of Life Sciences (SLS) Auditorium, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal on November 25-27, 2018 by Dr. H. S. Ballal (the Pro-Chancellor of MAHE), in the presence of Dr. H. Vinod Bhat (the Vice-Chancellor, MAHE), Dr. Umesh Varshney (President, SBC(I)), Dr. V. Nagaraja (President, JNCASR, Bengaluru), Dr. Ganesh Nagaraju (Secretary, SBC(I)) and Dr. K. Satyamoorthy (Director, SLS, MAHE).

Inaugurating the conference, Dr. Ballal spoke of the genesis of the School of Life Sciences based on the need to develop new scientific knowledge, as part of the university’s goal to be ranked higher among world universities. Dr. Bhat spoke about the relative lack of impactful publications in the areas of natural sciences from India compared to that from China. He said that conferences such as this would help redress the balance by promoting quality research. In his presidential address, Dr. Varshney listed the specific goals of the SBC(I) and more importantly on the aim of the conference to promote networking among the delegates. Dr. Nagaraja highlighted the contributions of MAHE in the field of education and research. Earlier, Dr. K. Satyamoorthy (Director, SLS) welcomed the gathering. Dr. Padmalatha Rai (Associate Director, SLS) delivered the vote of thanks.

About seventy invited speakers, from India and abroad, representing varied areas of genomics in human health and disease, shared their research findings with the 350 odd delegates during three day conference. One of the major highlights of this meeting was the presence of large number of students among the delegates. More than 100 young researchers vied for the ‘Best Poster’ awards under various categories, judged by a panel of experts. In the end, 11 best poster awards were presented to the chosen ones, representing various fields of work. There was a banquet dinner with cultural extravaganza on the second day. The executive committee meeting and the general body meeting of SBC(I) were conducted on the sidelines.

The conference was sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Medical Council of India (MCI), Board of Radioactivity and Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) Government of India and MAHE, Manipal.

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CRITERIA FOR 2019 AWARDS

P. S. SARMA MEMORIAL AWARD

Year of Commencement : 1973Frequency : Once in three yearsValue : Rs.10,000/- with a citation

Eligibility: 1. The award is for the best work done in the field of Biochemistry and Allied Sciences in India2. The recipient of the award should not have completed 50 years before January 1st of the year

in the year for which the award is announced.3. The eligible person has to be nominated by a life member of the society and self nomination

is not accepted.4. A lecture will be scheduled at the Annual Meeting of SBC(I) and a presentation will be made

at that time.

P. A. KURUP ENDOWMENT LECTURE AWARD

Year of Commencement : 1991Frequency : Once in three yearsValue : Rs.10,000/- with a citation

Eligibility: 1. The recipient of the award should be below 60 years of age on January 1st of the year of the

award2. The award is given for Biomedical Research3. The eligible person has to be nominated by a life member of the society and self nomination

is not accepted.4. The awardee should give a lecture during the Annual Meeting of SBC(I)

D. P. BURMA MEMORIAL AWARD

Year of Commencement : 2007Frequency : Once in three yearsValue : Rs. 20,000/- with a citation

Eligibility: 1. An eminent scientist for outstanding life time contribution in the field of Biological Sciences.2. No age limit. 3. The eligible person has to be nominated by a life member of the society and self nomination

is not accepted. 4. A lecture will be scheduled at the Annual Meeting of SBC(I) and presentation will be made at

that time.

A. KRISHNAMURTHY AWARD

Year of Commencement : 1976Frequency : AnnuallyValue : Rs. 2,000/- with a citation

Eligibility: 1. The recipient of the award should be below 30 years of age on January 1st of the year of the

award.2. The paper should be in the area of Biological Chemistry and Allied Sciences and the work

should have been carried out in India.3. The paper published in any Indian Scientific Journal in the previous year will be considered

for the award.4. In the case of multiple authorship, the senior author can nominate one of the authors or could

be shared by all the eligible authors.

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2018 ANNUAL AWARDS

The Society announced the Annual Awards for the year 2018 at its Annual Meeting held at MAHE, Manipal during November 25-27, 2018. This year, three awards were given, and the Society congratulates all the awardees and wishes them good luck in pursuing their goals. A brief description of the research interest as provided by the awardees is given below:

PROF. M. SHADAKSHARASWAMY ENDOWMENT LECTURE AWARD

Dr. Kumaravel Somasundaram

IISc, Bangalore

Kumar Somasundaram is a Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He obtained his Veterinary Medicine degree (1985) from Madras Veterinary College, Masters in Biotechnology (1987) and Ph.D. in bacterial genetics (1993) from Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India. Subsequently, he did his post-doctoral training at the Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania in Cancer Biology before moving to Indian Institute of Science (1999) as a faculty member. The major focus of his laboratory is genetics of glioma, the most common primary adult cancer.

Association between actively transcribed genes and RNA methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and the associated m6A modificationN6-methyl adenosine (m6A), one of the abundant mRNA modifications catalyzed by methyltransferase-like 3 and 14 (METTL3/14), influences various events in RNA metabolism. Similar to DNA and histone modifications, mRNA modifications like m6A are also reversible and play key roles in regulation of molecular events.

Genetic and epigenetic changes are characteristic of all cancers. Glioblastoma (GBM), the grade IV glioma, constitutes the most common and highly malignant form of primary brain tumors in adults. There has been an explosion of knowledge about the biology of GBM in particular during the last decade. In spite of these advances, the survival remains poor. We follow a comprehensive approach that integrates the changes in the genome and the epigenome of the cancer.

In our effort to study the role of mRNA modification and glioma stem-like cell (GSC) growth, we found that METTL3 and the associated m6A modification are essential for glioma stem-like cell (GSC) growth. Towards identifying the target of METTL3 in promoting GSC growth, we carried out an integrated RIP-sequencing and RNA-sequencing of METTL3-silenced GSCs. This analysis revealed that m6A modification in GSCs is principally carried out by METTL3. The m6A-modified transcripts showed higher abundance compared to non-modified transcripts. Further, we show that the METTL3 is essential for the expression of GSC-specific actively transcribed genes. Silencing METTL3 resulted in elevation of several aberrant alternative splicing events. We also found that putative m6A reader proteins play a key role in the RNA stabilization function of METTL3. METTL3 altered A-I and C-U RNA editing events by differentially regulating RNA editing enzymes ADAR and APOBEC3A. Similar to protein-coding genes, lncRNAs with m6A marks showed METTL3-dependent high expression. m6A modification of 3’UTRs appears to result in a conformation-dependent hindrance to miRNA binding to their targets. The integrated analysis of the m6A regulome in METTL3-silenced GSCs showed global disruption in tumorigenic pathways that are indispensible for GSC maintenance and glioma progression. We conclude that METTL3 plays a vital role in many steps of RNA processing and orchestrates successful execution of oncogenic pathways inGSCs.

