Post on 10-Sep-2019
The Biochemistry department is prolific in promoting undergraduate research. The department
receives grants through the DBT Star College Scheme and University of Delhi. In the
last five years, 12 DU innovation projects have seen the participation of numerous students. 11
projects have been funded through DBT Star College Scheme. In addition to these in-house
research opportunities, several of our students have worked in laboratories outside the college
as summer interns and trainees to get a broader exposure to recent developments in science
and technology.
The DBT- Star College Scheme
The DBT, Govt. of India launched the „Star College Scheme‟ for improving critical thinking and
„hands on‟ experimental work in the cutting edge-technologies needed for modern biological
studies at undergraduate (college) level in life sciences. Six Departments of Sri Venkateswara
College, namely Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Botany, Chemistry, Physics and Zoology were
selected under the STAR College Scheme of DBT in 2011. The Department has been awarded
the prestigious „DBT Star Status’ in 2015.
Activities under the DBT- Star College Scheme
Workshops / Seminars / Conferences for faculty and
students.
Popular Lectures of eminent scientists.
Value added experiments as extensions of the course
curriculum.
DBT Star Innovation projects for „hands–on‟ exposure to
experimental work.
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH @ BIOCHEMISTRY
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS
PARTICIPATING IN RESEARCH
Dr. V. S. Chauhan at a
Conference on
Nanotechnology (2014)
Educational / Field trips.
Visits to Research Institutes.
Workshops for Non-teaching Staff.
Purchase of equipment / chemicals / teaching kits for practical training.
Purchase of library books and Journals.
Open House for school children.
Adopting a rural school (GSSS, Bhigan, Sonepat, Haryana) and college (Padmavathi
College, Tirupati and SV college, Tirupati) for generating awareness and interest in
Natural Sciences.
S. No.
Name of the Project No. of students involved
Mentor/ Principal Investigator
1. Assessment of shelf life and antioxidant levels in heated and fresh cooking oils.
23 Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy
Dr. Oshima Sachin
2. Tissue culture and regeneration of Nicotiana tobaccum using leaf
explant.
10 Dr. Shalini Sen Dr. Nimisha Sinha
3. Isolation and Characterization of microorganisms for Habur Limestone (Jaisalmer Fossil).
6 Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy
4 Cloning of gene pknL (Rv2176) from M. tb H37Rv.
20 Dr. Shalini Sen
5. Cloning of gene pknB (Rv0014c) from M. tb H37Rv.
20 Dr. Shalini Sen
6. Purification and characterization of immunoglobulin G from serum.
20 Dr. Anju Kaicker
7. Immunochemical characterization of leaf extracts from Oscimum sanctum.
20 Dr. Anju Kaicker
8. Nutritional Deficiency - A Major Side Effect of Pesticides, Reheated Food, and Adulteration.
13 Dr. Kameshwar Sharma YVR
9. Isolation, Purification and Characterization of Secondary structure and Kinetic study of Lipase from Indian Major Carp, Catla catla (catla).
2 Dr. Kameshwar Sharma YVR
10. Structural Characterization and Protein Conformational Studies of Osmolytes on Trypsin from Bovine, Porcine and Carps.
6 Dr. Kameshwar Sharma YVR
11. Assessment of the impact of different diets on cognitive and physical functioning in 18-20 year olds.
3 Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy
PROJECTS UNDER DBT STAR COLLEGE SCHEME (2011-2014)
DU INNOVATION PROJECTS (2012-2016)
The DU innovation project is an undergraduate research initiative by the University of Delhi to motivate students to think „out of the box‟ to enable high-end knowledge with practical applications. Undergraduate students in groups of 10 are encouraged to envision an idea that is trans-disciplinary and has real world application. The department faculty and students have been involved in 12 DU innovation projects so far, of which 7 have been completed and 5 are ongoing. Below is the list of DU innovation projects (2012-2016).
Project Code
Names of the PIs Title of the Project Department Project Mentor
SVC-101
Dr. P. Hemalatha Reddy Dr. NVSRK Prasad Dr. Amit Vashishtha Dr. Brijesh Rathi
Survey of tree species of Delhi region and screening of selected plants for anti-cancer activity.
Biochemistry, Botany and Chemistry
Prof. Daman Saluja, ACBR
SVC-103
Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy Dr. NVSRK Prasad Dr. Neeti Mehla Dr. K. Sharma YVR
Comparative Antioxidant Profiling of Various Indian Rice Cultivars in Response to Salinity Stress.
