Biochemistry is an interdisciplinary science that explores the chemical
processes within living organisms/ systems. The study of Biochemistry aims to
understand how biological molecules that constitute living organisms interact,
to maintain and perpetuate life. It deals with the microscopic and macroscopic
complexity of living organisms. Its broad wings include molecular biology,
genetics, immunology, neurobiology as well as bio-inorganic/organic/physical
chemistry. The horizon of Biochemistry encompasses pharmacology, physiology,
microbiology, analytical sciences, bioinformatics, biostatistics, enzymology,
metabolism, nutrition, toxicology, environmental sciences and clinical
biochemistry.
Biochemistry being a para-medical field is applied to medicine,
dentistry, and veterinary sciences. A biochemist facilitates investigation into
the mechanism of drug action and engages in development of drugs. They use
chemical concepts, procedures, techniques for diagnosis and management of
diseases. Working in the field of biochemistry is often related to
understanding the toxicological and detoxification pathways within the living
system. It also has myriad of applications in the field of food and
agricultural sciences as well.
At Mithibai College (Autonomous), the department initiated the 6 Units
B.Sc. Programme in 1999 and thereafter the Masters Programme in the year 2007. From the academic session 2021-22, the department
has initiated the undergraduate B.Sc-Biochemistry (Honours) programme. The
degree will be awarded on successful completion of 148 credits.
The salient features of the same include:
·
The
course content is multidisciplinary and global in its outlook and aims to
develop a range of generic skills that are relevant to being employee/
entrepreneur.
·
Course
content on basic mathematics, computer science, and communication skills will
be helpful in developing the overall competency in communicating with industry
and institutes globally.?
·
Compulsory
internship with an aim to bridge the industry-academia gap so that our students
are industry ready and employable.
·
Research
projects to instil research aptitude.
The programme structure is as below-
|
Semester
|
Credits
|
|
Semester
I
|
20
|
|
Semester
II
|
20
|
|
Semester
III
|
24
|
|
Semester
IV
|
24
|
|
Semester
V
|
30
|
|
Semester
VI
|
30
|
|
TOTAL
|
148
|
The department has also totally revised and restructured the M.Sc. Biochemistry programme from the
academic session 2021-2022. Under the
new structure, with an aim for skill enrichment, there is a compulsory
internship/research project in the third semester of the degree programme. The
Programme endeavors to provide students with excellent training in Biochemistry
emphasizing on solid foundation along with insight into basic as well as
advanced concepts. In addition to theoretical knowledge, considerable emphasis
is given on hands on experience in the forefront areas of Biochemistry through
practical training.
A graduate/postgraduate
in Biochemistry has a plethora of opportunities waiting for him/her. Over the years the department has identified its thrust research areas
as - development of nutraceuticals, herb-drug interactions and biochemical
changes due to stress, pollution and life-style. The department has over the
years guided students to be University subject toppers.
The department envisages 360-degree growth for its learners and focuses
on development of the holistic persona of an individual. To cater to the millennial
generation multi-modal pedagogical tools are incorporated in the teaching
learning process along with faculty-student and student-student mentoring.
The students are involved in the organization of intercollegiate
academic science festival, 'Luminescence' wherein hundreds of students from
various colleges through the length and breadth of India, participate. In 2020,
Luminescence expanded its canvas to become an International Academic Science
Intercollegiate.
With an aim to nurture students to be globally and socially responsible
citizens, various novel awareness campaigns and outreach activities are
routinely organized. The students participate in experiential learning through
industrial visits and interaction with eminent people in their chosen field.
Environment
Awareness Day was
celebrated on the theme 'Covid-19 Pandemic: Imprint on Environment'
on 5th June 2020. The competitions were held online
on MS teams. The event had over 255 participants from all over India. Three awareness promoting competitions on the theme
were organized viz.
1) Slogan making
2) Essay competition
3) Doodle
LUMINESCENCE 2020
The
Department of Biochemistry proudly
celebrated the 15th edition of its departmental fest ‘Luminescence’ on 20th March 2021. This is the
first time that Luminescence ventured past the national
boundaries as we had international participants from countries
like U.S.A, U.A.E. and Spain.
Also, it was the first ever Luminescence that was conducted online. Our theme for the year was ‘Voyage
to the Rising Dawn’ which essentially aimed to encourage all and to always have faith in oneself, no
matter how impossible the hurdles of life might seem. This year we had a grand total of 324 participants from 45
colleges.
The
fest housed six events which were as follows:
Quizeption-a general
science-based quiz event,
Maskscape was a mask painting event, ‘Cruise
past the Blues’ was an open-mic event showcasing pieces of acting, dancing,
singing and poetry, Survival of the fittest was a virtual escape room that stimulated colossal
inquisitive skills, Once upon a time was a pass-the-story event, Elysian was a digital poster making
event
Despite of all the physical restraints, Luminescence still persevered in the
most graceful way possible. This
would indeed be a remarkable year for the fest as not only was it virtual but also international proving yet again that
Luminescence is exactly as its name suggests: a fest that harbors light and warmth for all.National Symposium on
‘Challenges in the 21st Century’
The
Department of Biochemistry of SVKM’s Mithibai College (Autonomous) had
organized a Two-Day National Symposium on ‘Challenges in the 21st Century’
under the aegis of RUSA Centre for Human Excellence. The symposium was
organised on 19th and 26th
June, 2021 The first day of the event had more than 413 participants from
21 States and 1 Union Territory of India as well as from Canada and China. The
second session had witnessed an increase in the number of participants to close
to 609 from 22 States and 4 Union Territories of India and from Malaysia as
well.