P. B. RAMA RAO MEMORIAL AWARD

Dr. Tanya Das Bose Institute, Kolkata

Professor Tanya Das, Fellow of The National Academy of Sciences, India, Fellow of the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology, received her Doctoral degree in Biochemistry from the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, in 1988. Prof. Das then joined The Cleveland Clinic, USA, as Fellow Doctor to work on cell signalling. In 1996 she joined Bose Institute, India, where she is now a Professor of Molecular Medicine.

Prof. Das has made significant contribution in establishing the mechanism of carcinogenesis and developing a targeted therapy of cancer. Cancer is a multifactorial disease that involves de-regulation of various signaling pathways. Prof. Das developed a multiple signal modulation therapy of cancer adopting different approaches, i.e., (i) to induce apoptosis even in drug-resistant cancers, (ii) to retard metastasis, and (iii) to inhibit angiogenesis, in cancer cells, using different phytochemicals like curcumin, theaflavins, capsaicin etc. According to a recent hypothesis, tumorigenesis, metastasis and

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drug-resistance are driven by a limited subpopulation of tumor-initiating cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs)that possess stem cell-like properties, e.g., ability to self renew, increased proliferative capacity, and ability to differentiate into different lineages. Prof. Das has ascertained that these CSCs are the ‘Master Regulators’ of all the ‘Hallmarks of Cancer’ thus establishing this deadly disease as a ‘Stem Cell Disease’. Her work is unique in discovering the “missing link” between ‘differentiation and de-differentiation’ that identified CSCs as the root-cause of tumor relapse, a major reason behind patient death. She has been successful in sensitizing chemo-resistant cancer stem cells by re purposing FDA-approved drugs, e.g., aspirin, metformin etc., or by phytochemicals like curcumin. Prof. Das has also delineated the role of cancer stem cells in modulating the immune system so that pro-CSC immunity, which might be responsible for the failure of immunotherapy of cancer, can be targeted for developing an effective and relapse-free treatment strategy of cancer.

Contributions of Prof. Das are highly recognized by various National and International Scientific Communities as is evident from her more than 130 publications in high impact International journals including Science, Cancer Res., Oncogene, Immunity, J. Biol. Chem., Clin. Cancer Res., J. Immunology, Carcinogenesis, Scientific Reports, FRBM, Biomaterials etc., receiving various National/International awards and fellowships, having granted number of patents, and being member of the Editorial and Reviewing Boards of various International Scientific Journals.

C. R. KRISHNA MURTI AWARD

Dr. Nitish R. MahapatraIIT Madras, Chennai

Although the mortality associated with cardiovascular diseases seems to be declining in the developed countries including Western Europe and North America, the burden of cardiovascular diseases continues to rise in the developing countries including India. Moreover, South Asians have a greater prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors than the rest of the World and India itself is estimated to have ~60% of the World’s heart disease patients. Indeed, cardiovascular diseases have become the number one killer in India in recent years. However, due to their multi-factorial and polygenic nature, the determinants of cardiovascular diseases remain incompletely understood.

Prof. Mahapatra’s laboratory at IIT Madras works towards understanding the molecular and genetic bases of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. His laboratory uses a multidisciplinary approach that involves biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, biophysics, physiology and genetics as well as animal models and human subjects to decipher the plausible mechanisms of hypertension and ‘type 2’ diabetes in Indian populations. Their studies have identified that the presence of certain common genetic variants (occurring in >15% of Indian populations) significantly enhances the risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. His research group has also unraveled the molecular mechanisms underlying the increased disease risk in the carriers of the identified genetic variations.

Prof. Mahapatra’s laboratory also investigates mechanisms of regulation of genes that govern the biosynthesis and metabolism of cholesterol and catecholamines using rodent models of human genetic hypertension (viz. blood pressure high versus blood pressure low mice and spontaneously hypertensive rats versus normotensive Wister rats). They have identified several key transcription factors that regulate the expression of HMG-CoA reductase (the rate-limiting enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway), monoamine oxidases (that catabolize catecholamines), heat shock protein 70 (a key molecular chaperon that gets over-expressed under stress) and cystathionine gamma lyase (a rate-limiting enzyme in the hydrogen sulfide biosynthesis pathway) under basal and pathophysiological conditions including hypoxia and inflammation. They have also investigated the mechanisms of post-transcriptional regulation of several of these genes by microRNAs.

These studies provide new insights into the molecular basis of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and have implications for better clinical management for these disease states.

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87TH ANNUAL MEETING OF SBC(I): BEST POSTER AWARDS 2018

B. S. Narsinga Rao Best Poster Award

Ms. Amrita Saxena IISc Bengaluru

EXAMINING CELL AUTONOMY OF TCP4 TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR FUNCTION DURING ARABIDOPSIS LEAF MORPHOGENESIS

Ms. Soumya S. J. University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram

STUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF PLGA NANOPARTICLES LOADED WITH SENSING MOLECULE ON INDUCING NEOVASCULARIZATION BY DETECTING HYPOXIA

D.P. Burma Poster Award

Ms. Trishita Basak IICB, Kolkata

HIPPO SIGNALING PATHWAY REGULATED TROPHOBLAST STEM CELL SELF-RENEWAL AND DIFFERENTIATION

Ms. Mangala Hegde SOLS, MAHE, Manipal

IL-6 EPIGENETICALLY REGULATES VEGFR2 BY DOWN REGULATING DNMT1 AND INDUCE DISORGANIZED ANGIOGENESIS IN HUMAN BREAST TUMORS