Biochemistry and Botany
Prof. Ashwani Pareek, Life Sciences, JNU
SVC-104
Kavitha Rajsekar Dr. Meenakshi Kuhar Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy Dr. Shalini Sen
Screening of Indian population for possible polymorphisms in candidate genes of extracellular matrix proteins that could lead to Disc degeneration leading to herniation.
Biochemistry
Prof. S. Rajasekran, Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore
SVC-105
Dr. Hemalatha Reddy Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy Dr. Anju Kaicker Dr. Oshima Sachin Mr. Krishna kumar
To study the nutritional and socio-economic viability of consuming Olive oil versus Groundnut oil in the Indian context.
Biochemistry Prof. Anil. K. Tyagi, UDSC
SVC-106
Dr. Meenakshi Kuhar Dr. Sharda Pasricha Dr. Latha Narayanan Dr. Pragya Gahlot Dr. Nandita Narayansamy Dr. Unnati Ahluwalia
Purification and characterization of Cytochrome P450 from liver for the study of P450 interaction with anticancer drug molecules.
Biochemistry
Prof. Shashankdeep, IIT Delhi, Dr. K. Narayanasamy, Sphaera Pharma
SVC-107 Dr. Mansi Verma Dr. P. S. Dhanraj Dr. Anju Kaicker
An easy identification of few pathogenic gamma/epsilon proteobacteria by exploring the internal features of their 16S rRNA.
Zoology and Biochemistry
Prof. Rooplal, Dept. of Zoology, Delhi University
SVC-204
Dr. Sharda Pasricha Dr. Hemalatha Reddy Dr. N. Latha Dr. Shefali Shukla Dr. Pragya Gahlot
Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Oxygen and Nitrogen Heterocyclics as Potential Antitubercular, Antibacterial and Antiviral Agents.
Biochemistry and Chemistry
Prof. J. M Khorana, Dept. of Chemistry
SVC-206
Dr. P. Jayaraj Dr. P. S. Dhanaraj Dr. Kameshwar Sharma Dr. Mansi Verma
Immuno-histochemical evaluation of candidate markers for sebaceous differentiation and their association with aggressive eyelid sebaceous gland carcinoma.
Biochemistry and Zoology
Prof. Seema Sel, Dept. of Ocular Pathology, Rajendra Prasad Centre, AIIMS
SVC-315
Dr. Nandita Narayansamy Mr. Krishna Kumar Dr. Shailaja Thakur
Mapping the unskilled migrant labour in the NCR region: an exploration into the socio economic profile and health status.
Biochemistry and Economics
Dr. Jesim Pais, Economist, ISID, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi
SVC-312
Dr. N. Latha Dr. Punam Sood Dr. E. Muralidhara Rao Dr. Shalini Sen
Science in Music Preferences in Indian Society & its implication with respect to Age and Gender Differences.
Biochemistry, Hindi and Telegu
Prof. Deepti Bhalla, Faculty of Music, DU
SVC-313 Dr. R.P.Singh Dr. Nimisha Sinha Dr. Pooja
Synthesis of coumarin based triazolylated thiazolidinone derivatives and to study their apoptotic inducer/inhibitor activity.
Biochemistry and Chemistry
Dr. B.K. Singh, Assistant Professor, Dept of Chemistry, DU
SVC-302
Dr. P. Jayaraj Dr. Anita Verma Dr. Sarika Yadav Dr. Rajendra Phartyal
Evaluation of circulating cell free DNA (ccf DNA) and their clinical utility as Biomarkers in skin carcinomas.
Zoology and Biochemistry
Dr Seema Sen, Professor, Department of Ocular pathology, R P Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi
Best display award at the Delhi
university innovation plaza,
ANTARDHWANI 2015
Entire team of SVC-106 with Dr K
Narayansamy at Sphaerapharma
Manesar (4th
August, 2012)
NII-SCIENCE SETU PROGRAMME (2015)
Students Visit to NII, New Delhi under Science Setu Programme (March, 2016)
Dr. P. Hemalatha Reddy, Principal, SVC, signing the MoU at NII, New Delhi (March, 2015)
National Institute of Immunology (NII) launched “Science Setu” Programme in 2015. The objective of the program was to bridge between NII and Undergraduate Science students. The Department of Biochemistry is one of the partner department. Mentors (Scientists, NII, New Delhi):
Dr. A. C. Banerjea Dr. P. Sahai Dr. Prafulla K. Tailor Dr. Vinay K. Nandicoori
SUMMER INTERSHIPS AND DISSERTATIONS
M. Sc Dissertation “Deciphering the role of PhoP response regulator in the
transcriptional regulation of DevR regulon of Mycobacterium tuberculosis” carried out
under the co-supervision of Dr. Vandana Malhotra by Ms. Gunjan Sharma, AIIMS in
2015.
