Vol. 02 NO 21
NEWS - PAGE 2
ORAL INSULIN FOUND SUCCESSFUL IN
HUMAN CLINICAL TRIALS
CANCER FIGHTING POTENTIAL
STUDY OPENS UP MADAGASCAR
PLANT’S CANCER-FIGHTING
POTENTIAL
Vinblascine and vincristine are derived from
the Madagascar periwinkle Catharanthus ro-
seus and are regularly used in the chemother-
apy of hematological malignancies such as
lymphomas and leukemias.
In spite of its therapeutic importance, the
plant’s complex chemical mechanisms to
produce these alkaloids in not fully under-
stood. Consequently, access to its life-ex-
tending chemistry is not any less complex
– approximately 500 kg of dried leaves are
required to produce 1g of vinblastine.
Now, scientists at the at the John Innes Cen-
tre, after a 15-year long investigation have,
finally been able to point to the last missing
genes in the genome of the periwinkle that
are believed to be exclusively devoted to
building these chemicals.
Their work identifies a particular enzyme
shown to be dedicated to building vinblastine
precursor chemicals, including catharanthine
and tabersonine; which can be readily chem-
ically coupled using synthetic biology tech-
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NEW WAY TO FIGHT
CANCER
Naturally produced by plants, vin-
camine, vinblastine and vincristine are
very important clinic alkaloids used in a
variety of treatment strategies including
cancer.
By Disha Padmanabha
time as the plant is producing other enzymes so found to be very volatile because of which
involved in vinblastine synthesis.
In total, the researchers enumerated 31 steps
the team came to name it the “angry-line” in-
stead of its true scientific name dihydropre-
in the chemical chain from the primary chem-
ical precursor to the final product, the alka-
condylocarpine acetate.
loid vinblastine. One molecule in the chain
niques to give vinblastine.
“Vinblastine is one of the of the most struc-
turally complex medicinally active natural
products in plants – which is why so many
people in the last 60 years have been trying
to get where we have got to in this study. I
cannot believe we are finally here,” said Pro-
fessor O’Connor.
“With this information we can now try to
increase the amount of vinblastine produced
either in the plant, or by placing synthetic
genes into hosts such as yeast or plants.”
The team suspected that the missing en-
zymes helped transform a single compound
into structures that form the frameworks for
catharanthine and tabersonine to make vin-
blastine.
They then searched a database of the peri-
winkle RNA and identified them and discov-
ered that they were both made at the same
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1
May 22nd, 2018.
Oral Insulin Found
Successful in Human
Clinical Trials
A clinical-stage pharmaceutical compa-
ny, Oramed Pharmaceuticals, has now an-
nounced the screening for diabetic patients as
part of its 90-day dose-ranging Pivotal Phase
2b HbA1c clinical study of its oral insulin
capsule, ORMD-0801.
A statistically significant improvement in
HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin), a long-term
indicator of blood sugar control, was detect-
ed in only 28 days of therapy with ORMD-
0801 at Oramed’s previous Phase 2 research.
The objective of this analysis is to quantify
this impact over 90 days of therapy at several
doses.
The study will enroll approximately 240
patients with type 2 diabetes at numerous
centers across the U.S. The main end points
are security assessing adverse and hypo-
glycemic events, and efficiency unique to
HbA1c levels over 90 days of therapy. Sec-
ondary end points include steps of fasting
Stanford Scientists
Modulate Gut Microbiome
with the Help of Seaweed
With the mounting information about the
complexity and the broad influence gut mi-
crobes, seems like “you are what you eat,”
has a bacterial component. Now, a new Stan-
ford study has used animal models to demon-
strate how the manipulation of these gut bac-
teria could potentially enhance our health or
help fend off disease.
“We’re all endowed with a microbial com-
munity in our guts that assembled in a chaot-
ic manner during our first few years of life,”
says Justin Sonnenburg, an author on the new
study. “Although we continue to acquire new
strains throughout life, this acquisition is a
poorly orchestrated and not-well-understood
process. This study suggests it could be possi-
ble to reshape our microbiome in a deliberate
manner to enhance health and fight disease.”
We are all living in the era of burgeoning
field of probiotics consuming good strains of
bacteria to keep healthy and deal with illness-
es. The team in the current study intended to
delve deeper into this idea and wanted to ex-
plore if these populations of microbes could,
in some ways be altered, so as to dictate the
composition of this population in a precise
manner.
To investigate, Sonnenburg and his col-
leagues looked at a particular strain of gut
bacteria with the capability to digest sea-
weed predominant in the Japanese cuisine
and rare elsewhere. They then screened the
bacterium to find a carbohydrate called por-
phyran. “The genes that allow a bacterium
to digest porphyran are exceedingly rare
among humans that don’t have seaweed as
a common part of their diet,” explains Son-
nenburg. “This allowed us to test whether we
could circumvent the rules of complex eco-
systems by creating a privileged niche that
2
Vol. 02 NO 21
plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial sugar
(PPG degrees) through a mixed-meal toler-
ance test (MMTT) and pounds.
“This is our most important study to date,”
says Oramed CEO Nadav Kidron. “A year
from now we will better know the potential
of our drug to control and maintain blood
glucose levels and will have further proof of
the longer-term benefits of taking an oral pill
versus an injection.”
“Not only does oral insulin offer a more
convenient alternative to needles, a therapy
many patients are reluctant to begin,” ex-
plains Kidron, “but it also provides a more By Disha Padmanabha
efficient and safer platform for delivering in-
sulin by mimicking the body’s natural process “We are very pleased to move forward with diabetics,” stated Oramed CEO, Nadav Ki-
of insulin going directly to the liver rather this important 90-day treatment study to dron.
than via the bloodstream.” measure the potential longer-term benefits of
our oral insulin capsule on HbA1c in type 2
could favor a single microbe by allowing it to
exist in the absence of competition from the
30 trillion other microbes in the gut.”
Further, the team introduced these microbi-
al populations into animal models. Mice that
were fed a regular diet of mouse chow, the
porphyran-digesting strain was able to en-
graft in two groups of these animals to var-
ying and limited degrees- one groups with
human gut bacteria rejected the new strain
completely.
Another group which was fed a porphy-
ran-rich diet, produced results dramatically
different- the bacteria engrafted robustly at
similar levels in all the mice. Furthermore,
the team was able to precisely calibrate the
population size of the engrafted bacteria by
increasing or decreasing the amount of the
consumed seaweed.
“The results of this dilution experiment
blew us away,” Sonnenburg said. “The direct
effect of diet on the bacterial population was
very clear.”
“We can use these gene modules to devel-
op a vast toolkit to make therapeutic micro-
bial treatments a reality,” Sonnenburg said.
“Porphyran-digesting genes and a diet rich
in seaweed is the first pair, but there could
potentially be hundreds more. We’d like to
expand this simple paradigm into an array of
dietary components and microbes.”
By Disha Padmanabha
Vol. 02 NO 21
Bless Us! We Finally May
Have a Cure for Common
Cold
Oh dear lord, the runny nose, sore throat
and the general misery associated with cold?
Remember that? Well we may finally be able
to beat them all!
The common cold is caused by a family of
viruses with countless variants that that leave
us achy, stuffy, sniffly, and sneezy. And this
fact makes it almost impossible to become
resistant to or vaccinated against all of them.
In addition to this, the viruses grow quickly,
meaning that they could quickly obtain im-
munity to medication.
