Vol. 02 NO 5
SCHOLARSHIP - PAGE 2
APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS OF RS 8
LAKHS + INTEREST FREE LOANS TO STUDY
ABROAD – 2018
WOMEN SCIENTIST SCHEME-A
DST Women Scientist
Scheme – A (WOS-A) : Fellowship
of Rs. 55,000/- p.m
Women Scientists Scheme-A (WOS-A)
provides platform to women scientists and
technologists for pursuing research in ba-
sic or applied sciences in frontier areas of
science and engineering. The scheme plays
pivotal role in gender mainstreaming as it not
only prevents brain drain from S&T system
but also train and retain women in the system.
The scheme initially offers opportunity to
work as bench-level scientists and ultimately
open new avenues for permanent position in
Science & Technology.
Scientific Disciplines:
The support available in 5 disciplines under
WOS-A namely,
i) Physical & Mathematical Sciences
(PMS),
ii) Chemical Sciences (CS),
iii) Life Sciences (LS),
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GENERATION BIOSIMILAR DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM
iv) Earth & Atmospheric Sciences (EAS),
and
v) Engineering Technology (ET)
Support :
This scheme will provide a research grant
with an upper limit of Rs. 30 lakh (for Ph.D.
or equivalent)), Rs. 25 lakh (for M.Tech/M.
Pharm or equivalent) and Rs. 20 lakh (for
M.Sc. or equivalent) for a well-defined R&D
project proposal for a period of three years.
This grant will include the fellowship of the
applicant and cost of small equipments, con-
tingencies, travel, consumables etc. Institu-
tional overhead charges will be extra.
Eligibility:
1. Persons already in employment need not
apply.
2. Women scientists, less than 27 years of
January 30th, 2018.
NEWS - PAGE 8 ADMISSIONS, JOBS
PROGRAMMABLE DROPLETS THAT
COULD ENABLE MORE EFFICIENT, COST PAGES 9-12
EFFECTIVE BIOLOGY EXPERIMENTS
DEPARTMENT OF
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
|MINISTRY OF SCIENCE &
TECHNOLOGY
| GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
By Preety Suman SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
age are not eligible.
3. Women scientists, with a minimum of
Post Graduate degree, equivalent to M.Sc.
in Basic or Applied Sciences or B.Tech. or
MBBS or other equivalent professional qual-
ifications, are eligible for this scheme. The
amount of fellowship for such candidates
will be Rs. 30,000/- PM.
4. Women scientists, with M.Tech. or MD/
MS, DM/MCH in Medical Sciences from
recognized Universities can also apply. The
amount of fellowship for such candidates
will be Rs.40,000/- PM.
5. Women scientists having Ph.D. Degree in
Basic or Applied Sciences will be entitled for
fellowship of Rs.55,000/- PM.
6. Age relaxation of 5 years would be given
to candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC and
physically challenged category.
Last Date of Application :
The Scheme is open throughout the year.
Therefore, there is no last date of application.
Procedure for Applying :
Only online submission of Project Proposal
is allowed in WOS-A
GIVE MISSED CALL TO
080-395-34707
1
January 30th, 2018.
Get Assured Opportunity
for Research
Career Under INSPIRE
Faculty Scheme January
2018- Applications
Invited
Ministry of Science and Technology
Department of Science and Technology
INSPIRE Faculty Scheme: a component
of “Assured Opportunity for Research
Career (AORC)” under INSPIRE Call for
Applications – January 2018 (Session – I)
Applications/Nominations for the session
January-2018 are invited for INSPIRE Fac-
ulty Award. INSPIRE Faculty Award Scheme
opens up an opportunity for research career
for young researchers in the age group of 27-
32 years. The upper age limit as on 01 Jan-
uary 2018 is 32 years for General Category
and 35 years for SC and ST candidates only.
• Eligible candidates, either in Direct
(A) or Nomination (B) mode, should
apply only through online. Please visit
the website: www.online-inspire.gov.
in and follow the process prescribed
therein. After submission of online ap-
plication, the candidate must obtain a
printout of the application thus submit-
ted for their records only. The Last date
of submission application ONLINE
will be 28th February 2018.
• Use of more than one Mode shall call
for rejection of application.
• Detailed Guidelines of the component
are available at the Websites: www.
inspire-dst.gov.in and www.online-in-
spire.gov.in.
