The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, has selected the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of the School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, for the level-II support of 'Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Universities & Higher Educational Institutions'.
Assistant registrar (Public Relations) Mr. Mahesh in a release on Monday said that the DST has sanctioned a grant to the tune of Rs 1.49 crores for a period of five years (third award for the department). This sanction of the DST is to strengthen post-graduate teaching and research in the Department and to extend major facilities viz., Ultra Centrifuge, Live Cell Imaging, Lyophilizer, Chemidoc Western Blotting System, CO2 Incubator, UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, Cold Room, Setting up of a computer laboratory, etc.
The DST-FIST support under the Level-II category is given to internationally competitive institutions which are into 'Teaching and Academic Research'. The Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of Pondicherry University has been further considered for the grant based on its performance, and the amount of 'Extra-mural Research Grants' received in the last five years. The Department has earlier received funding under DST-FIST (twice) and the Special Assistance Programme (SAP) of the UGC.
The Department possesses reputed faculty who had received independent funding from various National and International Funding Agencies. Some of the faculty members have even received various national and international awards. The Department offers M.Sc in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, in addition to the structured four-semester theoretical courses, and hands-on training for the students of the course in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities. The Department has an active PhD program as well. Professor Gurmeet Singh, Vice Chancellor of the University, congratulated the Head of Department Professor PP Mathur for this and other achievements.