P.R. Sudhakaran Poster Award

Mr. Guruprasad Baipadithaya SOLS, MAHE, Manipal

FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ANTIBODIES AGAINST IL-6R/GP130 MULTIMERIC COMPLEX

U.K. Misra Best Poster Award

Mr. Raviprasad K. V. SOLS, MAHE, Manipal

IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME ENCODED MICRORNAS

Best Poster Awards

Mr. Darshan C. M. SOLS, MAHE, Manipal

LIGHT EMITTING DIODE INDUCED AUTO FLUORESCENCE (LEDIAF) BASED INTERROGATION OF PROTEIN STRUCTURE

Ms. Nimmy Mohan RGCB, Thiruvananthapuram

A SPLICING FACTOR RBM10 CONTROLS SPECIFIC 3’ UTR PROCESSING TO REGULATE CARDIAC HYPERTROPHY

Ms. Shreoshi Sengupta IISc, Bengaluru

QUANTITATIVE MASS-SPECTROMETRIC INVESTIGATION OF CANCER STEM-LIKE CELL SECRETOME: FIBROMODULIN (FMOD), A SMALL LEUCINE-RICH REPEAT PROTEOGLYCAN INDUCES ANGIOGENESIS IN GLIOBLASTOMA

Mr. Shilpak Bele DRILS, Hyderabad

EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GLP-1R SIGNALING: A NOVEL GPCR ACTIVATION PARADIGM AND THERAPEUTIC OPPORTUNITIES

Mr. Rex D. A. B. YRC, Mangalore

EVALUATION OF SPATIOTEMPORAL INFLUENCES OF INTERLEUKIN-33 (IL-33) ON CELLULAR SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PATHWAYS

Mr. Mohammed Altaf YRC, Mangalore

SIGNALING MECHANISM OF CAMKK2 IN GASTRIC ADENOCARCINOMA

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Report on Gordon Research Conference on “DNA Topoisomerases in Biology and Medicine” at Mount Holyoke College, MA, USA

Mr. Rajiv Kumar JhaIndian Institute of Science, Bangalore

I attended the Gordon Research Conference on “DNA Topoisomerases in Biology and Medicine” held at Mount Holyoke College, MA, USA during the July 29 - August 3, 2018. The meeting was a great opportunity for learning the advances in the study of DNA and RNA topoisomerases, and their relevance for the treatment of various human diseases. The forum discussed the importance of topoisomerases as therapeutic targets for drug-resistant bacterial infections and cancers. The role of topoisomerases in transcription regulation, chromatin structure and genomic stability was discussed. Also, a few participants discussed the mechanisms for the repair of topoisomerase-induced DNA damage. A session in the conference conferred the involvement of topoisomerases in neurodegenerative diseases and cancers. Also, the role of tyrosyl-DNA-phosphodiesterase in various DNA repair pathways and disease was discussed. Overall, this meeting provided me the opportunity to discuss my research work, as well as to interact with the pioneers in the field of topoisomerases.

Report on the International Conference of the Korean Society of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Dr. Dipshikha ChakravorttyIISc, Bangalore

Society for Biological Chemists, India (SBCI), a privileged Society with excellent educational activities from time to time, chose me as its delegate to represent India in the “International Conference; KSMCB”. The KSMCB conference was held in COEX, Seoul from September 17-19, 2018. I landed in Seoul in the morning of 16th September. Interesting feature of conferences outside India is that, you are completely on your own, unlike in India, where we take care of the guests from airport pick up till airport drop. Anyway, the charm of being on your own in a different country is unique. Especially in Seoul, where not many people speak English, but they are ready to help you always with a smile!

After finding my way to the Hotel and then to the COEX centre, I realized that in Seoul, you can explore all by yourself if you have access to Google maps. COEX is a centre worth visiting. It is a massive structure which can host multiple conferences of large dimensions at the same time. During the KSMCB conference, one more International conference on Geo-materials was going on. Each conference had more than 1500 participants.

KSMCB was supported by top organizations like Korean Federation of Science and Technology, funded by Korean Government, Seoul tourism government and Seoul Metropolitan Organization. Prof. Myungchull Rhee, President of KSMCB, organized this wonderful conference with the help of very efficient organizing committee.

The conference consisted of a large number of parallel sessions which accounted for 4 plenary sessions, 9 award lectures, 23 thematic symposia consisting of 5 lectures each, 1 Global network session and more than 800 posters.

Prof. Micheal Young, a 2017 Nobel Laureate, gave a very lucid explanation on sleep-controlling genes and circadian rhythm. He established the importance of the transcription factor “Period” in establishing circadian rhythm. The plenary lecture by Prof. Amato Giaccia from the Stanford University and Prof. Kaeng from the Seoul National University talked about targeting the HIF pathway in cancer metastasis and biology of learning and memory, respectively.

The Global network session where I spoke (GN) saw 6 presentations from Mongolia, Malaysia, Philippines, India, New Zealand and Singapore. I spoke about the SBC(I) and the opportunities in India briefly before talking about my work on infectious diseases. Lot of discussions and questions came from the students and a few faculty members.

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The talks were of diverse taste from gut microbiome to memory and learning to infection of palm tree to treating cancer. Students were very enthusiastic poster presenters where more than 800 posters were displayed in the exhibition hall of COEX.

Unlike in India where you feed your guests with all possible delicacies, in KSMCB, we got lunch everyday if we attended one of the “Luncheon Seminars”. The Chair of our session took all us, the invited speakers of her session,out for a lunch on that day. We had very good discussion over lunch regarding our science, management of lab, funds and finally where our science is taking us.

OUTREACH PROGRAM : MALDA WORKSHOP 2018

A Workshop on “Research on Antibiotics: Past, Present and Future” was held at Sanaullah Mancha, Malda College Auditorium, Malda, West Bengal on June 30 - July 1, 2018. About 350 students from schools and colleges of Malda, Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur, Murshidabad districts as well as a good number of Teachers, Professors and Doctors participated in that Workshop. Eminent scientist Prof. Tapas Kr. Kundu of JNCASR, Bangalore acted as the mentor of that workshop. Four Research Scholars of JNCASR, Bangalore, were present as course guides. The Workshop was organized by Paschim Banga Vigyan Mancha (PBVM), Malda, in co-operation with Malda College, Malda; the Society of Biological Chemists (India), (SBCI) IISc ., Bangalore; Bionivid Technology Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore; Prof. Uday Kumar Ranga, JNCASR, Bangalore; Dr. Rahul Modak, KIIT University; Dr. Chandrima Das, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata; Dr. Birendranath Banerjee, InDNA Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar; Dr. Sadhan Ch. Das, USA; Dr. Parijat Senapati, USA; Dr. Natesh Nagashayana, Bangalore; Rotary Club of Mango City Malda, Anil Optical Clinic, Malda; United Bank Officers Association, Malda Regional Council.

