Creating spaces for defined chemical interactions: a new phosphorus-based supramolecule to spot chirality In a recent paper in the journal Angewandte Chemie, Prof. R. Boomi Shankar’s group at IISER Pune described the design and synthesis of an amino-phosphonium supramolecule for the chiral recognition of a variety of chiral compounds. Chirality is a property wherein the …
There is a time and pace for everything, cytokinesis is no different! In a paper in e-Life, integrated PhD student Swati Sharma and faculty member Dr. Richa Rikhy study the process of cell division and describe how a protein named GRAF regulates the time and pace of actin ring constriction, a phenomenon that sets the …
The online inauguration and formal virtual launch of IISER Pune’s technology business incubator, Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) – IISER Pune SEED Foundation (AIC-SEED) was held today. A recording of the inauguration event is here. Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, FRS, National Research Professor, and eminent scientist, inaugurated AIC-SEED in an online event as the Chief Guest. Shri …
Most things are what they are, no matter what their genesis. For calcium though, provenance matters. This is the take-home from a recently published study from Dr. Suhita Nadkarni’s group at IISER Pune in which the team has investigated if and how calcium ions from different sources impact memory in unique ways. This work was …
In a recent series of papers, Dr. Raghavendra Kikkeri’s group explores the therapeutic potential of heparan sulfate, a linear carbohydrate (polysaccharide) molecule, which is typically found at the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix that holds cells together. Shown to be important in several cellular functions including in development and healing, heparan sulfate has …
In a paper in the Biophysical Journal, Dr. Chaitanya Athale’s group described an automated programme to track intracellular granules while viewing the molecules under a differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope. This image-analysis programme will help researchers observe, follow, and study single molecules in a quantitative, yet non-invasive, manner. A DIC microscope enhances contrast and is …
In a paper published in Cell Chemical Biology, Dr. Siddhesh Kamat‘s research group studied the role played by the lipid tail of lyso-PS in regulating the function of cells involved in immune response. Lysophospholipids are a class of signaling lipids that regulate many important physiological processes in humans. Compounds that target the receptors of lysophospholipids, …
On the biomechanics of the somersault movement in Hydra In a recent paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, the research groups led by Prof. Sanjeev Galande from the Biology department and Dr. Shivprasad Patil and Dr. Apratim Chatterji from the Physics department at IISER Pune, along with Prof. Irit Sagi’s group from Weizmann Institute of Science, reveal the secret of Hydra’s somersault movement on a …
In a paper published in The Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine, in collaboration with the BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospitals in Pune, researchers from IISER Pune report that by accurately measuring the ability to smell, one could detect an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a daunting challenge to the global community as …
The Science Activity Centre at IISER Pune, in association with Maharashtra State Council of Education Research and Training (MSCERT) Pune, has initiated a series of online workshops in Marathi for school science and mathematics teachers. Ten episodes on various science and mathematics concepts will be streamed live on Science Activity Centre’s YouTube channel every Saturday …
Dr. Sudipta Sarkar (Assistant Professor, Earth and Climate Science) has been elected a Fellow of Geological Society of London. The Geological Society of London is the oldest professional body of geologists in the world, founded in 1807. The Society works to improve knowledge and understanding of the earth, promotes earth science education and awareness, and promotes … Continue reading
Dr. Ramanathan Vaidhyanathan, Associate Professor in Chemistry at IISER Pune, has been selected for the Prof. C. N. R. Rao Award for Research in Inorganic and Physical Chemistry for the year 2021. The award is given by the C. N. R. Rao Foundation and Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore to Indian … Continue reading
Dr. Raghav Rajan, Assistant Professor in Biology at IISER Pune, has been selected for the Senior Fellowship awarded by the DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance for the year 2020-2021. The Alliance, funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of Government of India and Wellcome Trust of UK, supports research in health and biomedical sciences. As one … Continue reading
Dr. Sagar Pandit (Assistant Professor, Biology) has been elected as a Life Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, UK. Founded in 1833, the Royal Entomological Society works towards development and promotion of entomology. It facilitates international collaboration, research and publications related to the study of insects. The Fellowship of Society is granted to those making … Continue reading
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and IISER Pune have set up a Technology Innovation Hub on Quantum Technologies. Named as the I-Hub Quantum Technology Foundation (I-Hub QTF), the technology hub has now been set up as a Section-8 company at IISER Pune. The I-Hub QTF will aim to develop quantum computers, quantum communication … Continue reading
Prof. Shyam S. Rai, Professor Emeritus, Department of Earth and Climate Science has received the Raja Ramanna Fellowship for this year. The fellowship, initiated in the year 2000 by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), recognises senior scientists, engineers and technologists involved in developing critical technologies and pursuing high quality research. A Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar … Continue reading
Dr. Shabana Khan (Associate Professor and Deputy Chair, Chemistry) has received the DST Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB)’s POWER Fellowship. The Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research (POWER) Fellowship has been instituted by SERB as an initiative for empowering women researchers. It recognises outstanding women researchers and innovators in the country, in various … Continue reading
