| Established | 2000 |
|---|---|
Parent institution | Kannur University |
| Address | Kannur University, Palayad campus , Thalassery , Kerala , 670661 , India |
| Campus | Urban |
| Language | English |
| Website | https://www.kannuruniversity.ac.in/en/academics/campus/all-departments/department-of-biotechnology-and-microbiology/ |
The School of Life Sciences, Kannur University hosts two departments, Department of Biotechnology and Microbiology, which was established in 2000 for conducting master's degree (M.Sc) courses and research (Ph.D) in Biotechnology and Microbiology. [1] An Inter University Centre for Bioscience was also established at the department by the Higher Education Department, Government of Kerala, to be a global center of excellence for research in biological sciences. [2] [3] Master's degree course in computational biology was introduced in 2020. [4]
The department have 6 tenured faculties which includes, 2 professors, 3 associate professors and 1 assistant professor. The founding head of department, Prof. M. Haridas serves as an emeritus professor, who is also the director of Inter University Center for Bioscience. [5]
The main area of research includes Structural biology, Computational biology, Medicinal chemistry, Enzymology, Microbial technology, Bioprocess technology, Immunology, Endocrinology, and Plant molecular biology. [7] Research findings from the department has significantly contributed for the growth of macromolecular crystallography in India. [8]
The School of Life Sciences is located in Thalassery campus, which have well equipped modern classrooms, teaching and research laboratories. A new building for the School of Life Sciences in Thalassery campus will be established to advance the facilities in the microbiology and biotechnology departments. The government had already sanctioned ₹6.5 crore, out of the estimated cost of ₹18 crore for the project. [9]
The School of Life Sciences together with Inter University Center for Bioscience have active collaborations with different research Institutes and industry across the country. [10] [11] [12]
Anti inflammatory activity of biotransformed derivatives of berberine. [13] For the discovery of ‘Phormidin’ an inhibitor of the enzyme Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS), a potential anticancer drug, US patent has been awarded. [14] This is the first international patent earned by the university. [15]
Organized by the Department of Biotechnology and Microbiology and the Inter University Centre for Bioscience, Kannur University, Kerala, India (15-17 March 2012 at, Kannur). ICABS witnessed a unique spectrum of scientific programmes on the most recent and exciting developments in modern biology. [16]
The International Conference on Research and Development in Biosciences (CRDB) 15-17 January, 2019, was organized by Department of Biotechnology and Microbiology, Kannur University and co-sponsored by Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment. Recent advances in the frontier areas of Biological Sciences including Microbial Biotechnology, Immunotechnology, Molecular biology, Genomics and Structural Biology were the highlights of the conference. [17]
Dr. Surekha Memorial Oration is an invited lecture held annually in the memory of former faculty in the department, Dr. Surekha. Invited lectures from eminent professors and scientists are held in the second week of August.
Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a state government-owned autonomous university in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1971 and has three campuses: two in Kochi and one in Kuttanad, Alappuzha, 66 km (41 mi) inland.
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) is the state agricultural university of Tamil Nadu Headquartered in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Kannur University is a multi-campus public university established in 1996 to provide development of higher education in Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad districts of Kerala, India. It serves the region of North Malabar. It was established after the passing of Act No. 22 of 1996 of the Kerala Legislative Assembly. A university by the name of "Malabar University" had come into existence even earlier by the passing of an ordinance by the Governor of Kerala, on 9 November 1995.
Lady Doak College (LDC) is the first women's college in Madurai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1948 by Katie Wilcox, an American missionary near Tallakulam in Madurai. Today there are around 3200 students. This number was only 86 at formation. It is named after Helen Doak, the associate founder. The motto of the college consists of three Latin words, 'Semper pro Veritate' and its meaning is "Always for the truth". The college celebrated its 75th anniversary on 14 July 2023.
Mary Matha Arts and Science College is a Government of India aided college in the State of Kerala that is affiliated to Kannur University and managed by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Mananthavady.
Sree Sankara College is a Higher Educational Institution that was founded in Kalady, Kerala state in India in 1954 by Swami Agamananda, a scholar of the Hindu sect from Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashram.
Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology is a research institute in India, exclusive devoted to research in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. It is located at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the capital city of the state of Kerala in India. This centre is an autonomous institute under the Department of Biotechnology of the Govt. of India. Previously, it was an R&D centre under Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment which is a funding agency for research Institutes and centers in Kerala.
The Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) is a university established by the Government of Kerala devoted to studies in fisheries and ocean sciences. The bill seeking to establish the university was passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly on 30 December 2010. KUFOS has its headquarters in the premises of the College of Fisheries, Panangad, near Madavana Junction along the Kochi Bypass. The College of Fisheries, established in 1979, was a constituent college of the Kerala Agricultural University. KUFOS is the first university in India exclusively dedicated to studies in fisheries and allied disciplines. The university was inaugurated and dedicated to the nation in a function held at the campus of the College of Fisheries, Panangad, on 20 February 2011.
