Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
BII Exam Notification
BII's Exams would be held on 23rd & 24th April 2010 at the following cities Ahemdabad, Kottayam, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Lucknow, Noida, Chandigarh, Bhopal & Bhubneshwar.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Pharmacy education in India had its beginning in mid of 19th century in Madras Medical College with introduction of pharmacy classes to impart pharmaceutical skills for the students qualifying for medical degrees or diploma or hospital assistance ship. Later it was helpful for the students who intended to qualify as chemist and druggists. Duration of study was increased to two years and entry qualification was made matriculation. The classes didn’t receive popularity and there were only a few students who used to opt for it. However, the course remained in operation and received Government sanction for its continuation. But the pharmacy education gained popularity only when Prof. M. L. Schroff with the consent of Madan Mohan Malviya introduced Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacognosy as one of the subjects for B.Sc. Degree in July 1937 in Banaras Hindu University. Then onwards there was no looking back. Pharmacy became a full pledged course with introduction of Diploma in Pharmacy and Bachelors of Pharmacy. Later Master of Pharmacy in various specializations was introduced. It is said that the first ever Pharmacy course was introduced along with the medical course in 1842 at the Old Portuguese school known as "Escola Medica de Goa" and later named as "Escola Medica Cirurgica de Goa". The Pharmacists (farmaceuticos) and Doctors (Medica Cirurgiao) were educated and trained in the same medical school and they had almost the same status in the Goan society.
Pharmacy education played a very crucial role in the economic development of the country. Now Pharmaceutical Sector is considered to be one of the very important sectors which significantly contribute to country’s economy. Although the pharmacy education has its enormous contribution for the development of pharma industry, its contribution for the development of pharmacy practice was modest with just a Masters programme in Pharmacy Practice. Hence, it was decided that there is a need to start a full-pledged course which would impart sufficient knowledge to student to practice the profession of pharmacy. And then the birth of Pharm D in India took place with the untiring efforts of a few visionaries. Doctor of pharmacy is patient-oriented whereas, bachelors of pharmacy is industry — oriented. The students are shaping to enter with pride and knowledge to take up the challenges of patient care.
In general, there should be a re-look at the pharmacy courses. Diploma in Pharmacy course, as a prerequisite to run a pharmacy (medical shop), is said to be outdated and only a few students opt for the course. Bachelor in Pharmacy needs an update to adapt to the advanced technology at which pharmaceutical industry is operating. Although been criticized, there should be a second thought to be given to introduce specialization at bachelor’s level. There should be an amalgamation of a few specializations at post graduate level as there are various offshoot specializations, which have come up in recent past for just commercial purposes. Instead there should be an initiation of courses in Pharmaceutical Management, Intellectual Property Right, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmacoeconomics, Pharmacovigilance, Clinical trial data management and Nanopharmaceuticals.
There should be self-regulation by pharmacy teachers. Being in very pious profession, they should update themselves with recent happenings and maintain high professional standards. They should enthuse students to take up challenges of the industry and profession of pharmacy.
Future strategies for pharmaceutical education
Curriculum design and reorganisation of the degree programme requires a ‘visionary’ approach. We should try to imagine, what is most likely to be happening in about 10 to 15 years in the future at any point of time. It is necessary to prepare the student for tackling problems and situations of the future rather than for the current state. Present will be outdated very quickly. The state-of-the-art is not a static state but is very much dynamic. The concept of the state-of-the-art itself implies a parallel and constant change in our endeavour to keep pace with the rapid changes taking place in technology, basic sciences and information. A student needs the past and present states-of-art only as basis for his future states. Attempts to do this sublime approach of jumping to the future from the past without going through the present have not yielded satisfactory outcomes. Students and the educators tended to see the ‘present’ more clearly than visualise the future possibilities. Skepticism has always been responsible in delaying progress. We exist in a social and educational system that has limited vision and consequently limited goals of achievement. Our attention and focus have been distorted by the numbers of students involved rather than the quality of education. Every student has to necessarily learn many new concepts and skills just to be able to remain in the profession of the future. We should prepare students with the right skills to learn new states-of-the-art with less effort! Nobody can visualise the entire future and design a strategy suited for that. But we could concentrate on incorporating the mental skills in the educational activities that are more permanent and provide the student a capability for learning new concepts.