Prof. Anjan Banerjee (Professor, Biology and Chair, Institutional Committee on Administration) has been awarded the Tata Innovation Fellowship 2020-21, and Prof. Harinath Chakrapani (Professor, Chemistry and Dean, International Relations and Outreach) has won the S. Ramachandran National Bioscience Award for Career Development for 2020-21. Both these awards are given by the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of … Continue reading
Dr. Siddhesh Kamat (Associate Professor, Biology) has received CDRI 2021 award for Excellence in Drug Research in the Life Sciences category. Given each year by the CSIR’s Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, these awards recognize exceptional work in drug research. The awards are declared in two categories – Chemical Sciences and Life Sciences, and are usually presented … Continue reading
IISER Pune-IDeaS Scholarship is awarded to outstanding undergraduates and PhD scholars at IISER Pune. In the 2020-21 academic year, 6 BSMS, 5 Integrated PhD, and 10 PhD students have been awarded this scholarship. The selection is based on grades during the first two semesters at IISER Pune. Kudos to the scholarship winners for their outstanding … Continue reading
Dr. Sunish Radhakrishnan (Associate Professor, Biology) and Dr. Nishad Matange (Assistant Professor, Biology) have been awarded the prestigious DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance Senior and Intermediate Fellowships respectively, in the category of Basic Biomedical Research. The fellowship is instituted by the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance, an initiative funded equally by The Wellcome Trust, UK and Department … Continue reading
In recognition of their contribution to the respective areas of research, three scientists at IISER Pune, Prof. Anjan Banerjee (Professor, Biology), Dr. Thomas Pucadyil (Associate Professor, Biology) and Dr. Seema Sharma (Associate Professor, Physics) are among those elected as Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru. Prof. Anjan Banerjee has also been elected a … Continue reading
Prof. S G Srivatsan (Chemistry, IISER Pune) has been selected for the Sun Pharma Research Award for 2020 in the Pharmaceutical Sciences category. Each year, the Award recognises excellent original research by Indian scientists in medical and pharmaceutical sciences. The prize carries a trophy, citation and a cash award. Prof. Srivatsan conducts multidisciplinary research on … Continue reading
During the COVID -19 pandemic, when most of the schools were either closed or functioning online, a collaboration between the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Maharashtra and IISER Pune’s Science Activity Center (SAC) harnessed the online medium to reach students, teachers, and science enthusiasts all over the Maharashtra. SAC and Maharashtra SCERT … Continue reading
While schools were either closed or functioning online due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Science Activity Center (SAC) at IISER Pune harnessed the online medium to reach students, teachers, and science enthusiasts all over the country. SAC initiated various online workshops and webinars during this period, including the immensely popular online demonstration series called “Next … Continue reading
A team of 14 students from IISER Pune who competed at the 2020 international Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) contest, have won a gold medal at the International Giant Jamboree held virtually during November 13-22, 2020. Close to 250 teams participated in the competition internationally, which consisted of poster presentations, workshops, keynote speeches and networking events.The … Continue reading
IISER Pune held a valedictory function today (November 20, 2020) where the 2020 outgoing batch of students were congratulated and awardees were felicitated through an online event. This event was held to celebrate the graduation of students, as the convocation for the year 2020 could not be held in May/June at the usual time of … Continue reading
Three scientists at IISER Pune, Dr. Angshuman Nag (Associate Professor, Chemistry), Dr. Anup Biswas (Associate Professor, Mathematics) and Dr. Rejish Nath (Associate Professor, Physics) are among those selected for the Department of Science and Technology (DST)’s Swarnajayanti Fellowships for 2019-20. Initiated to mark the fiftieth year of India’s independence, the Swarnajayanti Fellowships are awarded by … Continue reading
Nine IISER Pune students are among those selected for this year’s Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF). The PMRF scheme is aimed at attracting the talent pool of the country to PhD programmes of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). IISER Pune … Continue reading
Prof. Thomas Pucadyil (Chair, Biology, IISER Pune) has been elected into the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) while Dr. G. J. Sreejith (Assistant Professor, Physics) has won the INSA Young Scientist Medal for 2020, along with Dr. Shradda Karve, a former PhD student at the institute. INSA is a body of Indian scientists created in … Continue reading
In a paper that addresses the increasing levels of water pollution, Prof. Sujit Ghosh’s group has developed a hybrid material that can purify water by removing a wide range of toxic ions from water. “Inorganic oxoanions, classified among the primary substances present in polluted water, end up in aquatic environments and are often difficult to filter out … Continue reading
Like tagging your grey suitcase with a bright ribbon helps you spot it from among tens of others, tagging molecules with fluorescent probes gives certain functionalities to the molecules we try to study. We can now see where they reside in a cell, when they traverse, which other molecules they meet, what communication transpires between them, … Continue reading
IISER Pune together with Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), Pune, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad and Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) undertook an epidemiological and serological survey of selected high-incidence prabhags of Pune city. The study is supported by the Persistent Foundation. The preliminary technical report of this … Continue reading