On 30th June 2018, the Workshop was inaugurated by honourable Vice Chancellor, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswa Vidyalaya, Dr. Chironton Chattopadhyay. Prof. Tapas Kr. Kundu, JNCASR; Prof. Bibhas Choudhury, Principal, Malda College; Dr. Pratip Kr. Kundu, Principal, Malda Medical College; Dr. Amitabha Mandal, SDHO; Sri Ashis Kundu, Chairman, DPSC, Malda; Dr. Anirban Pathak, JAYPEE Institute, Delhi and fellows of JNCASR were present on stage.

In his welcome address Sri Sunil Das, Secretary, PBVM, Malda, spoke about the different aspects of organizing the 9th Malda Workshop at Malda. In his welcome speech, Dr. Chattopadhyay started with acknowledging and requested to different seminar in school level on this topic to make the Workshop fruitful. He said that antibiotic is a type of pesticide. Disposal system of antibiotic, resistance to antibiotic and awareness were included in his speech.

Then Prof. Kundu started his introductory speech. He acknowledged PBVM for organizing this workshop for the last ten years. He started with why he comes here every year. He quoted an excerpt from his meeting with Honourable PM Mr. Narendra Modi, where the honourable PM asked the scientists to reach out to the farmers, labourers and other people, on educating what scientists are doing. To meet the common people and to inspire the students he and his associates come here every year. He also told that his icon is Louis Pasteur, who served his entire life for common people. He also explained why “Antibiotics” is the topic of this year. After Prof. Kundu, other dignitaries presented their views.

After the inaugural session, the first talk was delivered by Moumita Basu. Prof Kundu introduced Moumita Basu. Her talk was on “Infectious Diseases Part-I”. She started with what an infection is, then world beyond our eyes i.e. Virus, Bacteria etc. She told about different types of pathogens, why they infect, different viral diseases, process of viral infection, detection and treatment. She stated about the HIV Virus, HIV life cycle - acute infection, clinical latency and AIDS. She also stated about ART (Antiretroviral Therapy), Influenza virus, Ebola virus - its signs and symptoms, distribution, prevention etc. Then she told about “Bacterial Infection – Global risks of TB population in India”, its detection, treatment etc; Cholera bacteria, multidrug resistance Staphylococcus ; Fungal infection, its detection and treatment, specially Candidiasis. After that she spoke about Protozoa, Helminthesand Ectoparasites infections. Algal infection, Chlorovirus - a green algae virus was also included in her talk. Prion diseases – Prions are just proteins, they do not have any genetic materials but 100% fatal – it can’t be destroyed by our standard system like boiling, alcohol, acid treatment etc. It needs 9000C temp. for 4h or 18000C for 1h to destroy. Lastly, she spoke about spreading and prevention of infectious diseases, starting of an epidemic history of infectious diseases, where she showed child Mummy infected with Small Pox virus. NASA scientists have revived bacteria of about 34000 years old. She advised to keep calm and prevent infections.

Second talk was given by Sweta Sikder, her topic was “Infectious Diseases Part-II”. Starting with the summary of previous talk she first introduced Koch's postulates. Then she talked about the causes of sickness, risk of infection with age, the stages of infection, host defence mechanisms – protective methods of the human immune system. Then she stated the front line of host defence, barriers of infections i.e. mechanical, chemical, microbiological, microbiome of human body, health and intestinal flora, good and bad bacterial flora, balance of good and bad bacteria, benefit of probiotics and phagocytes. After that she told about tolerance and regulation of the immune response – self tolerance, immune deficiencies, NK cell immune deficiency, autoimmunity – autoimmune diseases like Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis etc and their causes. Then she stated ageing and immune system, pre mature aging of immune system in HIV-1, causes of clinical immune deficiency, age related diseases in HIV individuals, NIPAH Virus, ZIKA virus threats, vaccination for prevention. She opined that nearly 50% of antibiotics are unnecessarily or inappropriately prescribed,

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occurrence of Antibiotic Resistance (AR), hospital acquired infections, how antibiotic resistance spreads, AR solutions initiative and lastly where are we today in this respect. This session is followed by Lunch.

After a good Lunch, session was started with Question – Answer. Many questions were asked by the participants. Prof. Kundu and his associates answered all questions with great patience. The thinking of some participants really surprised Prof. Kundu.

Question – Answer session was then followed by the third talk by Smitha AS on “Antibiotics: Past and Present”. She started with antimicrobials, then antibiotics,common bacterial infections, good and bad bacterial flora, classification of antibiotics, bactericidal and bacteriostatic, narrow spectrum and broad spectrum mechanism of antibiotic action. Then she told about virus structure, classification, sites of anti-viral drug action and after that about Leishmania parasite, Malaria drugs, plants with antimalarial activity, also about Astemisia annua from which Artemisinin was discovered and Scientist Tu Youyou got Nobel Prize in Physiology in the year 2015. She then talked about glorious past of antibiotics research on Iceman’s fungi, then come to the magic era of antibiotics, discovery of Louis Pasteur, Magic Bullet concept of Paul Ehrlich and discovery of Alexander Fleming in 1928 i.e. Penicillin – the first antibiotic, method of Penicillin production, and mechanism of its action. She then spoke about Salman Waksman work on antibiotics, different classes of antibiotics, mechanism of action of present antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria – Mycobacterium tuberculosis, interaction and co-interaction of HIV and TB, classification of anti TB drugs and DOTS strategy of controlling TB epidemic today. Lastly, she said about the foods that actually fight against infections and concluded that no antibiotics were safe, we should use antibiotics only when there is a need.

It was followed by Poster Session. 157 Posters were presented by the participants. Prof. Kundu, along with his research scholars visited every poster in groups, questioned the participants and judged. Among the posters ten were selected for prize.