14th Advertisement- 2018 (1) INSPIRE
Faculty Scheme: a component under IN-
SPIRE
The Department of Science and Technol-
ogy, Government of India, has launched the
“Innovation in cience Pursuit for Inspired Re-
search (INSPIRE)” [http://www.inspire-dst.
gov.in] program in 2008. The program aims
to attract talent for study of science and ca-
reers with research. INSPIRE includes many
components. INSPIRE Faculty Scheme of-
fers a contractual research awards to young
achievers and opportunity for independent
research in the near term and emerge as a fu-
ture leader in the long term.
a) Eligibility:
Essential
• Indian citizens and people of Indian ori-
gin including NRI/PIO status with PhD
(in science, mathematics, engineering,
2
SCHOLARSHIP
pharmacy, medicine, and agriculture
related subjects) from any recognized
university in the world,
• Those who have submitted their PhD
Theses and are awaiting award of the
degree are also eligible. However, the
award will be conveyed only after con-
firmation of the awarding the PhD de-
gree.
• The upper age limit as on 1st January
2018 should be 32 years for consid-
ering support for a period of 5 years.
However, for SC and ST candidates up-
per age limit will be 35 years.
• Publication(s) in highly reputed Jour-
nal demonstrating research potential of
the candidate.
• Candidates who are employed in reg-
ular/contractual position within India
may apply for NSPIRE Faculty Award
towards improvement and enhance-
ment of his/her career prospects but
upon selection, the candidate needs to
resign (no lien or deputation or any
type of leave would be accepted) from
the current job and organization for the
implementation of INSPIRE Faculty
Award.
Desirable
Candidates who are within top 1% at the
School Leaving Examination, IIT-JEE rank,
1st Rank Holder either in graduation or
post-graduation level university examination
(which are used presently for identifying IN-
SPIRE Scholars at under-graduate level and
INSPIRE Fellows for doctoral degree)
Mode of Applications:
• Three routes i.e. Direct, Nomination
and Institution mode are available for
applying by the eligible candidates,
• Candidates, who intended to apply
Direct or Nomination Mode, may ap-
ply online only. Application Formats
with detailed guidelines are also avail-
able at the websites: www.inspire-dst.
gov.in for information. To apply ON-
LINE, please visit the website: www.
online-inspire.gov.in and follow the
process prescribed therein. After suc-
cessful submission through ONLINE,
the candidate must obtain a print of the
application thus submitted.
• Under `Institutions Mode’, candidates
may directly approach reputed academ-
ic institutes and the host academic In-
stitute shall be required to adopt their
own internal process and mechanism
as available before forwarding names
of shot-listed candidates for final selec-
tion by the Apex Committee.
• Nominations from academic insti-
tutions or Industry R&D through
Vice-Chancellors/ Directors of Institu-
tions/ Head of Institutions/ Presidents
and Fellows of Science Academies
or Eminent Scientists from India and
Abroad based on personal knowledge.
Nominations to be sent to Indian Na-
tional Science Academy (INSA), New
Delhi.
• Eligible candidate who wishes to con-
sider in “Direct” and “Nominated”
route, may also send applications di-
rectly to Indian National Science Acad-
emy (INSA), New Delhi for consider-
ation.
b) Mode of Application:
• Two routes i.e. Direct and Nomination
mode are available for applying by the
eligible candidates. Candidates, who
intend to apply Direct or Nomination
mode, may apply only online. Detailed
guidelines are available at the web-
site: www.inspire-dst.gov.in for infor-
mation. To apply online, please visit
the website: www.online-inspire.gov.
in and follow the process prescribed
therein. After submission of applica-
tion through online, the candidate may
obtain a print of the application thus
submitted for personal use only.
• Nominations can be from academic
institutions or Industry R&D through
Vice-Chancellors/ Directors of Institu-
tions/ Head of Institutions/ Presidents
and Fellows of Science Academies
or Eminent Scientists from India and
Abroad based on personal knowledge.
Nominations need to be sent to Indian
National Science Academy (INSA),
New Delhi.
c) Method of Selection:
• A three-tier selection process i.e. Disci-
pline-based Expert Committee in case
of candidates under `Direct’ and `Nom-
ination’ mode which is followed by se-
lectin through the Apex Level Commit-
tee. Finally, INSPIRE Faculty Council
selects the candidates in all two routes
of selection modes.