Strategy in education should shift to ‘concept’ approach from the present ‘content’ approach. All content should be chosen to demonstrate and strengthen a ‘concept’ with an objective that is basic to the topic. The approach should reflect in curriculum design, its implementation and evaluation areas of education. All evaluation methods like written, oral, practical, assignments, seminars, projects, discussions etc. should be concept oriented. A student will benefit most with orientation of educational process to such mental skills like observation, analysis, correlation, application, evaluation or judgement etc. Such a system will go a long way to lessen the effort required by the students to acquire such skills all by themselves.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Admissions Open
P.T.U Courses:
Admissions Open for B.Sc /M.Sc/PGD in Bioinformatics & Biotechnology.
For Further Details Please Contact:
Phone No: 0120-4320801\802
Mob: 09810535368, 09818473366
E-mail: info@bii.in,Visit us: www.bii.in
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
The advance heralded a decade ago in mapping human DNA is yet to lead to the answers we craved
The first haul of genetic diseases was of those fairly rare but devastating inherited diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and haemophilia, that are caused by single genes. Most of the genes responsible for those had been fished out of the genome long before the sequencing project hauled in its net. But the project was expected to find genes for various far more common conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, autism, depression and schizophrenia, because most of these conditions tend to run in families. Studies of families in which these diseases were common, particularly of twins, had established a level of heritability for each condition, and the levels were high. Autism comes out at a whopping 90%, indicating that most autism is caused by faulty genes (and certainly not by faulty vaccines). The heritability of schizophrenia was about 80% whereas conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer came in anywhere between 30% and 70%.
And it wasn't just diseases that were caused by genes. Many behavioural studies indicated that intelligence, personality, sexual orientation and even voting preference seemed to be highly heritable. If genes were so powerful, it should be straightforward to identify the culprits in the genome.
But a decade later these expectations have not been fulfilled. The project that promised so much has, so far, delivered very little. Very few genes have been found that account for more than 1% of the risk of any of those common diseases. And even the most significant intelligence gene yet found is responsible for variation in individual intelligence equivalent to less than one IQ point. The scientists who went in search of whoppers netted only a host of minnows. Where are the missing genes?
Like most things in life, it turns out that genes are more complex than we thought. Those genes responsible for single-gene defects such as cystic fibrosis and haemophilia are the low-hanging fruit. Common diseases, and such attributes as intelligence, are not caused by single genes or even handfuls of genes, but probably by networks of hundreds or even thousands of genes.
To understand these networks, we need to look, not at the branches, but at the roots of the genetic tree. Genes form tangles of interactions with each other such that the effect of chopping one or another is unpredictable and depends on the connectivity of the whole network. Finding a gene responsible for a disease is mostly like finding a root responsible for maintaining a tree.
The task of unravelling the roots of biology is the new science of system biology, in which biologists work with mathematicians and computer scientists to build models of complex networks. This is where the causes of heart disease, diabetes and autism are now being sought. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, the genome project was not the end. It was not even the beginning of the end. But it was, perhaps, the end of the beginning in the search for our genes.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Type 1 diabetes is increasing three percent per annum globally, according to Eurodiab and WHO registry. Several factors are thought to play a part including increasing recognition of slow onset, non-classical Type 1 in children and LADA (late onset Type 1) in older adults. The possible environmental factors include infectious exposure, Vitamin D deficiency, less exercise and more obesity. Scientists at Scripps Research Institute in the US recently unraveled the forty year old mystery of how certain genetic mutations lead to Type 1 diabetes.
The researchers said their findings could lead to novel therapies for Type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune disease. Three genetic variations in particular (HLA-DQ2, HLA-DQ8, AND HLA-DR0405)- all located in the region of the genome called HLA for “human leukocyte antigen”- are known to increase risk of diabetes.