Internship (Six months) titled “Effects of osmolytes on the structural stability of bovine
trypsin. (August, 2014 to January, 2015) carried out under the supervision of Dr.
Kameshwar Sharma YVR by Ms. Shivani Jain, St. Xavier‟s College, Mumbai.
Summer trainings carried out under the supervision of Dr. N. Latha under Indian
Academy of Sciences (IAS): Kiran Bairola, VIT, Vellore “Computational studies of
proteases as drug targets for discovery of novel anti-malarials“ June 2015 – July 2015,
Anusha Gonela, "Trifluoperazine Analogues as Antitubercular Inhibitors: Docking
Studies and Binding Studies to Albumins" May 2013 - July 2013.
M. Sc. Dissertation “„Assessment of oxidative stress induced inflammmation as a
possible cause of lumbar disk degradation leading to herniation in the Indian population”
carried out under the supervision of Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy by Ms. Vaishali
Raghava, Amity University in 2013.
M. Sc. Dissertation “To study the effect of hypoxia on stemness during in vitro expansion
of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs)” carried out under the supervision of Dr. Hemalatha
Reddy by Puneet Sharma, AIIMS in February 2012.
Summer training by B.Sc (H) Biochemistry, II yr students, SVC titled “Assessment of anti
oxidant enzymes in smokers versus and nonsmokers (2010-11) under Dr. Nandita
Narayanasamy.
Summer training by B.Sc (H) Biochemistry, III yr students, SVC titled “Isolation and
characterization of antibacterial compounds present in neem leaves” (2011-12) under
Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy.
Summer projects titled “Purification of two enzymes Acid and Alkaline phosphatase from
goat liver” (2012) and “Identification of LDH, Acid and Alkaline Phosphatase isozymes in
serum ”(2011) carried out under the supervision of Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy.
M. Sc. Dissertation “Cloning, expression and structure prediction for Rv2757c and
Rv3168 of M. tuberculosis by in vitro and in silico methods” carried out under the
supervision of Dr. Hemalatha Reddy by Rohini Goswami, Amity University in July 2011.
Summer training by B.Sc (H) Biochemistry, III yr students, SVC titled “Assessment of
serum calcium and iron levels in students on a 2 month vegan vs vegetarian vs non-
vegeterian diet” (2010-11) under under Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy.
Summer training by B.Sc (H) Biochemistry, II yr students, SVC titled “Correlation of Liver
Function tests and lipid profile with BMI in students aged 18-20 years” (2010-11) under
under Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy.
Immunological characterization of leaf extracts of Oscimum sanctum, Training under
supervision of Dr. Anju Kaicker in 2010 under under Dr. Nandita Narayanasamy.
Summer training by B.Sc (H) Biochemistry, II yr students, SVC titled Isolation of
auxotrophic mutants of E. Coli using UV irradiation and replica plating technique (2009-
10)
M. Phil in Biochemistry “Status of Antioxidant Enzyme Catalase and Vitamin C in Breast
Cancer Patients” carried out under the supervision of Dr. Meenakshi Kuhar by Ms.
Avatapalli Kalpana, Annamalai University in 2008.
INDIVIDUAL FACULTY RESEARCH PROJECTS
Dr. P. Hemalatha Reddy
Specialization: Molecular Biology and Drug discovery
Understanding the role of calcium binding proteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and to assess the
potential of Calmodulin inhibitors as lead molecules for anti-TB drug discovery.
Research Projects:
S. No. Title of Project Funding
Agency
Amount Duration
1. Cloning and expression of Calmodulin-like-protein in mycobacteria
DBT Rs 11 lakhs 2002-2005
(3 years)
2. A virtual center for excellence for coordinated research in tuberculosis: Development of alternative strategies for intervention
DBT Rs.15 lakhs 2006-2008
(2 years)
3 Inhibitory studies of trifluoperazine, a Calmodulin antagonist in mycobacteria
DRDO Rs.20.03 lakhs 2006-2009
(3 years)
4 Expression of Rv1211 in M. tuberculosis during latency
DRDO Rs. 30 lakhs 2011-2014
(3 years)
Publications:
Correlation between Calmodulin like protein, phospholipids and growth in glucose grown
Mycobacterium phlei Reddy P.H, Sastry.S. Burra and P.S Murthy Canadian Journal MicroBio
1992: 339-44.