Second day’s Workshop was started with the talk of Aditya Bhattacharyya on “Future of Antibiotics”. Aditya started with how the usages of Antibiotics help mankind, discovery of Penicillin and decline of mortality by the use of antibiotics. He stated that Fleming in his Nobel Prize lecture warned about the danger of antibiotic resistance of microbes and in 2013, CDC director Dr. Tom said that if we are not careful, we will soon be in a past antibiotic era. He then stated about the development of drug resistance in bacteria, WHO’s priority pathogens list of drug resistance, why we are concerned about antibiotic resistance, mechanism of drug action, mechanism to overcome the effects of antibiotics by bacteria, special case of drug resistance of a Swedish national in Delhi. He told about intrinsic resistance, ancient bacterial resistance, acquired resistance due to mutations, horizontal gene transfer by plasmids, anthropogenic effects on development of drug resistance, AR development due to increased exposure in the environment, AR in bacteria and its spread through animals. He pointed out the improper usage of drugs, patient related problems and prescriber related problems of AR. He then came to the new methods to combat Drug Resistance (DR) like newer antibiotics, Phage therapy etc, marine micro-organisms as sources of antibiotics, and its drawbacks in detail. After that he said about occurrence of DR in bacteria, parasites, fungi etc; drug toxicity by harmful metabolites. He also pointed out five ways to heal our gut after taking antibiotics. After Aditya's talk, Prof. Kundu and his scholars answered the remaining questions of the previous day and questions of that day with great patience.

Last talk of the workshop was given by Prof. Kundu on “Antibiotics and Cancer” for which participants were eagerly waiting. He started with the question, “How your family members, relatives and neighbours died? You have to know because may be a majority of them died due to cancer”. He said that there is a direct relation between bacteria and cancer. There are some bacteria without which cancer progression is not possible and on the contrary some bacteria prevent cancer. There are some bacteria that cause cancer by their toxicity. He told that cancer is the loss of normal growth control. In cancer, genetic and epigenetic changes fail to control of normal cell death. He showed some causes of cancer like radiation, ageing, pollution, diseases etc. infection can cause 16% of the cancer, 20% from obesity. Today about 20-25% cancers are caused by bacterial / viral / parasitic infections. Infections are important causes of cancer worldwide, especially in less developed countries. 90% of infection related cancer is caused by H. pylori, HPV, HBV and HCV. He showed that infection, immunity and age are the big factors of cancer. In India and China 30-39% cancers are infection related. He told about viral infection and Cancer - DNA virus, RNA virus, Oncovirus and Hepatitis virus and their mechanisms of cancer causes, how do viruses contribute to cancer, conventional cancer treatment, how chemotherapy increases risk for infection. He also told about cancer vaccines like HPV vaccine, Sipuleucel-T. Bacterial infection and cancer - carcinogenic bacteria and cancer associated bacteria – biochemical complexity of cancer formation. But there are cancer fighting bacteria like Staphylococcus epidermidis, Trojan-horse bacteria. He showed the production of protein Azurin by Pseudomonas specially with anti-tumor activity, anticancer activity of bacterial proteins and peptides. Lastly, he talked about fungal infection and cancer – role of Aflatoxins for carcinoma of the liver, result of combination of chemotherapy and antibiotics treatment disaster. So, he concluded that there is a need to find the right balance of treatment.

Valedictory session was started with the presence of President, Rotary Club of Mango City Malda, Rtn. Rajesh Kispotta, Rtn. Uday Choudhury and other dignitaries. The participants shared their experience. Sri Sunil Das, Secretary, PBVM, Malda thanked Prof. Kundu and his associates, the co-partners of the Workshop and all others with whom workshop was successful. At first Prof. Kundu handed over the mementoes to the winners of the Poster competition; fifteen participants were selected for that event. Rtn. Uday Choudhury and other dignitaries handed over the mementoes to the scholars of JNCASR. Lastly Rtn. Rajesh Kispotta honoured Prof. Kundu with the memento. Prof. Satya Choudhury ended the Malda Workshop – 2018, which is an Out-reach Programme of SBCI(I), with a great expectation for the next year’s workshop. All went to Lunch and thus the Workshop ended.

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BRANCH ACTIVITIES 2018

NORTH EAST CHAPTER Convener: Dr. B. G. Unni

Conference Report

National symposium on Translational Drug discovery: Current trends and future interventions held at Assam down town University on November 10-11, 2018.

A two day-long national conference was organized by the Faculty of Science of Assam down town University in collaboration with Society of Biological chemists (India), North east chapter (SBC) and Tea Improvement consortium, Tocklai (TIC). This multi-themed conference proves to be an excellent platform for the exchange of scientific ideas in the cutting edged areas of research pertaining to biological sciences. The conference witnessed participants from leading academic and research institutes of North East India, apart from brain storming lectures delivered by some of the eminent scientist across the country.

The inaugural session began with the welcome address from Dr. B. G. Unni and Chairman who emphasized on multidisciplinary drug intervention strategies for developing therapeutics and the need for extensive collaboration among different institutes. The session was followed by the speech from the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Amarjyoti Choudhury and the Chancellor Dr. N. N. Dutta. Professor Choudhury urged the researchers to explore the huge biodiversity of the North East region for the betterment of social welfare, while Dr. Dutta stressed on the need for collaboration among basic research scientist and clinicians for more effective use of the drugs. Dr. Pawan Sharma, Visiting Research Professor, College of Veterinary Sciences, Assam Agricultural University highlighted the changing environment for modern drug research and appealed to the scientific fraternity to have more flexibility in terms of accepting new ideas. The key note talk was delivered by Dr. T. Ramamurthy, National Chair and Head, Centre for Human Microbial Ecology, Department of Biotechnology - Translational Health Science and Technology Institute Biotech-cluster on current status of drug discovery and deliver, prospective observation on infectious diseases, where he focused on the global menace of drug resistant diseases and the means of reducing the burden.

Two parallel sessions namely exploring biodiversity for complementary therapies and Nano technology tools in drug discovery process went on to discuss various aspect related to it. Dr. M. C. Kalita, Department of Biotechnology, Gauhati University delivered a talk on traditional herbal health care system of North east India.; quest novel drug potential, where he highlighted the need for scientific study on the folk medicine of the region. He also provided a brief account of the traditional herbs and its medicinal significance. Dr. Timir Tripathy, Department of Biochemistry, North Eastern Hill University, who addressed the gathering about new potential drugs for treating liver fluke-based therapy where he targeted Thioredoxin glutathione reductase using in-silico approach. Dr. Kandarpa Saikia, Department of Bioengineering and Technology, Gauhati University delivered his talk on screening of medicinal plants against antibiotics resistant bacteria and fungi. He also showcased few results of his cell line studies. Dr. Annirudha Sarma. Department of Biotechnology, Pandu College, emphasized on exploring biodiversity with respect to Nutraceuticals and value addition.

