The College was founded in the year 1964. His Holiness 108 Goswami

Shri Maharajshri Mathureshwarji laid the foundation stone for the building on

13th November 1963 at “Gokul Bagh”. The history of the college is marked by

the presence of illustrious principles ably assisted by dedicated teachers. To-

day, it has grown to be one of the premier institutions of higher learning in the

state. The College offers several under graduate, post graduate and research

programmes in various subjects. The College has been conferred the status of

“AUTONOMY” by the UGC and endorsed by the University of Madras from

the academic year 2009 - 2010. The college has been awarded with “College

with Potential for Excellence (CPE)” programme by UGC.

About the College

About the Department

The Department of Biotechnology was established in the year 2001

with an objective to acquaint and enable students to excel in the field of bio-

technology. It offers both undergraduate (B.Sc.) and postgraduate (M.Sc.) aca-

demic programmes. The department has eleven faculty members from diverse

areas of expertise and specializations. The department continuously strives to

provide quality education, an excellent academic cum research environment

through its ongoing programmes. It imparts academic training for the students

to make them competitive, confident, self motivated and

enthralled in higher studies. The department is equipped with good infrastruc-

tures with several instruments to support the current academic and research

initiatives. It is also equipped with a separate library consisting of more than

600 books along with internet facilities .

DWARAKA DOSS GOVERDHAN DOSS VAISHNAV COLLEGE

(Autonomous), College with Potential for Excellence, (Linguistic Minority Institution) Affiliated to University of Madras ,

Arumbakkam, Chennai – 600 106

ANNUAL ISSUE

APRIL 2020

Newsletter

Chief Patron

Shri. Ashok Kumar Mundhra

Secretary

Patron

Dr. R. Ganesan

M.Com., MPhil., Ph.D.,

Principal

Convener

Dr. R. Uma

M.Sc., M.Phil., M.Sc.,(B.I).,

Ph.D., SLET.,

Asst. Prof. & Head,

Department of Biotechnology

Student Induction Programme An induction programme for the I year students was

conducted in the department on 17th & 20th June

2019. The students were addressed by Dr. R. Uma,

Head, Department of Biotechnology, following

which the course orientation

and human value sessions for

the students were handled by

their mentors. Few assign-

ments were also given to the

students in order to improvise

their understanding for hu-

man values.

DEPARTMENT OF

BIOTECHNOLOGY

Inside this issue

Student Induction

Programme

1

Club inauguration

and Guest Lecture

2

Industrial visit-

Eppendorf

2

Department Alumni

meet

2

National Workshop

- NWMTB-2019

2

Guest Lecture 3

Workshop - Multi-

plex PCR

3

Techno Club Activ-

ity

3

Industrial Visit -

Spirulina cultivation

centre

4

WSAMD -2020 4

Alumni Association

Meet

4

Technosaviour 2020

- An Intercollegiate

Event

5

National Sympo-

sium- RHBT - 2020

5

Student Achieve-

ments

6

Staff publications 6

Technosaviour Club Inaugural & Guest Lecture

Department Alumni meet

Industria l Vis i t -Eppendorf

Alumni meet was conducted by the de-

partment on August 31, 2019. Forty five

enthusiastic alumni attended the meet to

share their experiences and give their

valuable feedback and suggestions on

various aspects such as college infra-

structure, laboratory facilities, teaching

methods, training and placement.

Final year UG students went on an industrial visit to

Eppendorf on , 8th August, 2019 where they learnt the

techniques associated with instrument handling and the

working of various instruments. In another session, the

resource person discussed about the different career

opportunities for students in the life science industry.

“About 99.9% of

human DNA is the

same. It is the other

0.1% that codes for

all of the differences

that make each

person unique”

PAGE 2

Newsletter 2019-2020

The department club “Technosaviour” was

inaugurated with the announcement of the

club members on 1st August, 2019. The inau-

guration was followed by a Guest Lecture on

the topic “Entrepreneurship opportunities in

Biotechnology” by Mr. A.K. Ravishankar,

Founder & Editor, Biotechnologist2020.com

(BT2020) wherein the students gained knowl-

edge on the diverse aspects of entrepreneur-

ship.

National Workshop - NWMTB-2019

A national workshop on “Basic Molecular

Techniques in Biotechnology” (NWMTB-2019) was

conducted by the department. The technical talk was

given by the chief guest, Dr. Balaji Venkataraman,

Post-Doctoral Research Associate, CSIR – CCMB,

Telangana. A guest lecture on “Importance and appli-

cations of PCR” was delivered by the Resource per-

son Dr. Suresh Subramaniyam, Asst. Prof, Dept. of

Chemistry, SRMIST, Chennai. The participants of the

workshop also received hands on training by Dr.

M.D. BalaKumaran on various molecular techniques

such as SDS-PAGE, Immunoelectrophoresis and ge-

nomic DNA extraction from bacteria, during the prac-

tical sessions of the workshop.

