Annual Report 2014
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ANNUAL REPORT 2014 Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Phone: +91 471 2341716, 2347975 Fax: +91 471 2348096, 2346333 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.rgcb.res.in CONTENTS Director’s Report 05 Cancer Biology Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 1 10 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 2 22 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 3 30 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 4 40 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 5 51 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 6 62 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 7 68 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 8 71 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 9 77 Cancer Research Program Laboratory - 10 109 Cardiovascular & Diabetes Disease Biology Programme Cardiovascular Disease Biology Laboratory 117 Diabetes Disease Biology Laboratory 133 Chemical Biology Program Chemical Biology Laboratory - 1 136 Chemical Biology Laboratory - 2 148 Molecular Ecology Laboratory 154 Environmental Biology Laboratory 163 Neurobiology Program Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory 175 Neuro-Stem Cell Biology Laboratory 181 Neuro-Bio-Physics Laboratory 188 Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory 192 Plant Disease Biology & Biotechnology PDBB Laboratory - 1 202 PDBB Laboratory - 2 215 PDBB Laboratory - 3 221 PDBB Laboratory - 4 225 Molecular Reproduction Laboratory - 1 234 Laboratory - 2 250 Tropical Disease Biology Mycobacterium Research Group - 1 259 Mycobacterium Research Group - 2 262 Molecular Virology Laboratory 270 Viral Disease Biology Laboratory -1 276 Viral Disease Biology Laboratory - 2 285 Leptospira Biology Laboratory 287 Malaria Biology Laboratory 290 Cholera Research Laboratory 296 Laboratory Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics 306 Regional Facility for DNA Fingerprinting 313 Instrumentation Engineering 315 IT Management 318 Animal Research Facility 319 Distributed Information Sub-Centre 321 Library and Information Services 323 RGCB Administration 325 RGCB Permanent Staff List 329 Events at RGCB 332 ANNUAL REPORT From the Director’s Desk 2014-15 2014-15 had been a very productive and fruitful year for Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Trivandrum. With innovative discoveries, high impact pub- lications, successful graduate cadre and efficient collabo- rations in our credentials, RGCB is turning over a new leaf in our onward scientific expedition. “Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny” - Aristotle In an era of cut-throat competition, and diligence towards victory all the scientific and professional nothing but our own merits can that is absolute and never relative. needs of each of us. When help us win the struggle. Gone are Setting our own bar high, our perseverance and determination the days when victory was a relative team is constantly and consistently are the means, victory becomes entity. Today, it is absolute. Our striving to improve our standards a right than a responsibility. We well-deserved victory makes us in research, academia and believe in the collective spirit of successful, not the failures of others. community service. Our team can our team and keep marching to honestly vouch that RGCB has a absolute victory that will be our RGCB has built its foundations on working environment satiating right on a day not so faraway. the solid ground of commitment RGCB has been in the news headlines many times this year for scientific and corporate milestones in the timeline of the institution’s achievements. From the Director’s Desk ANNUAL REPORT 2014-15 ACHIEVEMENTS TIMELINE BIO INNOVATION CENTER The Honorable Union Minister of Science, Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan dedicated the facilities in over 50,000 Sq. feet of Bio Innovation Center (BIC) to the nation on 17th of May 2015. The center focuses on augmenting fundamental research in disease biology and molecular medicine through translational innovations into tools and products of social FundamentaL to TRANSLationaL: significance. Immunotherapeutics and SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IS GEARING UP IN RGCB vaccines are our top priorities. Being Though publications are not the sole aim of research, acceptances in in a tropical state with high density of internationally acclaimed journals give us immense confidence that our population, we have the upper hand research is definitely heading in the right direction. A quick peek into some in understanding the health needs of a of our efforts will undoubtedly ascertain the same. significant cross section of society. BIC campus, situated at KINFRA Park, Laishram RS et al identified a of dermatological conditions such