The low-cost ICU ventilator developed earlier at the Physics department of IISER Pune will now be jointly taken up by Accurate Gauging & Instruments Pvt. Ltd. and IISER Pune to be built for regulatory approvals followed by production. Towards this, a Memorandum of Understanding for transfer of technology was signed by IISER Pune and Accurate Gauging & … Continue reading
A recent paper from Dr Amrita Hazra’s group at IISER Pune offers new insights into the puzzle of how vitamin B-12, one of the largest ‘small molecules’ made in nature, is pieced together. They do this by reconstituting the activity of two novel enzymes involved in B-12 synthesis and find that the enzymes methylate a part of the B-12 … Continue reading
Water is essential to sustain life on earth. Access to safely managed drinking water in a way that it’s available when needed and is free of contamination is not a given to many communities around the world. About two-thirds of our planet’s surface is covered in ocean waters, but this water cannot be consumed due … Continue reading
Prof. Harinath Chakrapani, Professor of Chemistry at IISER Pune, has won the Bronze Medal of Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI). CRSI is a is a premier professional chemical society of India established in 1999 with an aim to facilitate and promote research & education in all branches of chemistry. The Society organises symposia, events … Continue reading
Smt. Indrani Balan Science Activity Centre at IISER Pune conducted its first successful live online demonstration on Sunday, June 7, 2020, through YouTube live-streaming. This was the first of a series of science activity demonstrations, titled Next-Gen Science Camps: Exploring Fun Activities at your Doorstep, with Hands-on Science and Mathematics. The series has been initiated … Continue reading
Named in honour of the mineralogist Lev Perovski, perovskite is the mineral form of the inorganic compound calcium titanate (CaTiO3). A large fraction of earth’s minerals has various compositions of metal oxides with the same perovskite structure. Such oxide perovskites are commonly used in our household applications including gas igniter (piezoelectric crystal) and capacitor. “The … Continue reading
Centre of Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education (CoESME), in association with Wilson College, Mumbai, conducted their first fully online workshop on Research-based Pedagogical Tools (RBPTs) from May 18-23, 2020. Responding to demands of the present lockdown induced situation, CoESME decided to move their flagship workshop to the online mode. Over 1500 applications were received, … Continue reading
While it is well-recognised that expanding testing capacity is a critical element in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, testing is a logistically and technically formidable task for a large population such as ours. Research institutions have the infrastructure and technical know-how required for conducting tests. IISER Pune has hence come forward to take on …
IISER Pune faculty members Dr. Umakant Rapol and Dr. Sunil Nair have developed a low-cost ventilator put together with readily available and easily source-able parts. The researchers are now looking to get in touch with manufacturers to produce this ventilator model. In this video produced by the Science Media Centre at IISER Pune, they describe … Continue reading
Prof. S G Srivatsan, Professor in Chemistry at IISER Pune, has won National Prize for Research on Chemistry of Peptides and Nucleic Acids. The award is given by Prof. C.N.R. Rao Education foundation to scientists below 55 years of age. This award recognises Prof. Srivatsan’s work carried out at IISER Pune. Prof. Srivatsan’s work is … Continue reading
IISER Pune researchers are involved in a multi-institutional effort to produce open-source computer-aided-designs for a mechanical ventilator that is currently in use in hospitals. This work is being carried out in collaboration with Capt. (Retd.) Rustom Bharucha from Bharucha Instrumentation and Control, Pune, India; IUCAA, Pune; IISER Pune; IndoGenius, New Delhi; and King’s College London, United … Continue reading
Majority of the drugs available in the market for cancer bind to proteins, nucleic acids, receptors, etc. present in cancer cells and help destroy the cells. On many occasions, cancer cells generate resistance against these drugs during the treatment period. So, there is a continuous need to develop new strategies to target cancer. A new … Continue reading
Cipla Foundation-IISER Pune Centre for Chemistry Education and Research on the IISER Pune campus has been inaugurated today by Dr. Yusuf K. Hamied, Non-Executive Chairman, Cipla Ltd. He was accompanied by Mrs. Farida Hamied and Ms. Rumana Hamied, the Managing Trustee of Cipla Foundation. The Centre, housing chemistry research labs along with an in-class demo … Continue reading
Through a generous endowment from Bajaj Auto Ltd., a hostel for women research scholars at IISER Pune was announced in 2017. The construction of this multi-storied building has now been completed and has been opened to research scholars. The inauguration ceremony of this Hall of Residence was held today (on January 11, 2020) at the … Continue reading
Dr. Siddhesh Kamat (Assistant Professor in Biology at IISER Pune) has received this year’s Merck Young Scientist Award. This award recognises excellence in research among scientists with less than 10 years of post-PhD experience and considers applications from all research/academic institutions across India. The accolade is comprised of a cash prize and a travel award. Dr. Kamat … Continue reading
Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi visited IISER Pune and met with some of the faculty members and students in a brief but highly interactive gathering. IISER Pune Director Prof Jayant Udgaonkar presented an overview of the institute profile outining the institute’s objectives, achievements, and aspirations. He also spoke about the importance of … Continue reading
Dr Saikrishnan Kayarat, Associate Professor in Biology at IISER Pune, has won Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India’s S. Ramachandran National Bioscience Award for Career Development for the year 2019. The award is given each year by the DBT to scientists below 45 years of age engaged in research on basic or applied biological … Continue reading
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