A group of scientists at Imperial College
London has now generated a novel mole-
cule that may block the evolution of multiple
strains of the annoyingly common, common
cold. Results from the early in vitro tests
3D Screening of
Anti-Cancer Drugs
Employing Cell Aggregates
Shows Promise
The continuing push towards precision on-
cology stems in the toxicities incurred by
untailored utilization of chemotherapies and
small clinical inroads attained from heredi-
tary signatures and patient-specific biomark-
ers. Even though the usage of patient-derived
xenografts in preclinical models provides a
guarantee, technical challenges and change-
able predictive accuracies restrict widespread
adoption of the tactic.
Also, the very process of discovering, de-
veloping and pitching a one-drug to the mar-
ket takes tens of years, not to mention cost
millions of dollars. And more often than not,
these drugs go useless due to a variety of rea-
sons and we are back to square one looking to
find/discover more of them.
As researchers delve deeper and learn more
about the disease itself, bigger becomes the
need for us to find smarter cancer drugs that
could outwit these madly multiplying cells
thereby blocking the growth and spread of
tumors.
The continuing push towards precision on-
cology stems in the toxicities incurred by
untailored utilization of chemotherapies and
small clinical inroads attained from heredi-
tary signatures and patient-specific biomark-
ers. Even though the usage of patient-derived
xenografts in preclinical models provides a
guarantee, technical challenges and change-
able predictive accuracies restrict widespread
adoption of the tactic.
Also, the very process of discovering, de-
veloping and pitching a one-drug to the mar-
ket takes tens of years, not to mention cost
millions of dollars. And more often than not,
these drugs go useless due to a variety of rea-
sons and we are back to square one looking to
find/discover more of them.
As researchers delve deeper and learn more
about the disease itself, bigger becomes the
need for us to find smarter cancer drugs that
could outwit these madly multiplying cells
with human cells displays exciting results,
and the team expects to proceed to human
and animal studies soon enough.
Lead researcher Professor Ed Tate, from
the Department of Chemistry at Imperial,
said: “The common cold is an inconvenience
for most of us, but can cause serious compli-
cations in people with conditions like asth-
ma and COPD. A drug like this could be ex-
tremely beneficial if given early in infection,
and we are working on making a version that
could be inhaled, so that it gets to the lungs
quickly.”
The researchers, in the course of their in-
vestigation, focussed on a single protein- the
thereby blocking the growth and spread of
tumors.
In this direction, scientists at The Scripps
Research Institute have now reported a
unique technique that could be used to screen
these cancer drugs employing tiny, three-di-
mensional ball-like aggregates of cells called
spheroids.
“We can now do studies using a form of
cancer cells that is more physiologically rel-
evant and better recapitulates how these cells
appear in the body,” says Timothy Spicer,
director of Lead Identification Discovery
Biology and High Throughput Screening on
Scripps Research’s Florida campus and one
of the study’s corresponding authors.
“Until now, most of the research to screen
for cancer drugs has used cells that are grow-
ing flat on a plate,” adds Louis Scampavia,
director of HTS Chemistry and Technologies
at Scripps Research and one of the study’s
co-authors. “With these 3-D spheroids, we
emulate much more closely what’s found in
living tissues.”
100 to 600 microns in diameter, these sphe-
roids mimic what might happen in a tumor in
contrast to single layers of cells that are reg-
ularly used in the screening process, which
tend to all grow at the same rate because they
get the same exposure to oxygen and nutri-
ents.
In the new paper, the researchers concen-
trated on a cancer-driving protein named
KRAS. The KRAS receptor along with oth-
er members of the related RAS gene family
are found to be mutated in nearly one-third
of cancers.
They’re common in lung cancer, colorectal
cancer, and especially pancreatic cancer. In
fact, around 90 percent of pancreatic cancers
have been driven by KRAS mutations, and
N-myristoyltransferase (NMT)- that the no-
torious virus retrieves from the host cell in
order to build its capsid facilitating its own
replication anmd subsequent survival.
The team screened a huge volume of distinct
compounds searching for a molecule which
specifically targeted NMT. Discovering two
particular chemicals, the group produced a
new molecule named MP-1088, which spe-
cifically inhibits NMT. In vitro testing with
human cells revealed that this new molecule
entirely blocked the replication of numerous
cold virus strains.
“A drug like this could be extremely bene-
ficial if given early in infection, and we are
the researchers utilized pancreatic cancer cell
lines for the present study.
“In the past, KRAS has been a very tricky
protein to target. People have spent several
decades trying, but so far there has been little
success,” says Joseph Kissil, Ph.D., a pro-
fessor at Scripps Research Medicine and the
other co-corresponding author. “The KRAS
protein is relatively small, and that’s made it
hard to attack it directly. But the method of
screening that we used in this study allowed
us to come at the question in a different way.”
The team performed a phenotypic screen,
to look for drugs that had an effect on cell
growth, but didn’t have a preconceived idea
about how they might work. “We came at this
May 22nd, 2018.
By Disha Padmanabha
working on making a version that could be
inhaled, so that it gets to the lungs quick-
ly,” says lead researcher on the project, Ed
Tate. “The way the drug works means that
we would need to be sure it was being used
against the cold virus, and not similar con-
ditions with different causes, to minimize the
chance of toxic side effects.”
However exciting this piece of news is, it
cannot be ignored that further studies, initial-
ly in animals, is extremely necessary and im-
portant to better establish a safety profile for
the newly uncovered molecule and the team
is definitely realistic about the work ahead.
By Disha Padmanabha
in an unbiased way,” Kissil explains. “We
were not trying to design something to at-
tack a specific part of the KRAS protein. We
were just looking for something that acted on
some part of the pathway that’s driving cell
growth.”
The investigators report in the paper they’ve
already identified one compound that was
previously not known to influence KRAS,
known as Proscillaridin A. The compound
was found to be similar to a class of drugs
normally used to treat certain heart condi-
tions.
Even though the team states this particular
medication is unlikely to be developed as a
cancer therapy, it validates the approach of
running drug screenings using spheroids.
3
May 22nd, 2018. Vol. 02 NO 21

Lunar Dust Exposure

Found to Alter DNA
Spelling Danger for
Astronauts
A recent study by researchers at the Stony
Brook University looking understand the
biological impact of lunar regolith, has now
discovered the potential dangers of inhaling
lunar dust. The investigation found simulated
lunar soil toxic to human lung as well as ani-
mal model brain cells.
Their experiments saw that upto 90 percent
of human lung cells and mouse neurons died
when exposed to these moon dust particles
that mimic soils found on the Moon’s surface.
“There are risks to extraterrestrial explora-
tion, both lunar and beyond, more than just
the immediate risks of space itself,” said Ra-
chel Caston, a geneticist at Stony Brook Uni-
versity School of Medicine in Stony Brook,
New York and lead author of the new study
published in GeoHealth, a journal of the
American Geophysical Union.
“If there are trips back to the Moon that in-
volve stays of weeks, months or even longer,
it probably won’t be possible to eliminate that
risk completely,” said Bruce Demple, a bio-
chemist at Stony Brook University School of
Medicine and senior author of the new study.
U.S. astronauts visited the Moon during
the Apollo missions and they brought along
lunar soil into the command module when it
clung to their spacesuits.
As documented, after inhaling the fine dust
when on moon, Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison
Schmitt had a reaction described as the “lu-
nar hay fever” – sneezing, watery eyes and
a sore throat. Although short-lived, it got the
researchers interested and they went further
to find out how lunar dust could affect astro-
nauts’ health long term and if it could cause
problems similar to those caused by toxic
dust on Earth.