as Kazhakkuttam hosts fully equipped state phosphorylated residue, Serine 6 in psoriasis and herpes. Extrapolating the of the art laboratories of Microbiome the zinc finger domain of Star- PAP, thought that it’s preferential action in skin and Virology groups as well as Chemical a nuclear non-canonical poly(A) cells, if proven to have cytotoxic effects, Biology and Bioinformatics. It also polymerase with specific mRNA targets. could be used to develop a potential anti- The intranuclear phosphorylation of S6 cancer agent for malignant melanoma. caters to the needs of the entire RGCB by CKIα is necessary for the nuclear This deadly cancer of melanocytes in skin with Next Generation Sequencing and retention of Star- PAP and its eventual is increasing in incidence across the globe. advanced High Definition Optics. interaction with PIPKIα. Unlike at the Anto RJ et al was quite successful in BIOTECHNOLOGY SKILLS catalytic domain, the phosphorylation at extracting a semi-purified fraction from DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ZF domain is independent of oxidative the dichloromethane extract of W. tinctoria stress. This is suggestive of a signal- leaves named DW-F5. This chemical was As pioneers in the state, it is of mediated regulation of CKIα activity. proven to completely abolish MITF-M our prime concern to bridge gaps This conceptually paves way to novel through BRAF, Wnt/β-catenin and Akt- between academia and industry in roles for phosphorylation in determining NFκB signaling pathways in in vitro and biotechnology and pharmaceutical Star-PAP target mRNA specificity. The in vivo studies. Elucidating the anticancer disciplines. As part of a call from the Department of Biotechnology funded properties of the active principle of W. Honorable Prime Minister of India study, which extensively analyzed the tinctoria, this study enriches the scope of on need for skills development at Star-PAP phosphorylation in the ZF developing potential drug formulations grass root level as a national priority, region and subsequent impact in mRNA from our natural resources. a six-month comprehensive training 3’ end processing and its complex program has been devised to equip regulation of select set of Star-PAP Despite rigorous efforts to contain graduates and postgraduates in life target messages, was well received by the the deadly infection of Tuberculosis in India and worldwide, the morbidity sciences with career-focused skills. scientific fraternity worldwide. and mortality burden of this disease Experts in Molecular Diagnosis, Bio- We are quite blessed to get the first hand is huge. One of the reasons curbing Imaging, Biotech Instrumentation, information on the uses of various herbs the efficacy of anti tubercular drugs is Bioinformatics and Analytical Sciences and plants used in traditional medicines in the ability of Mycobacterium to stay provide hands-on training to familiarize our region of the planet.Wrightia tinctoria quiescent in macrophages, insensitive to students to needs of the industry and popularly known as Dandha Pala/Swetha drugs and later activate during states of thus bring out their best later in the Kudaja is widely used in our traditional compromised immunity of the host. It careers. medicine for the effective treatment was by the commendable efforts from From the Director’s Desk ANNUAL REPORT 2014-15 Kumar RA et al that deciphered the histone chaperone HIRA newly defined entire proteomic profile of the pathogen the RUNX1-HIRA axis during the during dormancy and reactivation. developmental process of blood cells. Functional correlation between energy Leukemogenesis can now be approached metabolism and the relative levels of in a whole different perspective with the different proteins during different stages added knowledge. of infectivity is giving us a whole new target for therapeutic intervention to Analyzing the pathogenesis of oral prevent reactivation of latent infections. squamous carcinoma in South Indian population, Banerjee et al had positive ACHIEVEMENTS TIMELINE In this era of personalized medicine, evidence to support microsatellite stem cell therapeutics is gaining a strong instability in D2S123 flanking the hMSH2 AYURVEDA INSPIRED foothold. Understanding the molecular gene and polymorphisms in mismatch DISCOVERY mechanisms of cellular differentiation repair gene human MutS homologue-2. cannot be compromised at any level. An integrated analytical database on triple India has one of the richest treasures Dutta D et al delved into the less explored negative breast cancer developed and of traditional medicine through our area of hematopoietic differentiation hosted by Pillai MR et al is highly referred invaluable knowledge in Ayurveda. from hemogenic embryonic stem cells by breast cancer biologists worldwide. It shouldn’t be of surprise that the in depths. Identifying and analyzing