The second session was dedicated to share the new finding in the field of Nano science by the resource person, Dr. Devasish Chowdhury, Material Nanochemistry Laboratory, IASST, Guwahati. He emphasized on the expanding family of synthetic carbon nanoallotropes featuring the most nascent fluorescent carbon nanoparticles (CPs) viz. carbon dots (CDs) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs). He showed its emerged as promising substitutes for heavy-metal-containing semiconductor-based quantum dots. Dr. Pramod Kumar, Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, NIPER stressed on Oral delivery of dimethyl fumarate based solid lipid nanoparticles along with fat soluble vitamins, and its formulation, optimization, neurobehavioral as well as histopathological studies. Dr. Debabrata Baishya, Department of Bioengineering and Technology (GUIST) Guwahati University focused on the tremendous need for systematic fundamental research into the interaction between biomolecules and the abiotic components that could be attempted to develop biomolecule-nanoparticle conjugates for cancer therapies. Dr. Subham Banerjee, Department of Pharmaceutics, NIPER, Guwahati, spoke on the Lipid nanoarchitectonics to improve oral bioavailability of first-line antitubercular drugs which could be an efficient, promising and alternate delivery approach for RIF (rifampicin) as a complementary translational approach to existing TB drug discovery research.

The post lunch parallel sessions namely modern drug intervention strategies and pharmacological intervention in drug design and discovery were focused on addressing newer findings. The modern drug intervention strategies session was started by Dr. Anil Mukund Limaye from IIT Guwahati spoke on GPER1 receptor, the prognostic implications of GPER1 expression, and the role of an upstream CpG island in DNA methylation dependent silencing of GPER1. He also discussed the possibilities and challenges of targeting GPER1m as a biomarker in endocrine cancers. Dr. Utpal Mohan, NIPER, Guwahati spoke on how DNA cleaving enzymes or DNAzymes is potentially useful to cleave mRNA of BCL2 gene which is up regulated in breast cancers. His research group evolved DNAzymes by the in vitro selection process SELEX (Systemic Evolution of Ligands by Selective Enrichment) for the mRNA coding for genes, which are crucial targets for cancer therapeutics. The evolved BCL-2 mRNA cleaving deoxyribozymes are able to down-regulate BCL-2 expression and induce apoptosis thus resulting in clearance of cancerous cells. Dr. Sujoy Bose,

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Department of Biotechnology, Gauhati University spoke on dengue virus and its etiology in patients enrolled from Guwahati city. His research group suggested prognostic significance in dengue infection of both RANTES and CCR5 expression and the probable utility of CCR5 antagonists independently or in combination with supplementation of RANTES as an alternative and additional component to supportive therapy in treatment of dengue patients. Dr. Prasenjit Manna, Biological Science and Technology Division, CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, spoke on the role of Vit K supplementation in type 2 diabetes (T2D). His research group demonstrated that Vit. K supplementation has a positive effect on maintaining glucose homeostasis in T2D via activating VK-dependent Gla-proteins. Dr. Pankaj Barah, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (MBBT), Tezpur University emphasised on Predictive, Preventive, Personalized and Participatory medicine (P4 medicine or systems medicine). He also discussed a case study from an on-going systems medicine pilot project (Sys-Glio) on glioma evolution and therapy resistance in human.

The fourth session on Pharmacological intervention in drug design and discovery was started by Dr. Ajaikumar B Kunnumakkara, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT, Guwahati. On his talk he spoke about Akt/mTOR pathway and contribution by his team towards Akt1 and Akt2 which are the major iso forms that leads to the development of oral cancer. Dr. VGM Naidu, NIPER threw light on the recent advances on breast cancer therapy, which is one of the major causes of mortality. He also stressed on PI3K/mTOR kinase signalling network as molecular target for breast cancer. Dr. Gauthaman Karunakaran, Himalayan Pharmacy Institute, Sikkim spoke about the drug response and development of adverse effect to drug. He also made a point on traditional pharmacogenetic approach relies on studying sequence variations in candidate genes suspected of affecting drug response. Dr. Vikas Srivastava, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR), Lucknow, spoke about the arsenic toxicity. He emphasized about the identified various modulators of arsenic associated cancers and is targeting them with chemical and nutritional intervention strategies. Dr. Saikat Sen, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Assam down town University, expressed his vast knowledge on traditional and folk medicines and asserted that a vast number of drugs in clinical medicine available today were derived from herbal resources used in traditional medicine.

The second day of the conference was focused on industry and academia joint ventures. The inaugural talk on development of drugs from plants sources for Neurological disorders was delivered by Dr. Chandana Baruah, College of Veterinary Sciences, Assam Agricultural University.

The keynote talk was delivered by Dr. Priyankshu Sarma, Innotech Agro Postikam Pvt Ltd. spoke on the importance of government and academic institute involvement in speeding up the process of translational research particularly for creating a conductive atmosphere for start-ups. He urged the young minds to take start-up as a career option.

The post tea talk was started with Dr. Bula Choudhury, Guwahati Biotech Park, which was dedicated to elaborating various facilities available in Guwahati Biotech Park. She spoke about the upcoming government schemes which will help the young minds to establish start-ups. Dr. Supriyo Sen, Ouija Biosolutions Pvt. Ltd., Guwahati, Assam spoke about the various steps involved to reach a product from laboratory to marketplace seeking to create the right meaning in translation. Mr. Monjoy Kumar Choudhury, Founder, Ayuresurgence, Bawana Industrial Area, North West spoke about the challenges in translation from academics to industries interfaces. He also made a strong point regarding the problems he faced during his journey and add a note on the importance of role of government to establish the industry.

A souvenir consisting of all the abstract, articles for oral and poster presentations was released which witnessed the extensive research on the theme of the conference. The competition for the Best Poster and Oral presentation was held among the students and faculties, and the winners for the best poster were awarded with the “Chairman’s award” in cash and certificates of appreciation. Dr. Manash Pratim Sarma, Dr. Swapnil Sinha and Dr. Nayan Talukdar jointly presented the summary of the presentation at the valedictory programme.