To test this out, the authors of the current
study employed human lung cells and mouse
By Disha Padmanabha
brain cells and exposed them to lunar soil
stimulants, and found that simulated soil fine
killed 90% of cells when checked for DNA age, although they could in the mouse neu- and lung function. And if the dust induces
damage. rons. inflammation in the lungs, the scientists hy-
In fact, the lunar soil was so extremely ef- The astronauts’ symptoms coupled with pothesize that it could also increase the risk
fective at killing human lung cells that the the new study’s results suggest prolonged of more serious diseases like cancer.
team couldn’t even measure the DNA dam- exposure to lunar dust could impair airway

Rapid Blood Test that

Identifies Chronic Pain by
Colour
The on-spot blood test named “painHS” has
now been designed for the identification and
detection of chronic pain through colour bi-
omarkers by Australian scientists. The team
believes the breakthrough test revealed at the
Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) conference
in Sydney over the weekend has potential to
revolutionise the diagnosis and treatment for
those who suffer chronic pain.
“This gives us a brand new window into pa-
tients’ pain because we have created a new
tool that not only allows for greater certainty
of diagnosis but also can guide better drug
treatment options,” explains lead on the new
research, neuroscientist Mark Hutchinson,
who is Director of the Australian Research
Council Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale
BioPhotonics at the University of Adelaide.
“We are literally quantifying the color of
pain,” says Hutchinson. “We’ve now dis-
covered that we can use the natural color of
biology to predict the severity of pain. What
we’ve found is that persistent chronic pain
has a different natural color in immune cells
than in a situation where there isn’t persistent
pain.”
In addition to providing new biomarker for
the presence of pain, the research also sug-
gests that the immune cells actually play a
significant role in modulating the sensation
of chronic pain. The study advocates new
drugs to be investigated that suppress im-
mune pain response in place of concentrating
on developing pain-killing drugs that simply
target the nervous system.
“We now know there is a peripheral cell
signal so we could start designing new types
of drugs for new types of cellular therapies
that target the peripheral immune system to
tackle central nervous system pain.”
Professor Hutchinson said the test also had
the potential to revolutionise the treatment
of animals. “This has a profound impact not
By Disha Padmanabha
only for human health but also animals. An-
imals can’t tell us if they’re in pain but here
we have a Dr Doolittle type test that enables
us to ‘talk’ to the animals so we can find out
if they are experiencing pain and then we can
help them.”
The team believes “painHS” could be ready
for broader use by physicians and GPs within
18 months as a cost effective diagnosis meth-
od to determine the severity of chronic pain
in patients with lower back pain, fibromyal-
gia, pelvic pain, cancer pain and migraine.

4
Vol. 02 NO 21
Flesh-Eating Bacterium
Found to Hijack Immune
System to Ensure
Continued Survival
A bacterial pathogen, Streptococcus pyo-
genes, hijacks the neurons of the immune
system in order to promote its own surviv-
al, a new study by researchers at the Harvard
Medical School has indicated.
Streptococcus pyogenes, the same pathogen
that causes strep throat, is the leading cause
of serious flesh-eating disease, Necrotizing
fasciitis- a severe infection that destroys
muscles, skin and underlying tissue.
The word “necrotizing” refers to something
that causes body tissue to die. The bacterium
digs, burrows deep in the skin and eats into
connective tissue and muscle. Furthermore, it
is notoriously hard to diagnose and can rap-
idly become fatal.
“Necrotizing fasciitis is a devastating con-
dition that remains extremely challenging to
treat and has a mortality rate that’s unaccept-
ably high,” said study senior investigator
Isaac Chiu, assistant professor of microbiol-
ogy and immunobiology at Harvard Medical
School. “Our findings reveal a surprising
Using Miniature
“Tractor Beams”
to Rearrange Artificial
Cells into Tissues
Assembling higher-order vesicle assemblies
has discipline-spanning capacity from recep-
tive soft-matter substances to artificial cell
networks in synthetic biology. This capacity
is finally derived from the ability to com-
partmentalise and order chemical species in
distance. To unlock these programs, spatial
arrangement of vesicles with respect to one
another has to be controlled, and methods to
provide cargo to compartments developed.
Now, researchers at the Imperial College
new role of neurons in the development of
this disease and point to promising counter-
measures that warrant further exploration.”
Using animal models, the team at Harvard
found that a toxin called streptolysin S (SLS),
produced by S. pyogenes activated certain
pain-related neurons to trigger extreme pain
and played a rather interesting role in the en-
suing immune-silencing cascade inside neu-
rons.
“Effectively, this neuronal signal silences
the alarm system that normally calls on the
body’s infection fighters to curb infection,”
Chiu said.
In the next round of experiments, the group
injected mice with the nerve-blocking sub-
stance botulinum neurotoxin A aka the ac-
tive ingredient in commercial botox. And a
week later, these organisms were infected
with the disease-causing bacterium. When
compared with mice that didn’t receive these
London and Loughborough University have,
constructed unique tissue-like structures us-
ing artificial cells and a miniature tractor
beam. The collaborative team believes that
by altering these artificial cell membranes,
they can now influence cells to stick together
like ‘stickle bricks’ – allowing them to be ar-
ranged into whole new structures.
“Artificial cell membranes usually bounce
off each other like rubber balls. By altering
nerve-block injections, the aforementioned
pre-treated mice developed only minimal
wounds- that did not even progress to full-
blown disease.
Lastly, scientists blocked neurotransmitter
CGRP’s (calcitonin gene-related peptide),
immune-suppressing activity with the help
of an injectable or ingestible CGRP-blocking
molecules. This treatment rendered immune
cells immune to the “stop” signal sent by the
neurons in case of pain and successfully pre-
vented the spread of necrotizing fasciitis in
mice infected with bacterium.
the biophysics of the membranes in our cells,
we got them instead to stick to each other like
stickle bricks,” said Imperial College lead
researcher Dr Yuval Elani.
“With this, we were able to form networks
of cells connected by ‘biojunctions’. By re-
inserting biological components such as pro-
teins in the membrane, we could get the cells
to communicate and exchange material with
one another. This mimics what is seen in na-
ture, so it’s a great step forward in creating
biological-like artificial cell tissues.”
The group engineered cell structures of var-
ying sophistication, such as lines, 2D squares
and 3D pyramids. Mixing the cells with a
tendril of membrane substance allowed the
construction to be transported collectively
with the help of a laser beam or mini tractor
ray- and rearranged.
The team was also able to unite two cells
into a bigger cell by coating the membrane
May 22nd, 2018.
By Disha Padmanabha
The team says that these consequent results
indicate that both the injectable nerve-block
approach and drug-based treatments against
the neurotransmitter CGRP hold therapeutic
promise for necrotizing fasciitis.
“Our findings provide a striking example
of how closely intertwined the nervous and
immune systems are and how intricate their
interaction can be in the setting of infection,”
Chiu said. “Our study also underscores the
therapeutic potential of modulating one sys-
tem to affect the other as a way to treat in-
fection.”
with gold nanoparticles and focusing the laser
beam onto the junction between both cells.
This results in the nanoparticles to resonate
and divide the encompassing cell membrane.
The membrane then functions as a complete
and in the procedure combines any substanc-
es which the cells had been carrying, which
might be crucial to delivering materials like
drugs to cells.