• Indian National Science Academy
(INSA), New Delhi in coordination
with DST will be
• implementing this INSPIRE Faculty
Scheme up to the selection of candi-
dates for awarding INSPIRE Faculty
Award.
• Discipline-wise committees of INSA
would evaluate and screen the candi-
dates who apply on Direct and Nom-
inated Routes without support from
host-institutions.
• The Apex Committee shall finally se-
lect short-listed candidates for offer-
ing INSPIRE Faculty Award under
this Scheme and decision of the Apex
Committee for selecting candidates in
this Scheme shall further be considered
at the INSPIRE Faculty Council whose
decision is final to offer INSPIRE Fac-
ulty Award.
• Candidates, who have not identified
host institutions at the time of their
application, should do so immediately
after their final selection. All selected
candidates should avail the INSPIRE
Faculty Award within 3 months of their
final selection.
d) Amount & Duration of each INSPIRE
Faculty Award:
• Each selected INSPIRE Faculty shall
be eligible to receive a consolidated
amount equivalent to the scale of the
Assistant Professor of an IIT as Fellow-
ship amount. In addition, a Research
Grant of Rs 7 lakh per year for 5 years
shall also be provided to each success-
ful candidate.
Vol. 02 NO 5
• The INSPIRE Faculty Award is for a
maximum period of 5 (five) years.
• Each INSPIRE Faculty Awardee shall
be regulated as per guidelines available
at the
• website: www.online-inspre.gov.in and
www.inspire-dst.gov.in. Candidates
need to visit the website and read the
guidelines for reference before apply-
ing in INSPIRE Faculty Award scheme.
• In case the INSPIRE Faculty finds a
permanent position during the tenure
of the position, the Fellowship amount
shall be discontinued from the day the
INSPIRE Faculty joins in permanent
position but he/she may continue with
the INSPIRE Faculty Scheme availing
Research Grant for the remaining pe-
riod to carry out research at the new
position.
• The INSPIRE Faculty is eligible to
apply for any competitive grants from
funding agencies during the tenure
of the INSPIRE Faculty position and
would be favorably considered by DST
for future support at the end of 5 years
based on performance and technical
merit.
e) Roles and requirements of Host Insti-
tutions:
• Host institutions should be encouraged
to provide a congenial atmosphere for
the awardees to excel in their work, and
should view them as potential assets for
faculty development.
• Under no circumstances the “INSPIRE
Faculty” Award is renewable after 5
years. Host-institutions are expected to
consider “INSPIRE Faculty” for per-
manent positions in due course, subject
to meeting institutions’ performance
assessment criteria.
• Under Nomination mode, In-breeding
by host-institution is generally not en-
couraged.
• However, in case host-institutions are
willing to nominate their own PhD
students under this Scheme, specific
justifications and commitment for de-
velopment of independent directions of
research should be clearly delineated.
• Access to all common infrastructural
facilities, acceptable laboratory and of-
fice space
• (independently or on shared basis),
computing, library access, etc.,
• Information on whether desirable new
areas/directions of research are being
introduced through this scheme.
• Information on whether the INSPIRE
Faculty will be allowed to supervise
PhD students, hire research fellows,
independently or jointly with a perma-
nent faculty member.
Last Date:
Eligible students choosing ‘Direct
Mode’(A) or ‘Nomination Mode (B)’ must
apply online only in the prescribed format
on or before 28 Feb, 2018.
Application Deadline – on or before
28 Feb, 2018.
Vol. 02 NO 5
Apply for Scholarships
of Rs 8 Lakhs +
Interest Free Loans to
Study Abroad – 2018
Since its inception, the K.C. Mahindra Ed-
ucation trust has promoted education mainly
by way of scholarships and grants to deserv-
ing and needy students. Some of these were
instituted way back in the mid 1950s while
others were founded more recently, a proof
of its continuous efforts to bring about social
and economic development through a liter-
ate, enlightened and empowered populace.
About the Scholarship:
Since 1956, K. C. Mahindra Education Trust
has granted interest-free loan scholarships to
deserving students to pursue post-graduate
studies abroad in various fields.