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PANTNAGAR CHAPTER Convener: Dr. Ashutosh Dubey

For the year 2018 the membership at Pantnagar chapter of SBC(I) was as followed: i. 4 new life members ii. 8 new student members iii. 5 student members iv. 39 life members

Scientific lectures and interactive sessions were organized with eminent scientists.i. Dr. Bhoopender Giri, Associate Professor, Shraddhanand College, University of Delhi, Delhi delivered a lecture on ‘Salt

stress tolerance in Mycorrhizal plants’ (01-9-2018). ii. Dr. S. G. Sharma, Professor Emeritus (ICAR) and former PS and HoD, Division of Crop Physiology and Biochemistry, ICAR-

NRRI, Cuttak Odisha delivered a lecture on ‘Diabetes and Glycemic index’ (7-9-2018). iii. Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Associate Professor, School of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi delivered a

lecture on “Spectroscopic Investigation of Protein aggregation” (8-9-2018). iv. Prof. D. N. Rao, IISc Bangalore visited the department and interacted with the students and the faculty (28-11-2018)

Society of Biological Chemists (India): Pantnagar chapter celebrated RAMACHANDRAN DAY on 8th October 2018, with following deliberations by Biochemistry students.• Biography of Dr. G.N. Ramachandran: Mr. Amit Singh Rana • Discussion on Ramachandran plot: Ms. Tarranum Jahan • Computational protein structure prediction: Ms. Neetika Naudiayal

Students’ presentation on the occasion of RAMACHANDRAN DAY

One day seminar on “REINVENTING BIOCHEMICAL NETWORKS FOR NUTRITION AND HEALTH IN POST-GENOMIC ERA” at Biochemistry Department, GBPUAT, Pantnagar on October 26, 2018.

The symposium was inaugurated by the Dr. A. P. Sharma, Officiating Vice Chancellor / Registrar, GBPUAT, Pantnagar in the presence of Dr. A. K. Shukla, Dean, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, GBPUAT, Pantnagar. The presented abstracts were compiled in a compendium, which was released during the inaugural session of the symposium.

During the symposium two scientific sessions’ viz.; oral presentations and poster presentations were structured for PG students. Students from GBPUAT, Pantnagar, Kumanun University, Bheemtaal campus, Bheemtaal, Dr. BR University, Agra, and Invertis University Bareilly, got registered for the seminar. Total number of registered students was 78 comprising masters as well as Ph.D. scholars. During the symposium total 13 oral presentations and 41 posters were presented. In oral as well as poster sessions first, second and third awards were given and winners of different Universities.

Popular lectures for students were delivered during the symposium by eminent scientists of GBPUAT, Pantnagar.1. Dr. Sri Gopal Sharma, Professor Emeritus (Biochemistry) Department of Biochemistry, GBPUAT, Pantnagar and former

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PS and HoD, Division of Crop Physiology and Biochemistry, ICAR-NRRI, Cuttak Odisha delivered a lecture on “Improving Human Health Through Nutri-Genomics and Nutrient Dense Crops”

2. Dr. Sarita Srivastava, Professor, Department of Foods and Nutrition, College of Home Science, GBPUAT, Pantnagar delivered a lecture on “Processing of Small Millets For Value Addition and Development of Health Foods”

For the valedictory function Prof. G. K. Garg, Former Dean, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, GBPUAT, Pantnagar addressed the gathering and distributed the prizes in different categories.

Financial assistance received from SBC(I) HQ is duly acknowledged for the organization of one day symposium on “REINVENTING BIOCHEMICAL NETWORKS FOR NUTRITION AND HEALTH IN POST-GENOMIC ERA” at Biochemistry Department, GBPUAT, Pantnagar

Inauguration of One Day Symposium on “Reinventing Biochemical networks for nutritional andhealth in post-genomic era” October 10, 2018

Dr. S. G. Sharma, Professor Emeritus (Biochemistry), GBPUAT, Pantnagar“Improving Human Health Through Nutri-Genomics And Nutrient Dense Crops”

Dr. Sarita Srivastava, Professor Department of Foods and Nutrition, GBPUAT, Pantnagar“Processing of Small Millets For Value Addition and Development of Health Foods”

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Poster presentation during symposium on October 10, 2018

DAVANGERE CHAPTER Convener: Dr. Vadlapudi Kumar

List of Special Lecturers organized from 01-01-2018 to 31-12-2018 at SBC(I) Davangere Branch

Sl. No. Date Name and Address Title of the talk

1. 12-03-2018Prof. T. B. KaregouderDepartment of Biochemistry Gulbarga University Kalaburagi - 585106.

Microbial Degradation and Transformation of Organic Pollutants

2. 05-09-2018

Dr. Shailaja M. DharmeshPrincipal ScientistDepartment of Biochemistry and NutritionCSIR- CFTRI, Mysuru

Dietary Potentials in Health and Wellness

3. 05-09-2018Prof. Rajeshwara N. AchurDepartment of BiochemistryKuvempu University Shankaraghatta, Karnataka

Burden of Malaria in Mangalore

4. 05-09-2018Prof. G. J. SathishaDepartment of BiochemistryKuvempu University Shankaraghatta, Karnataka

XanthosomaviolaceumLectin (XVL): A Novel N-glycan Specific Lectin with Potent Antiproliferative Activity Towards TNBC

5. 22-10-2018Prof. B. S. VishwanathDept. of BiochemistryUniversity of Mysore Manasagangothri, Mysuru.

Inhibitors of Clinically important Enzymes as Therapeutic Molecules

6. 17-11-2018

Prof. V. R. DevrajDepartment of BiochemistryBengaluru Central UniversityBengaluru

Milestones in Gene Expression

7. 29-11-2018

Prof. K. S. GirishDepartment of BiochemistryTumkur UniversityTumakuru, Karnataka

High Glucose Induced platelet apoptosis and Aggregation: Mitigation by Berberine,A Hypoglycemic Agent

KOLKATA CHAPTER Convener: Dr. Tanya Das

REPORT ON ONE DAY SYMPOSIUM ON “RECENT TRENDS IN BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH” on September 8, 2018 at AMITY UNIVERSITY, NEW TOWN, KOLKATA