ICL department of chemistry professor Os-
car Ces said: “Connecting artificial cells to-
gether is a valuable technology in the wider
toolkit we are assembling for creating these
biological systems using bottom-up ap-
proaches.
“We can now start to scale up basic cell
technologies into larger tissue-scale net-
works, with precise control over the kind of
architecture we create.”
By Disha Padmanabha
5
May 22nd, 2018.
Landmark Study Links
Brain Cholesterol to
Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is a form of demen-
tia associated with the aberrant aggregation
of the amyloid-β peptide. Although there is
mounting evidence that implicates choles-
terol in the pathogenesis of AD, a detailed
mechanistic link is, however, lacking and re-
mains to be fully established.
Now, a team led by researchers at the Uni-
versity of Cambridge, have discovered that
brain cholesterol is a trigger for the forma-
tion of these notorious amyloid-beta clusters.
These in a toxic chain reaction eventually
lead to the formation of amyloid plaques that
result in the death of brain cells.
“The levels of amyloid-beta normally found
in the brain are about a thousand times low-
er than we require to observe it aggregating
in the laboratory – so what happens in the
brain to make it aggregate?” said Professor
Michele Vendruscolo of Cambridge’s Cen-
tre for Misfolding Diseases, who led the re-
search.
The team examined what causes amyloid
beta proteins to aggregate and found that cho-
Asymptomatic People
Sneak Dengue Fever to
Others, Dominate
Transmission Cycle
A thriving mosquito-borne virus, Dengue
has been on the rise in recent years- it has
spread unnoticed as asymptomatic cases may
have contributed to the transmission cycle.
It is the world’s fastest-growing infectious
disease, unleashing its dread on hundreds of
millions of people worldwide- it causes half
a million life-threatening infections with a
mortality statistic of about 20,000 individu-
als, who are mostly children, annually.
Now, a new study by researchers at the Uni-
versity of Notre Dame indicates that more
than 80 percent of dengue virus infections
are attributable to individuals with mild to no
symptoms who do not seek treatment from a
physician.
Their investigation further indicates that
nearly a quarter of dengue virus transmis-
sion is the result of mosquitoes infected al-
ready infected individuals before the onset of
symptoms. And by the time those symptoms
appear, the window to prevent the virus from
spreading has passed.
“Until a few years ago, it was assumed
that individuals with mild to no symptoms
contributed relatively little to dengue virus
transmission,” said Alex Perkins, Eck Fam-
ily Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
at the University of Notre Dame and senior
author on the study.
“Our research reveals that people showing
6
Vol. 02 NO 21
lesterol in lipid cell membranes that reside in
the brain tend to trigger the accumulation of
these proteins molecules.
The investigative team reported a vitro
modeling experiment that showed aggrega-
tion of amyloid beta speeding up by a factor
of 20 in the presence of cholesterol.
“The question for us now is not how to elim-
inate cholesterol from the brain, but about
how to control cholesterol’s role in Alzheim-
er’s disease through the regulation of its in-
teraction with amyloid-beta,” says Vendrus-
colo. “We’re not saying that cholesterol is the
only trigger for the aggregation process, but
it’s certainly one of them.”
“This work has helped us narrow down a
specific question in the field of Alzheimer’s
research,” said Vendruscolo. “We now need
to understand in more detail how the balance
of cholesterol is maintained in the brain in
order to find ways to inactivate a trigger of
amyloid-beta aggregation.” By Disha Padmanabha
Fat cells in the human body. 3d rendered Illustration.
no symptoms of dengue virus infection are
contributing much more than was previously
recognized so that we now have a better idea
of the large extent to which they contribute to
the spread of this disease.”
The study employed a mathematical mod-
el to quantify what fraction of dengue virus
infections might be caused by these asymp-
tomatic people whose illnesses go undetected
by public health surveillance systems.
Their investigation involved integrating
data sets on quantifying the viruses in blood
during different stages of infection, the se-
verity of symptoms with respect to previous
infections and the proportion of infections re-
sulting in clinical consultation.
“Unfortunately, based on our study, those
who need to be targeted with interventions
are either being identified after they have al-
ready contributed to transmission or are not
being identified at all,” said Perkins. “Our
results indicate that it might be necessary to
shift emphasis toward more proactive dis-
ease prevention strategies that do not rely as
strongly on responding to detected cases.”
By Disha Padmanabha
Vol. 02 NO 21
Retired
Drug’s Side-Effects
Could Help with
Hair Loss
Cyclosporine A isolated from fungi, is an
old immunosuppressive drug, commonly
used since the 1980s as a crucial drug that
suppresses transplant rejection and autoim-
mune diseases. Now, a new study by sci-
entists at the University of Manchester has
revealed that this drug could be used to po-
tently induce hair growth in humans.
The team used the chalked out drug as a
lead compound to identify novel therapeutic
targets that can aid the development of new
hair growth–promoting agents.
They analyzed the gene expressions of iso-
lated human scalp hair follicles and found
that the drug reversed the way follicles ex-
pressed a protein called SFRP1, which stunts
the development and growth of hair follicles
and other tissues in the body.
In their next step, they found a specific way
to antagonize SFRP1 thereby uncovering a
compound called WAY-316606. Developed
to treat osteoporosis, WAY-316606 was ob-
served to target similar mechanisms to Cy-
closporine A but without the broader immu-
nosuppressive actions of that drug.
Ex vivo analysis carried out on human
scalp samples revealed that WAY-316606 en-
hanced hair growth, suggesting external ap-
plication of it, or a similar compound, could
be an effective hair loss treatment.
Dr. Hawkshaw said: “Thanks to our collab-
oration with a local hair transplant surgeon,
Dr. Asim Shahmalak, we were able to conduct
our experiments with scalp hair follicles that
had generously been donated by over 40 pa-
tients and were then tested in organ cultures.
“This makes our research clinically very
relevant, as many hair research studies only
use cell culture.”
He added: “When the hair growth-promot-
ing effects of CsA were previously studied in
mice, a very different molecular mechanism
of action was suggested; had we relied on
these mouse research concepts, we would
have been barking up the wrong tree.
May 22nd, 2018.
By Disha Padmanabha
“The fact this new agent, which had never
even been considered in a hair loss context,
promotes human hair growth is exciting be-
cause of its translational potential: it could
one day make a real difference to people who
suffer from hair loss.
“Clearly though, a clinical trial is required
next to tell us whether this drug or similar
compounds are both effective and safe in hair
loss patients.”
7
May 22nd, 2018.
AICTE National Doctoral
Fellowship Scheme 2018 –
Official Notification
Official notification for AICTE National
Doctoral Fellowship Scheme 2018. AICTE
NDFS 2018 opportunity for Indian Na-
tionals. All India Council for Technical
Education National Doctoral Fellowship
Scheme 2018 notification is out. Check out
all of the details on the eligibility, dates to
apply, areas of research and such below:
Overview:
• Nurture Talents For Technical Re-
search.
• Promote Collaborative Research Be-
tween Institute And Industries
• Promote research culture in AICTE ap-
proved Institutions.
• Admitting full time meritorious re-
search scholars by providing research
fellowship.