A lecture on “Traditional Medicines - Gaining Back Importance” was

delivered by Dr. A. Sai Ramesh, Assistant Professor, Vel Tech High

Tech Dr. Rangarajan Dr. Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai

on, September 4, 2019 for the UG and PG students with a motive to

create awareness amongst them on the importance of Bio-related

products and the procedures to patent them.

A two day workshop on “Climate

Change Impacts in Environmental &

Water Bodies in Coastal City of

Chennai using SAAI E. faecalis

Multiplex PCR Detection Kit” was

organized by the department on 26th&

27th September, 2019 for the post

graduate students of Biotechnology in

collaboration with SAAI Electro Bio-

genic India Pvt Ltd.

Guest Lecture

Techno Talk

The Biotechnology as soc i a t ion

“Technosaviour” club activity –

“Technotalk” was held on September 25th,

2020 to share and update knowledge in the

various fields of life sciences. The program

started with the welcome address and a

brief note on the activities by the Club

President. Fourteen students of the depart-

ment actively participated and gave oral

presentations on different topics .

“GM crops are

tested in

greenhouses and

experimental fields

in order to evaluate

a number of factors

such as

performance, the

proper function of

the newly

introduced trait,

and that the trait is

stably inherited.

PAGE 3

ANNUAL ISSUE

Workshop - Mult iplex PCR Detect ion Kit

Techno Club Act ivi ty

In view of Chemical Disaster Prevention

Day, the biotechnology association

“Technosaviour” club activity was con-

ducted on 4th December, 2019. It started

with the welcome address by the club presi-

dent followed by oral presentations, mime

and chart display by 23 students of biotech-

nology to generate insight on possible

chemical accidents and precautionary meas-

ures to be followed in the laboratory.

“Transgenic crops are

subjected to a thorough

safety assessment that

includes a demonstration

of required genetic

stability prior to approval.

Conventionally bred and

organic crops that carry

far more mutations are not

subjected to safety review.”

An industrial visit to MS

Swaminathan Bio-Incubation

Centre (Supported by BIRAC)

Unit of Golden Jubilee Biotech

Park for Women and OfERR Nal-

layan Research Centre, Spirulina

cultivation centre, Natham, Tamil

Nadu was organized for the final

year students on 19th December,

2019. At the MS Swaminathan

Bio-Incubation Centre, the stu-

dents visited Bionest, a bio incu-

bation centre equipped with sev-

eral instruments associated with

bioscience. They also got an op-

portunity to visit other incubatees

at Golden Jubilee Biotech Park

for Women followed

by a visit to OfERR

Nallayan Research

Centre, a spirulina

cultivation centre,

involved in the mass

c u l t i v a t i o n o f

spriulina at large

scale. The students

received an on-site

exposure of industrial

processes thus learn-

ing skills and obtain-

ing ideas for the se-

lection of carrier path

in various core sectors

of biotechnology.

Industr ia l Vis i t -Spirul ina cult ivat ion centre

Workshop on “Sequence Analys is and Molecular

A workshop on “Sequence Analysis

and Molecular Docking” (WSAMD-2020)

was organized by the department on 24th

& 25th January, 2020 . The workshop was

inaugurated by Dr. V. Umashankar, Head

and Reader, Centre for Bioinformatics, Vi-

sion Research Foundation. The participants

were given introduction about basic con-

cepts of drug target identification, data-

bases, and molecular docking process by

Ms. G. Shoba. Faculty and students from

various colleges participated in the work-

shop and attained exposure and hands on

training on bioinformatics databases, tools

and softwares.

“There were long

stretches of DNA in

between genes that

didn't seem to be

doing very much;

some even referred to

these as "junk

DNA," though a

certain amount of

hubris was required

for anyone to call

any part of the

genome "junk,"

given our level of

ignorance.”

― Francis S.

Collins, The

Language of

God: A

Scientist

Presents

Evidence for

Belief

PAGE 4

Biotechnology Alumni Assoc iat ion Meet

The Alumni Association meet on “Career Guidance in Higher Education” was

held in the department and was led by three of the department alumni. They discussed

about the variattained ous opportunities existing in higher education in the field of bio-

technology and also stressed on the importance of competitive examinations conducted

by the national testing agencies all over India. They insisted the students to attend dif-

ferent academic programs like conferences, seminars, symposiums and also to enroll in

various training programmes to enhance their practical skills. Around 50 students of

final year undergraduate and postgraduate (I M.Sc. and II M.Sc.,) were benefitted by

the interaction.

Newsletter

Technosaviour 2020 - An Intercol legia te Event

National Symposium on “Recent Headway in Biotechnology, RHBT - 2020”

Around 250 participants from vari-

ous colleges took part in the symposium

organized by the department on “Recent

Headway in Biotechnology, RHBT -

2020”. The key note address was given by

the Guest of Honor, Dr. S. Elumalai, Pro-

fessor and Head, Department of Biotech-

nology, University of Madras. The chief

guest of the program, Dr. Joseph Selvin,

Professor and Coordinator, Department of

Microbiology, Pondicherry University ad-

dressed the gathering and started with the

first plenary session. The second and the

third sessions were handled by Dr. S.