The
first eminent speaker of the day was Dr. Prashant Gargava, Member Secretary and
Chief Vigilance Officer, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Ministry of
Environment Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India. Dr. Gargava briefed the
audience about the ‘Environmental Pollution Challenges and Control Activities’
The
next speaker was Dr. Sonal Asthana, Senior Consultant – HPB and Liver
Transplant Surgery, Aster CMI Hospital and Adjunct Professor, IISc, Bangalore.
Dr. Asthana talked about ‘Healthcare Challenges for the 21st Century’.
The
second day of the symposium held on 26th June had several dignified
speakers to enlighten the attendees' minds. The first speaker of the day was
Dr. Subodh Bhatnagar, Founder Secretary General, Society for Plant Research,
Former Dean, Biotechnology, SVPUAT, Meerut who spoke on the topic ‘Biological Sciences: in toto Solution for a
Healthy World’
The
second speaker, Dr. Rajeev Varshney, Director, Defense Institute of Physiology
and Allied Science (DIPAS) highlighted the ‘Challenges of Extreme Environment in
Operations’ as well as the importance
and benefits of integrating habitability, physiomics, nutrigenomics and
bio-inspired/AI assistive technologies for enhanced soldier performance.
Dr.
Madhuri R. Thakar, Scientist F, Immunology & Serology, ICMR National AIDS
Research Institute was the succeeding speaker. Her talk increased awareness
regarding threats to health of mankind in the 21st century,
emphasizing mainly on ‘Antimicrobial drug
resistance (AMR)’.
The
next speaker Dr. Chaitanya Giri, Founder – DAWON A&I, Space Fellow and
Gateway House – Indian Council on Global Relations gave an impactful talk on ‘Aatmanirbhar Science’, focusing on the
challenges faced and the steps taken to develop and upgrade scientific
awareness in the Indian population.
Nature Conservation Week
The Department organised the Nature
Conservation Week from 26th to 30th July 2021. Four
events were organised which included Essay Writing, Slogan Writing, E-poster
making and Best out of Waste
1) Topics for Essay writing Competition
a)
Innovative
methods/practices for nature conservation
b)
Conservation
challenges for flora and fauna
c)
Conservation:
A tribute to mother nature
d)
Challenges
associated with conservation of natural resources
2) Topics for Slogan writing Competition
a)
Conservation of
environment
b)
Conservation of
flora and fauna
c)
Conservation of
nature-Need of the hour
3) Topic for E-Poster making: ‘Conservation of
Nature’
4) Best out of waste CONCLAVE:
Department of Biochemistry organized a Conclave titled ‘Eunoia’,
on Mental Health and Nutrition as a
Pre-event of their Annual Science Intercollegiate festival, Luminescence. ‘Eunoia’ is a Greek word
that represents a well mind, beautiful thinking and over-all wellbeing. The
Conclave was organised on Wednesday, 18th
August, 2021, at 11am.
The event had close to 300 participants from over 21 Indian states and 2
Union territories. The conclave saw participation from other nations as well
such as Philippines, Malaysia and Dubai. The speakers at the Conclave were Ms.
Amzu Parpia and Dr. Nisha Khanna. Ms. Parpia enlightened the audience with the
topic- Nutrition beyond body image and weight. Dr. Khanna intimated the
audience on the topic- Relationships, Family and Mental Health.Luminescence 2021
SVKM’s
Mithibai College (Autonomous) Department of Biochemistry organized the 16th
edition of its annual departmental science intercollegiate ‘Luminescence’, on
Saturday, 28th of August, 2021.
Our theme this year was ‘Prism of
Possibilities’. Our goal was to inspire everyone to know, that what starts out
as a single-coloured white light, can turn into a rainbow, because no matter
what obstacles life puts forward, there is always an opportunity for change.
There is always hope that we will get through the difficult times by adapting
and keeping an open mind to the possibility of something new, by sharing our
joy and passion for a particular subject, topic or art form.
Luminescence united participants from
various fields of studies and art forms, and colleges and universities all over
India, uniting a total of 213 colleges
including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM-Amritsar, IIT- Madras, Jaipuria Institute of
Management- Noida, JNU, IIT Roorkee, Christ University, NIT Hamirpur, St.
Xavier’s College-Ahmedabad, CET- Bhubaneswar, Homoeopathic Medical College and
Hospital- Chandigarh, Manipal Institute of Technology, Gokhale Institute of
Politics and Economics- Goa, DePaul Institute of Science Technology Angamaly-
Kerala, Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, and SIES college of Arts, Science
and Commerce, to name a few.
This year, the festival was held
online, on MS Teams and the events were live streamed on Facebook. We received
a thundering participation with 336 participants from 213 colleges from 24
states all over India and 1 Union Territory (Delhi). We also had an
International participation from Greece (Democritus University of Thrace). This
year, the festival consisted of 6 events-Aplomb, Meraki, Vac Cine, Titans of
Talent, Shark Tank and Work like Dr. Salunkhe.
In spite of all the hindrances posed by
the global pandemic, Luminescence has yet again been successfully and
gracefully executed. The festival continues to strive to provide learning
coupled with unity and passion for science, culture and art.