Thrust Areas:
• Nuclear Engineering and Allied Tech-
nologies
• Robotics and Mechatronics
• Energy Efficiency, Renewable and sus-
tainable Energy
• Electric and Hybrid Mobility
• Smart Cities, Housing and Transporta-
tion
• IoT, I2oT and Embedded Systems
• Nano Science and Technology
• Big Data, Machine Learning and AI
• Drug modelling and development
• Biomedical and Rehabilitation
• Smart Technologies for Agriculture
and Food Industry
• Water purification, conservation and
management
Eligibility:
(a) The fellowship/contingency will be
granted to research scholars admitted in re-
search institute of AICTE. National Nodal
Centre will fortify the procedure for selecting
candidates according to the eligibility criteria
for grant of National Doctoral Fellowship.
(b) The candidate should have secured cu-
mulative grade point average of 7.5 on the
scale of 10 or equal at both B.E/B.Tech/B.
Pharm and M.E/M.Tech/M.Pharm. In addi-
tion to above the candidate must have qual-
ified GATE/GPAT during the previous five
years. For SC/ST/PH applicants CGPA re-
quirement is going to be 7.0 on the scale of
8
SCHOLARSHIPS
10 or equivalent or general candidate should
have secured 75% marks or above & 70 per-
cent marks for applicants of reserved catego-
ries.
(c) The offender ought to be less than 30
years old as on 31st August of year of appli-
cation however age relaxation of 5 years will
be applicable to applicants belonging to SC/
ST, women and physically challenged group.
Duration of Scheme:
The length of the scheme will likely be for
a period of 3 Years. No additional extension
will be allowed, nevertheless, extendable by
6 months in particular cases with the recom-
mendation of Institute and endorsement of
National Nodal Centre. Additional expansion
of 6 months could be awarded on the rec-
ommendations together with the approval of
AICTE.
Intake of the Scheme:
The total number of applicants selected un-
der this scheme annually could be limited to
150 each year. Amount of candidates/Institute
are approximately 3 per Institute subject to
the availability of seats in the research center
and need of a research centre by applicants.
If the seats allotted to the establishment stay
vacant, these seats will be allocated to anoth-
er institutions from the Nodal Centre on the
acceptance of AICTE.
Reservation Policy:
Reservation for fellowship will be accord-
ing to Central Reservation Policy i.e. 15
percent to SC applicants, 7.5 percent to ST
applicants and 27 percent to OBC candidates
(NCL only), also will be observed in National
level.
Disbursement of the Funds:
The candidate will be provided the fellow-
ship of Rs. 28,000/- a month + House rent
allowance where the hostel accommodation/
Institute lodging isn’t available according to
the prices of Ph.D.
Processing Methodology:
Candidates will be identified by the Na-
tional Nodal Centre of AICTE according to
the functions and responsibilities of National
Nodal Centre.
How to Apply:
• Candidate should See the Site http://
aicte-ndf.psgtech.ac.in for submitting
online application, updated Informa-
tion associated with: receipt of com-
pleted application, candidates called
for interview, chosen list of candidates
along with the other information per-
taining to NDF admission.
• Candidate must read the info book-
let available from the aforementioned
website thoroughly before completing
the fields In the online application.
• Candidate should Be sure appropriate
Institute / Discipline codes have been
chosen, all applicable details are filled
in the respective fields.
• The candidate must submit the online
application form Together with appli-
cable enclosures cited in the Info Book-
let. The candidate must also pay an
application fee through online for Rs.
500/ in regard to General/OBC class
students and also for Rs. 250/ with re-
gard to reserved category students (SC/
ST/PH).
• Please be aware that no Corrections/
additions/deletions into the recommen-
dation format is allowed. Changes to
the format of this forwarding / recom-
mendation notice won’t be accepted.
• The application number given during
the online registration ought to be quot-
ed in all correspondences. If the The
changed application number might be
quoted in most scenarios.
• Short-listed candidates will get Inter-
view Call/Admission letter from the
respective NDF Coordinator Of the In-
stitute, in which they’ve applied to find
admission. The Principal Coordinator
NDF won’t send any Call letter to the
candidate directly.
• Interview schedule is final and can’t
be changed/ changed under any condi-
tions. Candidates may plan their jour-
ney accordingly.
Important Dates:
• Portal opening date : May 07, 2018
• Access to on line submission of appli-
cations : May 12, 2018
• Closing of on line applications sub-
mission : June 10, 2018
• Display of final list of students eligible
for interview : June 14, 2018
• Interviews at selected academic insti-
tutions : June 18, 2018 – July 10, 2018
• Display of selected candidates and
their allotted institutes : July 15, 2018
• Reporting at institute by candidates :
July 31, 2018
Prime Minister’s
Fellowship Scheme for
Doctoral Research | 100
Fellowships Available
Prime Minister’s Fellowship Scheme for
Doctoral Research official notification has
been announced. There are over a 100
Fellowships that are available and to top
it off, this scheme is open throughout the
year. You can be an early bird applicant
and apply by 25th May 2018 to be consid-
ered for the fellowship. Check out details
below:
Vol. 02 NO 21
About the Scheme:
Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) for hu-
man resource capacity building for industri-
al R&D was recognized as one of the main
deliverables by a Sub-committee of Prime
Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry.
Among the main recommendations that arose
from the Private Sector is to design, build and
execute a Doctoral Research Scheme under
PPP for improving trust level in academia,
research outfits and industry.
A unique strategy for 100 ‘Doctoral Re-
search Fellowships’ annually was declared
during the Inception Ceremony of the Indian
Science Congress Association, in June 2012
at Kolkata. Vide Prime Minister’s Office ID
No–3646245/2012-ES-II dated 2 November
2012; the Prime Minister’s Office accept-
ed the suggestion of naming the ‘SERB-
CII Doctoral Fellowship Scheme’ as Prime
Minister’s Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral
Research.Afterward, the Prime Minister’s
Fellowship Scheme for Doctoral Research
was officially launched in the ‘AICTE-CII
University-Industry Congress and 4th Global
Higher Education Summit’ held in New Del-
hi.
Organisers:
The Prime Minister’s Fellowship Scheme
for Doctoral Research is currently a pub-
lic-private partnership (PPP) between Science
& Engineering Research Board (SERB), that
will be an autonomous body under the De-
partment of Science and Technology (DST),
Government of India, and Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII).
About:
This strategy is targeted at supporting
young, gifted, enthusiastic and result-orient-
ed scholars to take up industry-relevant re-
search. Under this strategy, the fulltime PhD
scholars receive double the money which
they’d otherwise get for doing research. Max-
imum government fellowship in India at any
given academic or research institute is rough-
ly Rs 36,400 a month, including House Rent
Allowance (HRA) for SRF category. Under
the Prime Minister’s Fellowship Scheme for
Doctoral Research, the scholars get twice the
JRF/SRF as scholarship (according to appli-
cable slabs). While one-half of the scholar-
ship comes from the government, the next
half comes out of a partner company that
also works closely together with the candi-
date on the research endeavor. The very first
batch started in 2013. The strategy was made
open-ended because September 2014, per-
mitting aspirants to employ anytime within
14 months out of their PhD enrollment.
Fellowships are conferred to 79 PM Fel-
lows in the initial 3 years with over 30 insti-
tutes and over 50 businesses coming together
to support the strategy. It’s envisaged that
this strategy will finally bring large number
of gifted students into pursuing PhD and on
altering industry’s mind-set in buying R&D
and recruitment more PhDs.
Next Page>>>>
Vol. 02 NO 21
How to Apply?
You may apply for this fellowship via the
web site www.primeministerfellowship-
scheme.in.
Following is a step-by-step manual for the
application procedure:-
• Register as a student on the gateway
www.primeministerfellowshipscheme.
in.
• Download the Call for Proposal and
Document Checklist.
