Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
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Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Evaluative Report of the Department (science) Name of the School/Spl. Center Pages 1 School of Life Sciences 1-45 2. School of Biotechnology 46-100 3 School of Computer and systems Sciences 101-120 4 School of Computational and Integrative Sciences 121-141 5. School of Physical Sciences 142-160 6 School of Environmental Sciences 161-197 7 Spl. Center for Molecular Medicine 198-256 8 Spl Center for Nano Sciences 257-268 Evaluation Report of School of Life Sciences In the past century, biology, with inputs from other disciplines, has made tremendous progress in terms of advancement of knowledge, development of technology and its applications. As a consequence, in the past fifty years, there has been a paradigm shift in our interpreting the life process. In the process, modern biology had acquired a truly interdisciplinary character in which all streams of sciences have made monumental contributions. Because of such rapid emergence as a premier subject of teaching and research; a necessity to restructure classical teachings in biology was recognised by the academics worldwide. In tune with such trends, the academic leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru University conceptualised the School of Life Sciences as an interdisciplinary research/teaching programme unifying various facets of biology while reflecting essential commonality regarding structure, function and evolution of biomolecules. The School was established in 1973 and since offering integrated teaching and research at M. Sc/ Ph.D level in various sub-disciplines in life sciences. Since inception, it remained dedicated to its core objectives and evolved to be one of the top such institutions in India and perhaps in South East Asia. Such interdisciplinary nature of teaching and research attracts the best students from various corners of the country. Its faculty comprises notable teachers and researchers well recognised in their respective fields by peer groups in India and as well as abroad. The approaches undertaken by constituent research groups span from studying microbes to mammals using tools of physiology to bioinformatics. The specific research areas of interest include front line disciplines like genomics, molecular biology, molecular genetics, immunology, biology of infectious agents, neurophysiology, plant and microbial biotechnology, cellular and developmental biology, photobiology, cancer biology and structural biology. The School of Life Sciences is perhaps the only institution in the country that can rightly claim to cover the entire spectrum of teaching and research in biological sciences. Conscious efforts are continuously made to strengthen such a unique character of the School further. The School has earned a reputation of running interdisciplinary programs of study at the Masters and Ph D level. The M. Sc program of the School is a unique endeavour in the country as the admission is open to graduates with backgrounds in either biology or physical sciences. Upon arrival, these students are brought to equal levels by offering remedial courses in physical sciences for students coming from bioscience streams and in elementary biology for students having a degree in physical science. Every year students are selected on the basis of entrance test conducted at more than 40 centers nationwide JNU – Departmental Evaluation Report 1 | P a g e with a success rate of ~1 %. The School has an in-house system of continuous review of its academic programs that allows inclusion of newer areas of research and teaching. The four Semester M.Sc. courses involve vigorous laboratory training. The M.Sc. laboratories are well equipped to give hands on exposure in the subjects taught to them in the theory classes. Besides, it is mandatory for all the students to carry out a research project in any laboratory of their choice for the 3rd and 4th semesters which motivates them to pursue Ph D level research. Our M. Sc. students are often sought after by research labs in India and abroad. They have performed exceptionally well in the universities, institutes and industries. The M.Phil/Ph.D program of the School is specially designed to enable the students to acquire basic knowledge in one of the frontline areas of modern biology and also to enable them in designing and implementing independent research projects. A unique feature of our M.Phil/Ph.D program is exposing the students to the theory and practice of a large number of modern concepts, tools, techniques and research methodology before a student embarks upon research on a specific topic for Ph.D dissertation. Most of our Ph.D students continue their career in research and development in reputed institutions and are well recognized for their work. With continuous recruitment in newer areas, we keep on embarking upon emerging areas of biotechnology, bioinformatics, molecular medicine, genomics, proteomics and metabolomics. Recognising the potentials of the School as a Centre for Excellence, many funding agencies like the UGC, CSIR, DST, DBT, ICMR, ICAR, DAE and DRDO have extended financial support to innovative research proposals from various members of the faculty. Also, several International agencies like the Welcome Trust, the Indo-Swedish, Indo- Swiss, Indo-French, Indo-German, Indo-EU and Indo-US agencies too have been attracted to fund research proposed by the faculty. The faculty often collaborates within the School as well as with faculty from other Schools of JNU and with scientists in various neighbouring institutes as well other institutes in India. The School has consistently maintained a high level of productivity in terms of publications in reputed peer reviewed journals and books. Over 1, 500 papers have been authored by the faculty of the school since its inception. Over 440 students of the School have been awarded Ph.D. Degree. Members of the faculty have been honoured with recognitions like members of the Planning Commission, Padma awards, elected Fellows of various Academies, Bhatnagar Award, Birla Award, Third World Academy Award, Ranbaxy Award, J.C. Bose Award, Bhasin Award and many others. Under the ―University with Potential for Excellence (UGC)‖ from the UGC, the School initiated annual Summer School for six weeks for students of B.Sc., M.Sc., college/University teachers. This programme has been in operation for the past seven and has been hugely popular nationwide as evident from the number of applications and JNU – Departmental Evaluation Report 2 | P a g e feedback received every year. Under this programme, about 35 students are enrolled and are exposed to high-quality lectures by eminent scientists from JNU and from nearby institutions, along with hands-on laboratory training in various laboratories in the School. The School also initiated an annual research festival named ‗Biosparks‘ organised by the students during February-March. In this symposium, the research work of students is showcased by lectures and poster sessions. A small number of lectures by distinguished scientists are also arranged. Also, a competitive event is also organised for innovative project proposals. Merit awards are given for best posters and project proposals presented by the students. Recently, UGC has selected the School as a nodal centre under its ―Networking Research Centre‖ scheme. Under this scheme, summer and winter workshops are organized wherein students and teachers from all over the country are trained by the faculty of the School. Emphasis is given particularly to universities located in underprivileged regions of the country. The School has a well administered central instruments facility (CIF) housing numerous small as well as highly sophisticated instruments such as cell imaging, microarray, real-time PCR, flow cytometry, proteomics, etc., catering the need of each and every faculty member. Putting all these modern equipment for the cutting edge research under a single roof, the School has set an example of running a common instrumentation facility accessible round the clock for its students and faculty as well as for outside researchers. In addition, the School also has an Animal House for experimental animals and a Glass House facility for experimental and transgenic plants. The vision of the School is to make it a scientific hub of cutting-edge research in all areas of modern biology with which any student, faculty or institute will be proud to be associated with. Since early days, it has remained a premier institute generating suitably trained and competent biologists to take up leadership position countrywide. We remain committed to further develop the teaching and research programs attracting a constant stream of talented young students to various facets of modern biology. JNU – Departmental Evaluation Report 3 | P a g e Evaluative Report of the Department Period with effect from 1st July 2012 to 31st July 2016 1. Name of the Department : SCHOOL OF LIFE SCIENCES 2. Year of establishment : 1970 3. Is the Department is part of a : University School/Faculty of the University? 4. Names of programmes offered : M.Sc and M.Phil/PhD 5. Interdisciplinary programmes and Departments involved : a. DBT-BUILDER : Together with Special Centre for Molecular Medicine and School of Biotechnology. b. Centre for excellence in Parasitology: Together with School of Environmental Sciences, Special Centre for Molecular Medicine and School of Biotechnology c. UGC Resource Network: Postgraduate trainees from other Universities and institutes across India 6. Courses in collaboration with other