These three genes encode molecules that present peptides (protein fragments) to the body’s T cells than determine whether the peptide being presented is dangerous and need to be eliminated from the body as in the case of foreign invaders such as bacteria or viruses- or whether the peptides is “self,” part of the host and something the immune system needs to leave alone. However, in the context of Type 1 diabetes, T cells aggressively attack the body’s own cells.
Type 2 is responsible for most of the increase in diabetes with the complications for example, renal failure or severe hypoglycemia.
For many people, Type 2 diabetes can be managed or prevented by a healthy diet and regular exercise. Many people worldwide do not know they have diabetes, and many of those who do know are in poor control of their diabetes. Lifestyle change is still the first option for the treatment for Type 2 diabetes, experts say treating diabetes early and well not only improves quality of life, but is cost-effective, especially if it prevents hospitalization. There is now conclusive evidence that good control of blood glucose levels can substantially reduce the risk of developing complications and slow their progression in all Types of diabetes.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
MicroRNA (miRNAs) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules that have generated intense interest in the scientific community for their recently discovered roles in tumor formation and important biological processes. The primary application areas of miRNA studies are in cancer, neurobiology, developmental biology, and stem cell research.
The nCounter miRNA Expression Assay Kits enabkle researchers to perform highly multiplexed, direct digital detection and counting of miRNA at single-base resolution, without the need for PCR amplification. NanoString’s Human miRNA Expression Assay kit enables researchers to profile more than 700 human and human viral miRNAs with specificity and sensitive comaparable to qPCR at a fraction of the cost.
Carlo Croce, a leading miRNA researcher, was part of an early access program for the Human miRNA Expression Assay Kit on the nCounter Analysis System at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Nucleic Acids Shared Resource directed by Hansjuerg Alder.
The nCounter Analysis System is a fully automated target profiling system that is extraordinarily easy to use. The reagents and consumables required to conduct miRNA and gene expression experiments. In addition to the new miRNA assays, the company is developing assays for copy number variation. NanoString also offers custom and off-the shelf assays for gene expression analysis. More information is available at www.nanostring.com.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Genocea Biosciences Agreement with U.S. Military to Develop Malaria vaccine
Cambridge: Genocea Biosciences, a leading vaccine discovery and development company, announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC). NMRC will collaborate with Genocea to identify antigens that will be used in the development of a vaccine candidate against Plasmodium falciparum for the prevention of malaria. Genocea and NMRC will leverage their expertise to identify novel malaria vaccine candidate antigens and move promising antigens through preclinical development. Genocea will apply its technology to the rapid.
Identification of novel T-cell antigens from a proteomic screen of the P.falciparum organism, and NMRC will share material as well as their extensive experience developing subunit malaria vaccines. This work is funded by a $2.7 million award that was granted to Genocea from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (USAMRMC) for rapid T-cell screens of a P.falciparum proteomic library
Monday, June 14, 2010
New England Launches New Line of Proteomics Services
New England Peptide (NEP) introduced NEPTuneTM, a new Propriety line of custom proteomics reagents to help its customers to quickly and inexpensively maximize biomarker assay development and produce consistent result.
“Proteomics is an exciting research field that is poised to deliver the next generation of life- changing diagnosis tools and drug therapies diagnostics tools and drug therapies,” said Dave Robinson, NEP’s Executive Officer. “We have great interest in proteomic research and are pleased to be the only company providing this high quality, proprietary line of services to our customers. It marks a revolutionary step forward for NEP and the field of proteomics as a whole.” Proteomics is the large scale study of the set of proteins specified by genes within an organism with the aim to understand how biological systems operate on a fundamental level. Proteomics based (human) diagnostics and resultant therapies have the potential to allow physician treat disease states in a more specific and targeted approach, which will help deliver on the promise of personalized medicine and tailored therapies that have been discussed in the health care industry in recent years.
The NEPTuneTM line comprises a suite of four distinct solutions that align with the various needs of proteomics researcher and clinician, ranging from biomarker discovery through clinical assay production:
- NEPTuneTM Assay Discovery Peptides- NEP’s technology allows customers to quickly and less inexpensively increase the number of peptides they screen, enabling them to more efficiently reach their research goals.
