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Faculty of Science | |||
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Department of Biochemistry | |||
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Centre of Bioinformatics (Bioinformatics Infrastructure Facility - BIF)
Alumni Association, Department of Biochemistry
Department of Biochemistry Biochemistry was introduced in Lucknow University from the session 1955-56 as one of the subjects for specialization in M.Sc. course in Chemistry. It made a modest beginning by occupying a few rooms in the building of the Chemistry Department in the erstwhile combined Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the University. A separate Department of Biochemistry came into existence in August 1963 and it shifted to its present premises in 1966. Generous grants from the University Grants Commission and the Rockefeller Foundation enabled the construction of the building for the Department and the acquisition of essential equipment. The teaching of Biochemistry started in July 1955 with Dr. Soma Kumar, then lecturer in Organic Chemistry. Subsequently, with the appointment of Dr. P.S. Krishnan as Reader in Biochemistry in 1956, teaching in Biochemistry started in full swing. Dr. G.G. Sanwal joined the faculty in 1957, followed by Dr. K.K. Tewari in 1959. Dr. P.S. Krishnan was promoted to Professor in Biochemistry in the Chemistry Department in 1958. At that time the number of students admitted to M.Sc. I course was only 10 and the staff consisted of only one Professor and two Lecturers. Prof. P.S. Krishnan was appointed Head of the Department of Biochemistry on August 17, 1963. He has been the architect for the creation and establishment of the Department of Biochemistry. His profound scholarship, planning and vision have been mainly responsible for a wide horizon of activities in the Department and its subsequent expansion. After the superannuation of Prof. P.S. Krishnan in 1975, Prof. G.G. Sanwal took over as the Head of the Department and continued till 1996. In addition to SAP, he was also able to procure several grants from agencies such as UNESCO and COSIST. Prof. K.C.S. Sanger headed the Department from 1996 to 1997. Prof. P.C. Misra took over as the Head of the Department in December 1997 and remained in that position till November 2006. This period was marked by getting financial assistance from Department of Science and Technology (DST) under its FIST Programme. A separate computer laboratory with internet facility was also established under this support. Professor U. N. Dwivedi took over as the Head of the Department of Biochemistry in November 2006. Prof. Dwivedi initiated research and teaching in the area of biotechnology since 1993 with major funding received from Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and CSIR under NMITLI networking program. The M.Sc. Biotechnology teaching program, with Prof. U.N. Dwivedi as the Co-coordinator, started from academic session 2002-2003. This is a four semester program financially supported by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Govt. of India and ten students are admitted every year through the common National Entrance Test conducted by JNU, New Delhi. One of the important additions to the facilities at the department was the construction of a modern Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory and Polyhouse with the funds obtained from the DBT and CSIR under NMITLI program, respectively. Both the tissue culture lab and the polyhouse have precise controls for temperature, humidity and light. This facility has been dedicated exclusively to the transgenic plants generated out of the research conducted at the department. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Department of Higher Education, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, have provided grants for development of a Bioinformatics Facility in the department. Workshops on basics as well as advanced concepts of Bioinformatics are organized in this facility trimonthly and receive tremendous interest from faculty as well as research students from universities and central institutes from UP and rest of India. Professor S.K. Agarwal took charge as the Head of the Department of Biochemistry in March 2010. The Department was sanctioned major funding from the Department of Higher Education, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh in the period from 2010 to 2013. The funding came in the form of three consecutive projects under the “Centre of Excellence” scheme with Prof. Agarwal as the coordinator. These grants led to the setting up of an upgradable facility of proteomics that includes automated protein purification systems, a comprehensive 2D-PAGE facility with state of the art software for 2D gel evaluation and analysis. Other major equipment to support this facility was also procured. The Department of Science and Technology sanctioned major grants under the DST-PURSE program leading to the procurement of major equipment. A new state-of-the-art wi-fi computer facility was also established in the department. In all, the Department received grants worth nearly 2 crores in this time-frame. The Department of Biochemistry organized a National Seminar on “Reactive Oxygen Species: Roles in Animal and Plant Biology” on Dec. 23-24, 2012 and is set to organize another National Seminar on “Stress, Development and Adaptation: Biochemical Basis and Biotechnological Approach” on March 15-16, 2013. Both these seminars, sponsored by The Department of Higher Education, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, have seen tremendous interest from leading scientists from India and abroad, and from research students. The Department has been receiving funds and extra mural research grants from various funding agencies such as UGC, CSIR, ICMR, DST, DBT, UPCST, AICTE, etc. since its inception and has received funding worth Rs. 6.0 crores in the last ten years. The Department has fully equipped laboratories having state of the art equipment such as real time PCR (RT-PCR), thermal cycler, ballistic gene gun, HPLC, gel documentation system, ultracentrifuges, UV crosslinker, deep freezers, UV-Visible spectrophotometers, Spectrofluorometer, 2D-PAGE and gel analysis facility, multimode plate reader, etc. The students and faculty members have been publishing research papers in national and international journals of high repute, in various thrust areas of research such as plant biochemistry, enzymology, mechanistic aspects of diabetic cataract, protective role of antioxidants in cardiac disorders, membrane biology, photobiology, etc. Till date, more than 225 students have been awarded Ph.D. degree from this department. The alumni of the Department of Biochemistry have occupied positions of eminence in all walks of life and have greatly contributed to the growth of Biochemistry in the country and abroad.
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