Refresher Course for Teachers on Cell and Molecular Biology Techniques at Manipal

By Snehalatha Udupi
Bellevision Media Network

Manipal, 09 Febraury 2012: Teachers should be continuously updating their knowledge according to the developments happening around the world. This was the message conveyed to the participants of the Refresher Course for Teachers on Cell and Molecular Biology Techniques, by renowned researcher Prof. Valiathan on Saturday. The course, conducted from 23rd January to 4th February 2012, concluded with a small ceremony at the Manipal Life Sciences Centre, which hosted the course. Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Valiathan felt that it was imperative for teachers to keep updating their knowledge and said that the three science academies of the country sponsor refresher courses such as these to cater to those needs. Dr. G. K. Prabhu, Registrar of Manipal University, distributed the certificates to the participants. Addressing the participants, he reiterated the need for continuous updating of ever increasing knowledge in scientific research and felt that teachers were best placed to spread the knowledge to the students around the country and such workshops are conducted towards filling that lacuna. Stressing the need of multi-disciplinary collaborations in research, he hoped that interactions between the faculties from various scientific and geographic areas of the country would help in furthering research.

 

 

 

During the course of the workshop eminent researchers in the country interacted with the participants. Dr. J. Nagaraju, (CDFD, Hyderabad) inaugurated the course and lectured on the exciting aspects of basic research and its potential applications. Dr. Utpal Nath, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, spoke on his work on allometry in plants and the various methods that can be used to determine the same. Dr. D.N. Rao, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, gave a detailed description of the restriction enzymes and their genomics, while Dr. P. Kondaiah, also from the same institution, explained the utilities of microarrays in determining biomarkers useful in cancer diagnostics and disease prognostics. Dr. V. Nagaraja, from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, spoke on aspects of DNA replication and cell cycle control. Dr. K. Thangaraj, from CCMB, Hyderabad, reported on the human genetic diversity as deduced from the results of the experiments in his lab and its implications. Dr. Indrani Karunasagar, Department of Fishery Microbiology, College of Fisheries - Mangalore presented an overview of biotechnology as being used in fisheries science. Dr. S. Kumaravel, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore gave a lecture on ‘Next Generation Sequencing’, while Dr. K. P. Gopinathan delivered a lecture on the ten greatest discoveries in medical sciences in the last millennium. Dr. K. Muniyappa, also from the same institution, in his talk covered the vast areas of developments that have occurred in genomics of microbial pathogens and the discovery of new antimicrobial agents. Dr. K.M. Girisha, from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, spoke on the methods of screening new-borns for genetic disorders. Dr. K.K. Mahato, from Manipal Life Sciences Centre, briefed the participants on the use and applications of laser in life sciences, especially cell and molecular biology.

 

The course was structured in such a way that the participants were able to gain an understanding of the principle and working of various methods such as isolation of nucleic acids and proteins; gel electrophoresis; protein estimation; karyotyping; cytotoxicity assays; tissue culture techniques; HPLC; Mass Spectrometry; Atomic Adsorption Spectrometry; PCR; DNA sequencing; Flow Cytometry; bioinformatics tools and databases. It was not all restricted to the labs though; the participants enthusiastically woke up early in the mornings to energize their day with help from Dr. Kemparaj, Physical Director, Manipal.