• Tie up with a business and find the es-
sential undertakings signed by a legiti-
mate signatory in the company in addi-
tion to from the host institute.
• Gather all documents and make digital
copies of each.
• Fill out the application form online (the
form can’t be downloaded and requires
internet connectivity whilst filling).
• Submit application.
• Don’t send any physical copy of the ap-
plication / documents to CII.
Nominees will need to refer to Annexure
I in the Call for Proposal document that’s
available on the home page of this portal
www.primeministerfellowshipscheme.in. All
of the essential documents and information
necessary to be given ought to be collected
before completing the online application.
Deadline:
The scheme is open-ended and the scholars
may apply anytime during the year subject to
the state that the doctoral fellow should taken
admission in fulltime PhD in last 14 months
from the date of entry of application at any
recognized Indian university / institute / re-
search lab. In the event of another admission /
registration and enrollment date, the first date
of entry in fulltime PhD will be considered.
In the event of any dispute concerning entry
date, the decision of the Apex Council is go-
ing to be deemed as final. No hard copies of
any type have to be delivered to CII; just soft
copies are needed to be uploaded as suggest-
ed in the form.
To be eligible to apply, student should have
obtained admission in fulltime PhD in last
14 months by the date of submission of ap-
plication in virtually any recognized Indian
university / institute / research lab. In the
event of another admission / registration and
enrollment date, the initial date of admission
at fulltime PhD will be considered.
Apply before 25th May 2018 to be as-
sessed in the next round of selection. But
this having an open-ended scheme, you
may apply anytime during the year and
your application will be considered within
the next council meeting.
May 22nd, 2018.
tute signaling their commitment on traveling.
Research Areas for Poland:
Scope of Finance:
Visits to Poland will be organized only un-
Scientists selected for deputation overseas der the following identified regions. For oth-
would be supplied 100% travel assistance ( er countries you will find No specific identi-
by Air India Excursion class air fare ) from fied regions.
INSA. The getting Academy/Organization
would offer local hospitality including inter- Poland:
nal traveling overseas.
Biological Sciences such as Medical
Criteria for Selection: Sciences: Experimental Biology such as Mo-
lecular Biology, Biotechnology, Microbiolo-
INSA Bilateral Exchange The Criteria for choice would largely be the gy and Developmental Biology, Immunology
Programme 2019 | scientific involvement of this nominee and and Transplantology; Pharmacology such
the Function of this Visit, which could be ac- as Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology;
Opportunity For Indian ceptable to the host scientist. Tropical Biology with specific References to
Scientists to Work Abroad Short term visits are mainly for two to four Systematics and Reproductive Biology; En-
months for holding scientific conversations, vironmental Sciences; Agricultural Sciences
providing a series of Seminars and work- Such as Forestry.
Indian National Science Academy shops, projecting Indian science overseas.
(INSA) Under Bilateral Exchange Pro- It’s expected that short-term people are well Application Process:
gramme 2019 official notification has been recognized Indian scientists who are success-
announced. Indian National Science Acad- ful Ambassadors of Indian Science. Under Please be aware that in no situation will
emy Exchange Programme with Foreign long-term category, the scientists have been a nominee contact with the collaborating
Academies and Organisations official noti- expected to operate primarily in 1 institute Academy of the host nation. In case such
fication for indian nationals. Check out all using a brief trip to some other allied insti- cases are reported, the Indian National Sci-
of the details on the same below: tutes. ence Academy is going to be constrained to
If a scientist wants to attend a conference/ fall the proposal of the concerned scientist.
Applications are invited from scientists / re- scientific meeting during his trip abroad un-
searchers holding Ph.D. degree and Having der the Exchange Programme, the length of Application received after due date and
routine positions in established S&T insti- the convention should generally be not great- Incomplete program, whatsoever, will be
tutions/universities and actively participated er than a fourth of their full stay in the nation. refused by the Academy.
in research in frontline areas for deputation Scientists who suggest to see overseas only to
overseas during the Calendar year 2019 in attend the Symposium/Conference, need not Complete application form (one soft and
most areas of Science such as Engineering, apply under this programme. one hard copy) and all the necessary en-
Medicine & Agriculture for short-term visits closures i.e. invitation letter Etc. should be
( 2-4 weeks to senior scientists) and long- Under the exchange programme together filed at the latest by July 31, 2018 to: Depu-
term visits (3 months for junior/younger with the Academy in France just Fellows ty Executive Director- I (Scientific), Indian
scientists) under the Scientific Bilateral Ex- of the Academy would be considered for National Science Academy Bahadur Shah
change Programme with abroad Academies/ nomination. Zafar Marg, New Delhi — 110002 <inta-
Organizations at China, Czech Republic, cademy@insa.nic.in>
France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Israel, The trip ought to be availed of at the exact
Nepal, Philippines, Poland, Scotland, Slo- same calendar year. Failure to do this can ren- Deadline: latest by July 31, 2018
vak Republic and Republic of Slovenia, der them to forfeit the nomination.
Sudan, Taiwan & Turkey.
The comprehensive guidelines and applica-
tion form may be downloaded in download
form section of http://www.insaindia.res.in.
The hard copy of application duly completed
and endorsed by the Head of the Institution
must be submitted latest by July 31, 2018 into
Deputy Executive Director- I (Scientific),
Indian National Science Academy, Bahadur
Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi – 110002. The
soft copy of whole application (only PDF file
only) needs to be email to: intacademy@insa.
nic.in Please include Name, Area of Research
and Proposed Country in the subject line of
email. The soft copy filename ought to be
stored as: Title of Applicant_Proposed Coun-
try. Incomplete applications will be rejected
and no additional correspondence will likely
be made.
Eligibility & Application Procedure:
Applications are invited from Indian Na-
tionals due to the Academy for another cal-
endar year. The applicant must be a scientist
holding a regular position in a recognized S
& T Institution/University and actively par-
ticipated in research work in frontline areas.
He/She shouldn’t have been overseas during
the previous 3 years under some INSA Pro-
gramme. The scientist must have been ap-
proved to operate in an Institute/Laboratory
from the nation to be seen and this ought to
be encouraged by a letter of invitation by the
host overseas. People who would like to go
to overseas for three months must submit a
comprehensive programme of the collabora-
tive research work to be performed. All ap-
plications must be forwarded through proper
channel from the employer/head of this Insti-
9
May 22nd, 2018.
4-6 Months Research
Training with project @
NABI, Mohali
NABI, Mohali has announced the notifi-
cation for Opportunity for 4 to 6 months
(July to December 2018) Research Train-
ing with project at NABI, Mohali. NABI,
Mohali is recruiting for research trainees
with project opportunity. Check out all of
the details on the same given below:
Opportunity for 4 to 6 months (July to
December 2018) Research Training with
project at NABI, Mohali
National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute
(NABI), Mohali, is a Research & Develop-
ment Institute under Department of Biotech-
nology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Tech-
nology, Government of India. The institute
includes cutting edge research surrounding
multiple research areas which includes agri-
cultural biotechnology, epigenetics, compu-
tational biology & bioinformatics, post-har-
vest engineering, nutritional and food science
and engineering. To impart high excellent
instruction beforehand regions of biotechnol-
ogy to students of under-graduation (BSc &
B.Tech) and post- collaboration (MSc&M.
Tech), Applications are invited from moti-
vated applicants with higher amount of cre-
ativity, innovative ideas, and communicating
abilities.