Calmodulin like protein and the phospholipids of Mycobacterium smegmatis Sastry.S., Reddy
P.H., Falah.S., T.A.V.Subramanian and P.S.Murthy. FEMS MicroBiol. lett 1993: 189.
Effect of some antitubercular drugs on the calmodulin content of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Burra.S., Reddy.P.H., Murty.P.S. Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry 1995: 126-128.
Molecular cloning and expression of the gene for a novel protein from Mycobacterium smegmatis
with the functional similarity to eukaryotic calmodulin J. Bacteriol 2003 185: 5263-8.
A novel calcium binding protein in M.tuberculosis – potential target for trifluoperazine, Sunaina
Koul, Aruna Somayajulu, Meeta J. Advani and Hemalatha Reddy, IJEB, Vol 47, 480 June 2009.
Activity of trifluoperazine agaisnt active, multi-drug resistant and dormant M. Tuberculosis H37Rv,
Meeta J. Advani, Imran Sidiqqui, Pawan Sharma, P. Hemalatha Reddy (2012), PlosONE 7(8)
e:44245.
Team / Research Students
Sunaina Koul Meeta Advani
Dr. Meenakshi Kuhar
Specialization: Apoptosis and Bioenergetics
Dr. Nandita Narayansamy
Specialization: Physiology and Genetics
Area: Understanding molecular and biochemical basis of Lumbar Disc Degeneration
Publications
“Role Of Oxidative Stress In Inducing Apoptosis, Necrosis Or Senescence In
Intervertebral Disc Degeneration” K. Rajsekar, N. Narayanasamy, M. Kuhar, S. Vaishya,
R. Shanmuganathan, N. Devaraj, International Journal Of Multidisciplinary Educational
Research ISSN : 2277-7881; Volume 4, Issue 4(1), April 2015.
“Association analysis of Col9A1, Col9A2, Col9A3, Aggrecan and TNF-α gene
polymorphisms with early onset of Disc Herniation in Indian population” K. Rajsekar, N.
Narayanasamy, M. Kuhar, S. Vaishya, S.Rajasekaran, N.Devaraj; International Journal
Of Multidisciplinary Educational Research ISSN : 2277-7881; Volume 4, Issue 4(2),
April 2015.
Cytokine TH1/TH2 levels in patients with disc hernition – A comparative study K.
Rajsekar, M. Kuhar, N. Narayanasamy, S. Vaishya, N. Devaraj, S.Rajasekaran,
International Journal Of Multidisciplinary Educational Research ISSN : 2277-7881;
Volume 4, Issue 4(1), April 2015.
Team / Research students
Kavita Rajsekhar
S. No. Title of Project Funding Agency Amount Duration
1.
Assessment of Apoptosis induced disc herniation in relation to pro-inflammatory stress conditions and polymorphism of cellular and matrix proteins in the Indian Population.
Ganga Orthopaedic Research and Educational Foundation
Rs. 3.5 Lakhs
2009-2012
Dr. N. Latha
Specialization: Bioinformatics
Research interest includes molecular modeling & simulation studies, computer aided drug design,
network biology and immunoinformatics.
Research projects:
Publications:
Singh, A. K.; Rathore, S.; Tang, Y.; Goldfarb, N. E.; Dunn, B. M.; Rajendran, V.; Ghosh, P. C.;
Latha, N.; Singh, B. K. and Rathi, B. (2015) Hydroxyethylamine-Based Phthalimides As New
Class of Plasmepsin Hits: Design, Synthesis and Antimalarial Evaluation Plos ONE under
revision 2015.
Singh et al (2015) Design, Synthesis and biological evaluation of functionalized pthalimides: A
new class of antimalarials and inhibitors of falcipain 2, a major hemoglobinase of malarial
parasite. Biorg. Med Chem 23 (8) 1817-27, doi 10.1016/j.bms.2015.02.029Epub 2015 Feb 26.
Jatana N, Thukral L, Latha N (2014). Structure and dynamics of DRD4 bound to an agonist and
an antagonist using in silico approaches. Protein: Structure, Function and Bioinformatics.
Nov 5. doi: 10.1002/prot.24716.