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary, research-intensive private deemed university in India. It currently has 19 constituent schools spread across nine campuses in Amaravati, Amritapuri (Kollam), Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kochi, Faridabad, Mysore, and Nagercoil. Accredited with the highest possible ‘A++’ grade by NAAC and ranked as 7th best university in India in National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024.
Bharat B. Chattoo, a JC Bose National Fellow, was a scientist specialising in the field of Biotechnology, Genomics and Proteomics.
Banwari Lal is an Indian environmental and industrial biotechnologist and the director of the Environmental and Industrial Biotechnology Division at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Known for the development of oilzapper technology, Dr. Lal is the chief executive officer of ONGC-TERI Biotech Limited, a collaborative venture between TERI and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation since 2008. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2004. He have many Indian and international joint patents with ONGC, DBT, IOCL, OIL INDIA and TERI.
Saumitra Das is an Indian microbiologist and a professor at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology of the Indian Institute of Science. Known for his studies in the fields of molecular virology and molecular biology, Das is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies namely, the Indian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, India and the Indian National Science Academy. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2005.
Kumaravel Somasundaram is an Indian cancer biologist and a professor at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology of the Indian Institute of Science. Known for his studies on the therapeutics of Glioblastoma, Somasunderam is an elected fellow of all the three major Indian science academies namely, the National Academy of Sciences, India, the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2006.
Gopal Dhinakar Raj is an Indian veterinary scientist, an academic and the project director of the Translational Research Platform for Veterinary Biologicals, a partnership program between the Department of Biotechnology and the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. Known for the development of diagnostic test kits for animal and poultry diseases such as Leptospirosis and Egg drop syndrome, Raj is a member of the DBT Task Force on Animal Biotechnology. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2007.
Subramaniam Ganesh is an Indian geneticist, molecular biologist and a professor at the department of biological sciences and bio-engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Known for his pioneering studies on Lafora progressive myoclonic epilepsy and other neurodegenerative disorders, Ganesh is an elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, India. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2008.
Ponnuraj Karthe is an Indian structural biologist and a professor and the head of the Department of Crystallography and Biophysics of the University of Madras. He is known for his research in the fields of structural biology and drug designing. His studies have been documented by way of a number of articles and Google Scholar, an online repository of scientific articles has listed 46 of them. Besides, he has contributed chapters to books edited by others and has delivered invited speeches at many seminars which include the Workshop on Advances in Computer Aided Drug Design held in August 2010 at the University of Madras. He was a member of the national organizing committee of the Annual Conference of Indian Biophysical Society - Molecular Architecture, Dynamics and Assem, organized by Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics and serves as a member of the national committee of the International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) as well as the executive council of the Bioinformatics and Drug Discovery Society (BIDDS), a non governmental organization promoting dissemination of knowledge in the fields of bioinformatics, biological sciences and other life sciences. The Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India awarded him the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian science awards, for his contributions to biosciences, in 2010.
P. K. Michael Tharakan is a senior academic, historian and social science researcher from Kerala state in southern India. He is the Chairman of the Kerala Council for Historical Research and has served in several senior academic positions such as the Professor at the social science research institute Institute for Social and Economic Change Bangalore and Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University during 2009-2013.
Amit Singh is an Indian microbiologist and an associate professor at the Department of Microbiology and cell biology of the Indian Institute of Science. A Wellcome-DBT Senior Fellow, Singh is known for his studies on the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. His research focuses on exploring the mechanisms behind the persistence of human pathogens like disease and HIV.
Inter University Centre for Bioscience (IUCB) was established at the School of Life Sciences, Kannur University, Kerala, India, by the Higher Education Department, Government of Kerala, to be a global center of excellence for research in biological sciences. Former Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari inaugurated the centre on July 10, 2010. IUCB also have a herbal garden in its premises named after E.K. Janaki Ammal, renowned ethnobotanist from Thalassery who was the former Director-General of the Botanical Survey of India. The School of Life Sciences together with Inter University Center for Bioscience have active research collaborations with different research Institutes and industries across the country.
Sivasankaran Bijoy Nandan is a professor at the Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology & Biochemistry, School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science & Technology (CUSAT). He currently appointed as Vice Chacellor of Kannur University and holds the office of the Dean, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology. He is also syndicate and senate member of CUSAT. He was served as Head of the department, Department of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry, CUSAT during 2019 - 2021 period. He has expertise in teaching, research, and development activities in the broad area of Aquatic Ecosystem Characterisation, Conservation, Restoration and Management, Carbon Dynamics & Community Ecology, Communities Ecology & Biology, Eco-toxicology and Biology of Polar Communities. Recently a new species of deep sea wood boring mollusc collected from eastern Arabian Sea named after Prof. Bijoy Nandan as Xylophaga nandani by team of Researchers from Brazil and India namely, Marcel Velásquez, P.R. Jayachandran & M. Jima. Recently, a crab species discovered along the Kerala coast was named Aniptumnus bijoyi in honor of Bijoy, as recognized by Hari, Hershey, and Mendoza in 2022.