- NEPTuneTM Assay Verification Peptides-Since proteomics verification is a critical stage in the development of a viable biomarker assay, NEP offers peptide and antibody reagents tailored to complement this phase of the proteomics project lifecycle.
- NEPTuneTM Assay Refinement Peptides- The culmination of rigorous discovery and verification studies has its own unique set of needs, which are met by NEP’s assay refinement solution.
- NEPTuneTM Clinical Assay Peptides – NEP already supports many ongoing clinical assays around the world with its reagents.
Robinson noted that NEP has been a leader in proteomics research for years has assembled a team – led by Chemical Development Vice President Robert Hammer, PhD and Proteomics Product Manager John Antogoni with consultation from NEP’s industry-leading scientific advisory board – that delivers the industry’s only single source of peptides optimized for quantitative proteomics.
NEPTuneTM is the latest in a line of proprietary product and process innovations developed by NEP’s in-house team. Last December, NEP launched PepScale TM, a proprietary peptide synthesis instrument, that better anables peptide scale-up and process development projects for its customers. In September, NEP rolled out PepCROTM, the first peptide –focused contract research service for drug, vaccine and diagnostic discovery projects. Last July, NEP unveiled FlashPureTM, the peptide industry’s first flash purification system.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Join Jain Group of Institutions as Lecturer | M.Sc Biotech with NET qualification can apply
Current vacancy
Jain Group of Institution has opening for Life Science (Biotechnology) faculty for its college at JC Road,Bangalore for Academic Year (2010).
Position: Lecturer
* Requirements: M .Sc, M.Phil , Ph.D with a minimum aggregate of 55% in Master's
* Specialization: Biotechnology,
Candidates should have
* Excellent Written and Verbal Communication skills
* Good knowledge of computers and deploying the same at work
* Passion for teaching profession
* Should be creative and must take active role in motivating students for co-curricular activities.
Interested candidates can send their resume to people.jgi@gmail.com with Reference ID: JU /COL /BT - 10
or contact
Jain Group of Institutions
Office of Corporate Affairs
#91/2, Dr.A.N.Krishna Rao Road, V V Puram
BANGALORE,Karnataka,India 560004
Telephone: 91-80-26609600
Join Jain Group of Institutions as Lecturer | M.Sc Biotech with NET qualification can apply
Current vacancy
Jain Group of Institution has opening for Life Science (Biotechnology) faculty for its college at JC Road,Bangalore for Academic Year (2010).
Position: Lecturer
* Requirements: M .Sc, M.Phil , Ph.D with a minimum aggregate of 55% in Master's
* Specialization: Biotechnology,
Candidates should have
* Excellent Written and Verbal Communication skills
* Good knowledge of computers and deploying the same at work
* Passion for teaching profession
* Should be creative and must take active role in motivating students for co-curricular activities.
Interested candidates can send their resume to people.jgi@gmail.com with Reference ID: JU /COL /BT - 10
or contact
Jain Group of Institutions
Office of Corporate Affairs
#91/2, Dr.A.N.Krishna Rao Road, V V Puram
BANGALORE,Karnataka,India 560004
Telephone: 91-80-26609600
Anshul Biotech invites BioTecNika members for the post of BDE | M.Sc Biosciences can apply Online
Current vacancy:
Post: Business Development Executives
Desired Skills:
* Is responsible for planning of sales on Regional level, develop & manage new business accounts & lead the sales team.
* Is responsible to lead a team of Business Sales Executives.
* Is responsible to acquire and retain customers.Is responsible to meet sales forecasts
Qualification & Experience
* The Candidate must be a B.Sc./ M.Sc Biotechnology/Microbiology/Biochemistry/Zoology/Botany).
* With minimum 2-5 years of sales experience in Biotechnology / Analytical or similar industry.
* Must posses excellent communication skills and having excellent track record of generating, handling & converting inquires to orders.