S. No. Title of Project Funding
Agency
Amount Duration
1. Creation of Bioinformatics
Infrastructure facility (BIF) under the
DBT-BTISnet
DBT 103.2 Lakhs 2006-till date
2. In silico analysis of the impact of
SNPs/SNP haplotypes on protein
structure and function
DBT 36.6 Lakhs 2008-2014
3. Computational Assisted Design and
Synthesis of Novel Antimalarial
Agents Embodying Structural
Diversity Suitable for Protease
Inhibitors
DST 49.98 Lakhs 2014-2017
4. Contributions to Bioinformatics and
Nanomedicine: Computational,
Biochemical and Biophysical
Evaluation of new small peptide and
fatty acid derivative as well as their
self assembled nano structures as
molecular weapons to infectious
diseases
DST India
Belarus
International
exchange
10.1 Lakhs 2014-2017
Avijit Podder and N.Latha. (2014). New insights into schizophrenia disease genes interactome in
the human brain: Emerging targets & therapeutic implications in the postgenomics era OMICS: A
Journal of Integrative Biology, 18 (12), 754-766.
Avijit Podder, Nidhi Jatana, N. Latha. (2014). Human Dopamine Receptors Interaction Network
(DRIN): A systems biology perspective on topology, stability and functionality of the network.
Journal of Theoretical Biology 357: 169-183.
Antony Michealraj, Nidhi Jatana, Md. Jafurulla, N.Latha, Amitabh Chattopadhyay & B. K. Thelma.
(2014). Functional characterization of rare variants in human Dopamine receptor D4 gene by
genotype - phenotype correlations. Neuroscience262: 176–189.
Nidhi Jatana, Sarvesh Jangid, Garima Khare, Anil K. Tyagi and N. Latha. (2011). Molecular
modeling studies of Fatty acyl-CoA synthetase (FadD13) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis -a
potential target for the development of antitubercular drugs. Journal of Molecular
Modeling17:301-313.
Brijesh Rathi, Anil K. Singh, Ram Kishan, Neelu Singh, N. Latha, S. Srinivasan, Kailash C.
Pandey, Hemandra K. Tiwari, Brajendra K. Singh. (2013). Functionalized hydroxyethylamine
based peptide nanostructures as potential inhibitors of falcipain-3, an essential proteases of
Plasmodium falciparum. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 21:5503-9.
Nidhi Jatana, Apoorva Nagarajan, Sonika Malik, Aditya Sharma and N. Latha. (2013). Inhibitors
of Catechol-O-methyltransferase in the treatment of neurological disorders. Central Nervous
System Agents in Medicinal Chemistry 13:166-194.
Chandresh Sharma, M. A. Khan, Teena Mohan, Jatin Shrinet, N. Latha and Neeta Singh. (2014).
A synthetic chimeric peptide harboring human papillomavirus 16 cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes
shows therapeutic potential in a murine model of cervical cancer. Immunologic Research
58:132-8.
Nidhi Jatana, Aditya Sharma &N. Latha. (2013). Pharmacophore modeling and virtual screening
studies to design potential COMT inhibitors as new leads. Journal of Molecular Graphics and
Modelling 39:145-64.
Team / Research students
Nidhi Jatana Avijit Podder Diksha
Dr. Vandana Malhotra
Specialization: Tuberculosis Pathogenesis, Host-Pathogen Interactions and Signal Transduction
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Serine/Threonine protein kinases (PknA - L) are key regulators of
mycobacterial growth, physiology and metabolism. Studies have established PknK as a component of
regulatory pathways that slow growth of M. tuberculosis in stressful environments and during persistent
infection in mice. The focus of the proposed study is to identify PknK-mediated signaling interactions and
to understand the role of these interactions in the regulation of mycobacterial growth.
Publications:
Malhotra, V., R. Agrawal, T. R. Duncan, D. K. Saini, and J. E. Clark-Curtiss Mycobacterium tuberculosis Response Regulators, DevR and NarL Interact In Vivo and Co-Regulate Gene Expression during Aerobic Nitrate Metabolism. J. Biol. Chem. published February 6, 2015 as doi:10.1074/jbc.M114.591800.
Korch, S., V. Malhotra, H. Contreras and J.E.Clark-Curtiss. 2015 The Mycobacterium tuberculosis relBE toxin:antitoxin genes are stress-responsive modules that regulate growth through translation inhibition. J. Microbiol. 2015 Nov;53(11):783-95. doi: 10.1007/s12275-015-5333-8. Epub 2015 Oct 28.
S. No. Title of Project Funding
Agency
Amount Duration
1. High-Throughput substrate profiling
of M. tuberculosis Protein Kinase K
DBT Rs. 44 Lakhs
2015-18