Biochemistry

The Department of Biochemistry was established in 1968, and was one of the few Departments in the country to start a Master’s course in Biochemistry. In view of the growing importance of Biochemistry, both as a basic science as well as a broad based discipline, the Department introduced Biochemistry at the undergraduate level in the year 2000. The Department presently offers a 2-year M. Sc program, a 3-year undergraduate program with Biochemistry as one subject in B. Sc and a Doctoral program. These are highly sought after, and only the best students gain admission. Weekly student seminars and frequent invited lectures by prominent scientists are organized, with a view to develop quality personnel in the field of Biochemistry. The Department organized a 3-day Training Program in ‘Molecular Biology Applications in Herbal Drug Design and Diagnostics’ from March 31 to April 2, 2011 for research scholars and post graduate students. In 2010, the Department held a National Conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Biochemistry’ and a Satellite Symposium of the Academy of Environmental Biology. The lead papers presented in this Conference were published in Cellular Molecular Biology [vol. 57(1), 2011], which is an internationally reputed, peer-reviewed journal published from France.

The Department has a faculty strength of five members. The research interests of the faculty include: molecular biology of HIV-1, anti-HIV-1 drug design, toxicology, micronutrients and their role in oxidative stress, aging research and anti-aging interventions, and natural product based anti-microbials. The faculty is engaged in collaborative research with several institutional and national universities and institutes.