1. A seat fee of Rs. 5000/- Per month and
GST @ 18 percent for 4 to 6 weeks per
trainee will be billed by the institute in the
pupils or sponsoring institutes following
choice by online transfer to NABI, Mohali.
The fee needs to be deducted before be-
ginning of this instruction. If any student
would like to cancel the supported train-
ing before its beginning, an administrative
fee (20 percent) could be deducted from
NABI. The refund won’t be made if the
cancellation request is hunted throughout
training period.
2. The practice period should be for 4 to
6 weeks between July to December. The
Training will be run in NABI’s most impor-
tant campus and coaching project should be
included range of NABI mandates.
3. The training will be in one of 4 regions –
i) Food Science and Technology ii) Nutrition
Science and Technology, iii) Agricultural Bi-
otechnology, and iv) Computational Biology
and Bioinformatics. Aside from laboratory
functions, trainee could be asked to involve
research functions in area and growth/tis-
sue-culture chambers for both testing and
growing research materials.
10
ADMISSIONS
4. NABI may arrange lodging in hostels
or guest home (shared) in NABI’s Pre-
scribed speed, if accessible.
5. NABI won’t reimburse any health care
asserts that incurred during instruction.
6. The Amount of trainees to be required
will depend on the scientist’s need from time
to time.
7. The Choice of trainees will likely be
through screening cum selection committee
according to Academic merit and expertise
8. Opportunities are also available for long-
term or short-term coaching sponsored pro-
grams By government agencies like DST,
DBT, INSA,NASI, etc. with no fee.
9. The prescribed program format is avail-
able on NABI Site (http://www.nabi.res.in/
Training.aspx). It ought to send by post
to Administrative officer, National Agri-
Food Biotechnology Institute, Sector-81,
Knowledge City, SAS Nagar, Mohali, Pun-
jab-140306.
10. Documents to be filed: 1) A full applica-
tion application form (downloaded in NABI)
2) Application form offered by Head of De-
partment or Dean or Registrar or Head of in-
stitute on letter head, if candidate is currently
pursuing a diploma.
11. The final date of program to achieve
NABI: June 15, 2018 from 5:30 PM
12. Stipend:No
Integrated MSc-PhD
Biotechnology Admission
2018 @ ILS, Bhubaneswar
Integrated MSc-PhD in Biotechnology
August 2018 at Institute of Life Scienc-
es, Bhubaneswar has been announced. 20
seats are available for bsc candidates from
various science background. ILS Bhu-
baneswar Integrated Biotech Admission
2018 Notification and all its details are giv-
en below:
Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar,
invites applications from the motivated stu-
dents for entrance to the Integrated MSc-PhD
degree program in Biotechnology for the ses-
sion beginning from August 2018.
Duration of Course:
The whole period of this Integrated MSc-
PhD degree program will be for no less than
five years and a maximum of 7 years. For
additional information, please consult with
ILS webpage. https://www.ils.res.in/integrat-
ed-msc-phd/
Affiliation:
Degree will be given by Regional Centre
for Biotechnology, Faridabad, an Institution
of National Importance as recognized by the
Parliament of India.
Number of seats:
20 (There will be reservation of seats for
students from SC, ST, OBC and PWD classes
in accordance with the regulations of Govt.
Of India in this respect).
Eligibility Criteria:
Indian Nationals with 60% aggregate marks
(or an equivalent grade point average) in
Bachelor’s degree in almost any Branch of
Science, Engineering, or Medicine are eligi-
ble to apply for entry. Students from SC, ST,
OBC (non-creamy layer), and PWD groups
shall be extended a relaxation of 5% aggre-
gate marks. Students in the last year of the
qualifying degree program are also eligible
to apply provided they produce an evidence
of having secured the necessary marks in
their undergraduate degree program in the
time of admission to the Integrated MSc-PhD
program. The candidate must be under 25
years old, according to 10th July, 2018.
Eligible students need to appear for an En-
trance Exam conducted by ILS, Bhubane-
swar. Shortlisted students, according to their
performance in the exam, will be called for
an interview for their final selection into the
Integrated MSc-PhD program. The interview
will be to evaluate the student for their sci-
ence aptitude and interest in a career in scien-
tific research and advancement.
Application Procedure:
Interested and qualified candidates may
fill-up the prescribed application form as
available in ILS Site (www.ils.res.in ). Duly
filled-up application together with self-at-
tested copies of applicable certifications
and demand draft ought to be sent to “The
Director, Institute of Life Sciences, Nalco
Square, Bhubaneswar 751023”. The appli-
cation should reach the Institute on or before
the final date. Applications received after the
final date won’t be accepted. The envelope
ought to be super scribed with “Application
for Integrated MScPhD program”.
List of candidates chosen for the entrance
examination and interview will be released in
the Institute Site (www.ils.res.in ).
Application Fees:
Applicants except SC/ST applicants are
expected to send a non refundable D.D. for
Rs.500/- in favour of “Director, Institute of
Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar” payable at
Bhubaneswar along with duly filled-in appli-
cation form by the date cited below, for each
research field.
Director, ILS reserves the right to withdraw
the process without assigning any reasons
thereof.
Important dates:
• Last date of receiving applications: 9th
June, 2018.
• Date of display of short-listed candidates
for entrance exam: 15th June, 2018.
• Tentative date of entrance exam: 10th July,
2018.
Vol. 02 NO 21
• Tentative date of interview: 31st July,
2018.
PhD Programme
Admission 2018 @
NIBMG, Kalyani
PhD admissions 2018 for msc candidates
at NIBMG, Kalyani. National Institute of
Biomedical Genomics Kalyani PhD Pro-
gramme Admission 2018. National Insti-
tute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG)
PhD Programme Admissions 2018. Check
out details on the same below:
NIBMG is accepting applications from eli-
gible candidates to pursue doctoral research,
leading to a PhD Degree, in the areas of Bi-
omedical Sciences in the institute under the
mentorship of NIBMG faculty. Research on
Biomedical Genomics encompasses research
on all facets of genetics and genomics in re-
lation to human disease and health, as well
as validation by cellular and molecular biol-
ogy methods. A typical PhD student would
get opportunity to be trained in the cutting
edge laboratory technologies as well as com-
putational and statistical methods. NIBMG
is now engaged in several multi-center col-
laborations and hence the pupils will have
exposure to inter-institutional environment.
Specific projects will have lot of interdisci-
plinary elements.
The broad Regions of research on which pu-
pils are expected to function are listed under:
• Cancer Genomics and Epigenomics
• Genomics and Epigenomics of Com-
plex Human Diseases (such as Micro-
biome Biology)
• Genomics and Epigenomics of conta-
gious Disease Biology
• Systems Biology and Computational
Biology
• Statistical Genomics
15% OF THE SEATS ARE RESERVED
FOR THE SC CATEGORY, 7.5 percent FOR
THE ST CATEGORY AND 27 percent FOR
NONCREAMY LAYER OBC CATEGORY.
CERTIFICATES FROM RELEVANT AU-
THORITIES ARE TO BE PROVIDED AS
PROOF BEFORE THE INTERVIEW.
The minimum eligibility criteria for accept-
ing pupils at NIBMG to pursue research lead-
ing to Ph.D. level are:
• Nominees in general category should
have secured at least 55% aggregate in
Master’s degree. This Will be relaxed
Vol. 02 NO 21
for reserved categories since they’re
just necessary to successfully complete
Master’s degree.