Interested Biotecnika members can send resume to hrd@anshulbiotech.com
or contact
Dy.Manager HR,
ANSHUL BIOTECHNOLOGIES
# 504,Kishan Residency,1-11-242/1,
Shamlal Buildings,Begumpet,
Hyderabad - 500 016, A.P. INDIA
E-mail :hrd@anshulbiotech.com
www.anshulbiotech.com
SRF Posts vacant @ IARI, New Delhi | M.Sc BioSciences can apply
Projects:
* ICAR Network Project on Transgenics in Crap Plants (Maize Functional Genomics Component) (Two SRFs) [P.I.: Dr H,S, Gupta. Director, IAAI, New Delhi-110012]
* NAIP Project on Bioprospecting of gene and allele mining for abiotic stress tolerance (Maize Component (One SRF) [P.I.; Dr. T. Nepolean, Senior Scientist, Division of Genetics, IARI, New Deihi-110012].
* DBT project on "Development of micronutrlent-enriched maize through molecular breeding" (One Lab Assistant). [P.I.: Dr. Firoz Hossaln* Scientist, Division of Genetics, IARI, New Delhi-110012].
Pay Scale:
* SRF: Rs, 12,000/- + 30% HRA,
* Lab Asst: Rs. 6500/-Consolidated.
Age: Not more than 35 years (Age relaxation for SC/ST/OBC/ Women candidate as per ICAR rules).
Essential Qualification:
* SRF: Master's degree in Genetics/ Plant breeding/Biotechnology/Plant Biochemistry,
* Lab Asst.: Bachelor's degree In Lite science, including Agriculture.
Desirable Qualification:
* SRF: Research experience in applications of molecular markers, gene expression analyses, high throughout data generation and bioinformatics In craps.
The above posts are purely temporary and inltfally for a period of one year, but may be extended further based on candidate's performance. The candidate will not have any right for absorption In ICAR in any capacity, The interview will be held on 5th July 2010 at 9.30 a.m. in Head's Chamber, Division of Genetics, IARI New Delhi-110012; Tel No.: 011-25841285. The candidates have to bring without fail a copy of biodata, original certificates (including degree completion certificate), attested photocopies of the certificates and a recent passport-size photograph, and other relevant documents.
NoTA/DA would be given for appearance in interview. Only the candidates having essential qualifications would be entertained for the interview.
Drug safety Associate Jobs at Icon Clinical research, Chennai | Life Sc Grads with relevant exp can apply
Current vacancy:
* Post: drug Safety Associate
* Experience: 1 - 4 Years
* Location: Chennai
Desired candidate Profile:
The desired candidate will be responsible for monitoring and tracking Serious Adverse Events, serious and non serious drug adverse reactions and other medically related project information. You will ensure that all ICON, Sponsor and Regulatory timelines are met for the processing ad recording of safety information.
Role Responsibility:
You will be responsible for monitoring and tracking Serious Adverse Events, serious and non serious drug adverse reactions and other medically related project information. You will ensure that all ICON, Sponsor and Regulatory timelines are met for the processing ad recording of safety information.
Additional Responsibilities:
* Document and process serious adverse event reports within ICON, regulatory authorities and sponsor regulations and timeframes
* Provide input for and review relevant safety tracking systems fro accuracy and quality
* Perform safety review of clinical data (case report forms) and patient labs
* Assist medical monitor in documentation and processing routine exception and re-screen approvals
* Liaise with investigational sites and reporters on safety related issues
* Serve as medical resource to investigational sites and ICON personnel on safety related issues
* Perform safety related training for extra-department ICON staff
Experience and Qualification
With a science degree , pharmacy or nursing background you will have a minimum of 8 months experience in a drug safety environment. You will possess excellent verbal and written communication skills and must be fluent in English. This will be combined with a good knowledge of medical terminology.
In addition you will also require :
* Good basic computer skills in MS office applications and data base use
* Produce high quality work and be detail orientated
* Be able to prioritise your work to meet required deadline
* Be willing to travel up to 10%
You will have the opportunity to progress your career and may wish to move into Project Management or into other related areas where you can further develop your skill set.
Interested candidates can apply to malarkannan.j@iconplc.com, Nilamadhab.Mahapatra@iconplc.com with detailed resume' and reference id: 26