The Society of Biological Chemists (SBCI), Kolkata Chapter and Amity University, Kolkata jointly organized a one-day symposium on ‘Recent Trends in Biological Research’ in the new campus of Amity University at New Town, Kolkata on September 8, 2018. SBC (I) is one of the oldest scientific organizations in the nation and for over nine decades has played a crucial role in actively promoting science in India. This symposium was particularly designed to promote and highlight the work of Ph.D. students and research scholars, who otherwise go unnoticed in most scientific conferences as well as provide them a platform to orally present their work to a large audience and directly interact with eminent scientists to get feedbacks on their science. Approximately 250

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participants from 12 different academic institutions/universities in and around Kolkata attended the symposium. The program was flagged off with a welcome address by Dr. Tanya Das, Secretary, Society of Biological Chemists (Kolkata Chapter) and Prof. Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay, Vice Chancellor, Amity University, followed by the scientific proceedings. It was a packed program with over 35 short talks with a major thrust in cancer and infectious biology. Young scientists made use of this occasion to showcase their work that spanned from mechanistic insights into debilitating disease pathophysiology to high-end metagenomic analysis. The organizers also took this opportunity to felicitate Prof. Soumitra Das on being appointed the Director of National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani and Dr. B. N. Chakraborty, a stalwart in the field of in vitro fertilization and Director, Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Kolkata. Dr. Chakraborty graced the occasion by delivering the keynote lecture where he discussed his research on novel, non-invasive approaches to improve in vitro fertilization techniques. The symposium ended with a short session on general biology that included topics as diverse as role of copper in neuronal differentiation to high-resolution structure elucidation of a virus. The day long scientific event that was fundamentally directed towards encouraging young scientists ended in a successful note.

CAMA MEMORIAL TRAVEL GRANTScientists attending and presenting a paper in an International Congress or FAOBMB meeting held once in 2 years or at infrequent intervals may apply for the award.

The candidate should be a member of SBC(I) for at least two consecutive years.

The candidate should have obtained partial support from other agencies, and there should be a proof to that effect.

Society of Biological Chemists (India) awards one advertised travel grant each year in the news letter.

Applicants are invited to respond appropriately to the details informed in the advertisement. The application should reach the following address before 1st April of the year of the award.

Hon SecretarySociety of Biological ChemistsIndian Institute of ScienceBangalore 560 012

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FELLOWSHIPS FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS

The Society of Biological Chemists (India) has instituted “financial support for research” scheme to support young research workers to carry out short term training/research activities in well established laboratories/ institutions in India. The value of the fellowship is fixed at Rs. 5,000/- per term per selected fellow, and the total number of fellowships awarded every year will be up to 10.

Terms and Conditions;1. Funding Rs. 5,000/- per fellow for periods up to 6-8 weeks.2. The grant of Rs. 5,000/- will be awarded in the form of Rs. 1,000/- for the fellow as personal maintenance/allowance for

a minimum period of 6 weeks and Rs. 4,000/- as contingencies for the purchase of laboratory items including stationery, preparation of reports, photographs and other expenses related to the research work.

3. The Research/Training may be conducted in any of the leading research institutions/ laboratories/universities, with approval from SBC(I).

4. The candidate should be below the age of 32 years at the time of application.5. The SBC(I) Membership is compulsory for eligibility for the fellowship award.6. The fellowship amount will be released by the SBC(I) to the research supervisor by the 2nd or 3rd week of the training program.7. The application should be forwarded through the investigator-in-charge of the laboratory in which the candidate proposes

to undergo training.

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS

GUIDELINES FOR AWARDING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS FOR Ph.D. STUDENTS BY THE SOCIETY OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTS (INDIA)

One travel fellowship of Rs. 15,000/- per quarter (Two awards per year) will be awarded

* Award period ** Last Date for receipt of applicationI. Jan- Mar ………Dec 31 Previous YearII. Apr-June ………Mar 30III. July-Sept ………June 30IV. Oct-Dec ………Sept 30

For example, those who wish to attend an International meeting scheduled to be held during July - Sept 2019 should submit the application by 30 June 2019.

*Award period refers to the period during which the meeting is scheduled to take place.** The Committee will meet on these days to decide on the award.This award is meant for Ph.D. students only.

The applicant should currently be a member of the SBC(I) and should have been a member for at least two consecutive years.

Here’s is an opportunity to be very creative and show your Talent!

Depict your creations in the form of cartoons, science comics, comic strips, limericks, excerpts from the conference you attended! Anything to do with Science, commentaries on new exciting developments is also welcome.

We are looking for young talents who can contribute to the SBC (I) News letter, which we are planning to bring every few months. Submit your contributions to us and of course the best contribution will be rewarded!

We will accept the contributions throughout the year but hurry up to see your contribution in the next News letter.

Don’t wait! Pen down your excellent creative thoughts and reach us at

Society of Biological Chemists (India)Indian Institute of ScienceBangalore 560 012Phone 91-080-23601412, Email sbcihq@gmail.comSend us a hard copy by post and a soft copy by an E-mail

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SOCIETY OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTS, INDIAA P P L I C A T I O N F O R M E M B E R S H I P

The Hon SecretarySociety of Biological Chemists, IndiaNew Biological Sciences BuildingD-Wing, 1st FloorIndian Institute of ScienceBangalore 560 012Phone: 080-23601412 Email: sbcihq@gmail.com

I wish to become a Student Member/Ordinary Member/Life Member of the Society. I enclose herewith Admission

fee Rs. ............................ + Membership fee Rs. ............................ ( Total Rs............................. ) (Cash/Demand Draft

drawn on ............................................. ) as my membership contribution.

Name .............................................................................................................................................................

Address ..........................................................................................................................................................

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(City) ............................................ (State) ............................................ (Zip Code) ..................................................

Email: .........................................................................................................................................................................

Academic Qualification: .............................................................................................................................................

Membership in other professional Societies: ..............................................................................................................

Date Signature

Subscription Membership Admission Total Fee Fee PaymentLife Member Rs. 2000/- Rs. 10/- Rs. 2010/-Ordinary Member Rs. 350/- Rs. 10/- Rs. 360/-Student Member Rs. 300/- Rs. 10/- Rs. 310/-Life Member (FR) 200 USD

1) Admission fee of Rs. 10/- for all categories of members .2) Please send your fees by Bank Demand Draft in the favour of Hon Secretary, Society of Biological Chemists,

India.

If undelivered please return to :Society of Biological Chemists, India D-Wing, 1st FloorNew Biological Sciences Building Indian Institute of ScienceBangalore - 560 012

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