Kavitha, Cofounder and CEO, FIB Solu-

tions, Chennai and Dr. Mukesh Doble,

Professor, Department of Biotechnology,

IIT Madras respectively. The lectures were

followed up with the e -poster presenta-

tions by the participants.

I see a bright future for the

biotechnology industry when it follows

the path of the computer industry, the

path that Von Neumann failed to foresee,

becoming small and domesticated rather

than big and centralized.

—Freeman Dyson PAGE 5

ANNUAL ISSUE

APRIL 2020

The department asso-

ciation club conducted the

event in view of the

“International day of educa-

tion” on 28th January, 2020.

The Chief Guest of the pro-

gram, Prof. M. Vijayalak-

shmi, Director, Center for

Bioseparation Technology,

VIT University, Vellore de-

livered an informative talk

following which 307 students

from colleges in and around

Chennai competed in various

events.

Students Achievements Newsletter 2019-2020

**Gopikrishna S and Subash D of II MSc presented paper on the topic entitled “Ecofriendly, green syn-

thesis and characterization of Silver nanoparticles using aqueous extracts of Imperata cylindrica and its

Biological activities.”

**Yuvaraj S and Prabhakaran M of I BSc has published “Biophotovoltaics –An Alternative for Chemi-

cal induced Solar cell” under the guidance of Dr. R. Ashwini, Assistant Professor.

**Gopikrishna S and Subash D of II MSc presented paper in International conference on Re-

cent Trends in Lifestyle Disease Management on the topic entitled “A Green Synthesis and

**Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles of Azolla piñata and its antioxidant, antibacte-

rial and antidiabetic activities ” under the guidance of Dr. R. Uma, Head and Assistant Profes-

sor..

**Raviya Gani K and Srilakshmi R of I MSc presented paper in International conference on

Recent Trends in Lifestyle Disease Management on the topic entitled “Mechanism of Bioactive com-

pounds from Phyllanthus emblica against Phosphoinositide 3– kinase” under the guidance of Ms. G.

Shoba, Guest Lecturer.

**Ramya Ranjan Nayak S.P and Iyshwariya C of I MSc presented paper in International conference

on Recent Trends in Lifestyle Disease Management on the topic entitled “Molecular Interaction Analysis

of Withanamides against Amyloid beta protein” under the guidance of Ms. G. Shoba, Guest Lecturer.

Students presentat ion in Conference

Awards –Presentat ions

**S.Janarthanan and P. Girish Kumar has won best e-poster award in

“Microsummit 2019” organized by Saveetha Dental College on August 31,

2019.

**K. Keerthana of II BSc has won best e-poster award in “Microsummit

2019” organized by Saveetha Dental College on August 31, 2019.

**Bhargavi J, Swetha S, Dhivya Gomathi of I BSc, has won

best e-poster award in “Microsummit 2019” organized by

Saveetha Dental College on August 31, 2019.

**Diyaa R. Shah of II BSc has won Second prize in the Quiz

competition held at Loyola college on 13th December, 2019

**Vishaka Aravind V of II BSc has won best e-Poster award

on “How to break COVID chain” organized by New Prince Shri Bhavani Arts

an Science College on 31st May 2020.

**Swetha S of I BSc has won III rd Prize in the debate competition “Artistics

Annual Sports

meet Awards

**Arshiya Nilofer M of

I BSc , Sharmila D of II

BSc, Madhumathi K

and Sruthi Yalani M of

III BSc has won 3rd

prize in 4 × 400 metres

**N. Ponammal of III

BSc has won 3rd prize

200 metres

Dr. M.D. Balakumaran published

paper entitled “Seven membered

chelate Pt(II) complexes with 2,3-

di(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline ligands:

studies of substitution kinetics by

sulfur donor nucleophiles, inter-

actions with CT-DNA, BSA and

in vitro cytotoxicity activities” in

RSC Advances, 2019, 9, 31877

Ms. S. Uma published paper

entitled “In Vitro studies on

the antidiabetic activity of

2-thiohydantoin using

α - a m y l a s e a n d -

Glucosidase” in Asian Jour-

nal of Pharmaceutial and

Clinical Research, Vol 12,

Issue 12, 2019

Ms. G.Shoba published paper entitled

“Accessing the T‑Cell and B‑Cell

Immuno‑Dominant Peptides from A.

baumannii Biofilm Associated Pro-

tein (bap) as Vaccine Candidates:

A Computational Approach” in Inter-

national Journal of Peptide Research

and Therapeutics. https://

doi.org/10.1007/s10989-020-10064-0

Faculty Publications