• Nominees in general category should
have secured at least 55% aggregate in
Master’s degree. This Will be relaxed
for reserved categories since they’re
just necessary to successfully complete
Master’s degree.
• An applicant must have passed the
NET conducted by CSIR/UGC/ICMR/
DBT/NBHM and Have to possess A
valid award letter of Junior Research
Fellowship from CSIR, UGC, ICMR,
DBT, NBHM. Candidates who are
qualified for Rajiv Gandhi National
Fellowship or some other fellowship
for the reserved categories are invited
to apply.
• Preference will be given to applicants
with demonstrable research training in
the form of summer training or short-
term courses in established research
labs in preparation for a research career
in biomedical sciences. This condition
isn’t applicable to people belonging to
reserved categories.
How to Apply:
Please apply online through web hyperlink
http://apply.nibmg.ac.in/ (no other kind of
application will be approved). Please indicate
online if you belong to a reserved category or
the general category.
Short-listed candidates will be called for a
Formal interview.
Last Date: 5 PM of 7th June, 2018
Biotechnology PhD &
MTech Admissions 2018 @
Jaypee Institute of
Information Technology,
Noida
Jaypee Institute of Information Technol-
ogy, Noida has announced Department of
Biotechnology PhD & MTech Admissions
2018. JIIT, Noida MTech & PhD Admis-
sions 2018 – Dept. of Biotechnology. Inter-
ested and eligible candidates check out all
of the details on the same below:
About the Department:
Biotechnology department is actively en-
gaged in basic as well as translational re-
search encompassing fields like genomics
and proteomics, drug target discovery, mi-
crobial biodiversity, bioremediation, Plant
Biotechnology, Natural Products and their
molecular mechanism, nanobiotechnology,
bioprocess and industrial biotechnology.
The research emphasis is reflected in the ac-
tive doctoral program (30 students pursuing
PhD and 25 completed), 330 publications in
International/National journals, and 30 spon-
sored research projects totaling approximate-
ly INR- 9 Crores from premier national
funding agencies and industries namely, the
Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the De-
partment of Science and Technology (DST),
All India Council for Technical Education
(AICTE), Indian Council for Medical Re-
search (ICMR) and Department of AYUSH.
Our students continue to secure positions in
graduate schools for MS/Ph.D at universities
of International/National repute such as Max
Planck Institutes, John Hopkins, Georgia
Tech, Keck Graduate Institute, Penn State,
IITs etc. among others. Many students have
been selected in core biotechnology firms
Panacea Biotech, Cadilla Biotech, Ranbaxy,
and Premas Biotech Ltd.
Thrust Areas of research
1) Centre for Emerging Diseases
• Emerging Diseases
• Bioinformatics
• RNAi Technology
• Genomics
• Nano Drug Delivery System
• Biosensors
• Nanoparticles
• Diagnostics and Therapeutics
2) Plant & Microbial Biotechnology
• Bioremediation
• Bioresources
• Environmental Biotechnology
• Natural Products & Molecular Mecha-
nism
Admission Notification:
A. Eligibility Criteria:
• For M.Tech: Qualifying examination
must be cleared with at least 60%
marks or 6.0 CGPA on 10 point scale)
Masters in lifesciences, 4 years Bache-
lors degree in
• Lifesciences / Agriculture, MBBS,
B.VSc and B.Pharm, B.Tech-Biotech.
• For Ph.D: M.Tech Degree of a Uni-
versity or equivalent for Ph.D. in En-
gineering / Technology in respective
branch with 60% Aggregate Marks or
CGPA not less than 6 on scale of 10.
• Master’s Degree of a University for
Ph.D. in Sciences / Humanities / Social
Sciences / Management / Pharmacy in
respective discipline or equivalent with
60% Aggregate marks or CGPA not
less than 6 on scale of 10.
• M.C.A. Degree with 60% Aggregate
Marks or equivalent CGPA and two
years experience for Ph.D. in Comput-
er Science & Engineering / Information
Technology Departments.
• Consistently good academic perfor-
mance is desirable.
B. Admission Procedure
• For M.Tech: On the basis of GATE
score card.
or
On the basis of Entrance test (PGET) con-
ducted by the institute.
• For Ph.D:
Admission shall be based on personal in-
terview of eligible candidates only. Each
eligible candidate will have to give a short
presentation before the interview committee
in the area of research interest.
The eligibility criteria for interview shall be
determined as under :
(a) Satisfying the requirements of minimum
qualification specified in eligibility criteria.
May 22nd, 2018.
(b) NET/SLET/UGC/CSIR(JRF) or equiv- and medicine. It covers fundamental cell
alent national level examination qualified and molecular biology, population biology,
candidates. statistics, human genetics, genomics, clin-
ical genetics and genetic counselling. The
OR curriculum consists of lectures, laboratory
work, seminars and discussions and includes
Shortlisted on the basis of merit in PhD en- a strong component of research, case studies
trance test conducted by JIIT. and activity-based learning.
The programme can be viewed as a first
MAJOR RESEARCH FACILITIES step towards a professional career in hu-
man genetics, disease diagnostics and allied
• Animal Tissue Culture Lab bio-medical fields or towards advanced stud-
• Plant Tissue Culture Lab ies leading to a Ph.D. or MD degree.
• Micro RNA technology Lab
• Comparative and functional Genomics Eligibility:
Lab
• Microbial Biotechnology Lab A Bachelor’s degree in any area of biolo-
• Genetics Lab gy or medicine. Motivated candidates with
• Nanobiotechnology Lab an undergraduate degree from other streams
• Protein Purification Lab can also apply. Selection will be based on a
• Structural Biology Lab national-level online test followed by an in-
• Bioinformatics Lab terview. Students appearing for the final year
exam as well those who are waiting for the
DATES TO REMEMBER: results may also apply.
Important Dates for Ph.D Admissions Fees:
Last date for Receipt of Applications : 31st Subject to University approval, the course
May 2018 fees are estimated to be Rs. 1,75,000/- for the
two-year course. Fee concession is available
• Ph.D Entrance Test : 4th June 2018 to eligible applicants.
• Interview Date : 5th June 2018
Important Dates:
Important Dates for M.Tech Admissions
• Last date for receiving applications
Last date for Receipt of Applications : 31st : Friday, 25th May 2018; for details
May 2018 see: www.chg.res.in
• Date of online test : Sunday, 27th
• M.Tech Entrance Test (PGET) : 4th May 2018
June 2018 • Interview dates : Between 5th and
6th June 2018
• Programme starts on : Monday, 23rd
July 2018
• For application forms, queries and
correspondence : mscapp@chg.res.
in; Mobile: 9482864314
M.Sc. in Human Disease
Genetics 2018-2020
Admissions @ Centre for
Human Genetics
Official notification for M.Sc. Human
Disease Genetics Admission 2018-2020 at
Centre for Human Genetics, Bengaluru
has been announced. Candidates with a
Bachelor’s degree in any area of biology
or medicine are eligible to apply. For more
details on the overview of the programme,
eligibility, fees, application forms etc.
check the information given below:
CENTRE FOR HUMAN GENETICS
Biotech Park, Electronics City Phase I,
Bangalore 560 100
M.Sc. in Human Disease Genetics
(2018-2020) (Degree awarded by Banga-
lore University)
The Centre for Human Genetics, Banga-
lore, invites applications for admission to the
M.Sc. programme in Human Disease Genet-
ics for the session 2018-2020.
This is a unique interdisciplinary pro-
gramme at the interface of modern biology
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