Every year, we offer scholarships, as giv-
en below:
1) A maximum of Rs.8 lakh per scholar,
awarded to the top 3 K.C. Mahindra fellows
2) A maximum of Rs.4 lakh per scholar,
awarded to remaining successful applicants
Note:
1) The application process for the 2018
scholarship program will begin at the end of
Unique Blood Test Screens for 8
Different Cancer Types
Earlier detection is key to reducing cancer
deaths. Detecting cancers as early as possible
is a critical part of an effective treatment and
the earlier doctors figure out what’s wrong,
the higher the chances of survival for the pa-
tient.
The past few years have seen a bevy of ex-
perimental tests called liquid biopsies that
hold the promise of detecting and tracking
tumours from a simple blood draw. Many
of these tests are designed to detect a single
kind of cancer by spotting tumour-associated
mutations in DNA sequences found floating
freely in the blood.
The scientists have developed a one-stop
blood test to fish out different types of can-
cers early on, even before symptoms begin to
make an appearance.
The test was able to detect disease in about
70% of more than 1,000 people who had al-
ready been diagnosed with cancer.
The $500 test named CancerSEEK is a
unique noninvasive, multianalyte test that si-
multaneously evaluates levels of eight cancer
January 2018
2) The last date to apply for the scholarship
will be 31.03.2018
3) Students going abroad for undergraduate
studies, seminars & conferences and are not
eligible for this scholarship.
For queries on the K. C. Mahindra Schol-
arship for Post Graduate Studies Abroad
please contact Mr. Kieran Rodrigues on
rodrigues.kieran@mahindra.com or call
on (022) 2289 5526
Application Deadline: 31.03.2018
Indian Summer School
Science Scholarship @
RMIT University,
Australia
If you have attended the RMIT Summer
School program in India and are commenc-
ing an RMIT program in Computer Science,
Information Technology, Engineering or Bio-
technology, you could be eligible to apply for
this scholarship.
The scholarship will contribute AU$5,000
per year towards the annual tuition fee of
your program.
Value and Duration:
AU$5,000 per year for the standard dura-
NEWS
proteins and the presence of cancer gene mu-
tations from circulating DNA in the blood.
“The use of a combination of selected bio-
markers for early detection has the potential
to change the way we screen for cancer, and
it is based on the same rationale for using
combinations of drugs to treat cancers,”
says Nickolas Papadopoulos, Ph.D., senior
author and professor of oncology and pa-
thology.
“Circulating tumor DNA mutations can
be highly specific markers for cancer. To
capitalize on this inherent specificity, we
sought to develop a small yet robust panel
that could detect at least one mutation in
the vast majority of cancers,” says Joshua
Cohen, an M.D.-Ph.D. student at the Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine and
the paper’s first author. “In fact, keeping the
mutation panel small is essential to minimize
false-positive results and keep such screen-
ing tests affordable.”
tion of your program
Number of Scholarships Available:
Five (5) scholarships
Eligibility:
In order to qualify for this scholarship you
must:
• be an Indian citizen
• apply from India
• have attended the RMIT Indian Sum-
mer School Program
• have an excellent academic back-
ground (must have a minimum score
of 70% from a Section 1 institution or
75% from a Section 2 or 3 institution).
• commence a RMIT program in:
Computer Science
Information Technology
Engineering
Biotechnology
Not eligible? Discover more RMIT scholar-
ships offered in 2018 including:
• Science, Engineering and Health schol-
arships for Indian students (undergrad-
uate)
• Global leaders scholarships for Indian
students
• Scholarships for international students
(https://www.biotecnika.org/2018/01/
indian-summer-school-science-scholar-
ship-rmit-university/)
How to Apply:
• Select an eligible program.
• Submit an application to study at
RMIT.
• Receive an offer to study at RMIT
• Submit an application form for this
scholarship.
Terms and Conditions:
The test is composed of a detection panel
that focuses on eight proteins and 16 gene
segments. Specificity in targeting was im-
portant as false-positives can cause unnec-
essary hardship on patients. In the recently
published study the test returned only sev-
en false-positive results when used on 812
healthy control subjects. This equates to a 99
percent specificity rate.
The test was also trialed on 1,005 patients
with diagnosed cancers at various nonmeta-
static stages. On average, the test was found
to be 70 percent successful but some cancers
were more effectively picked up than others.
Breast cancer was the least positively identi-
January 30th, 2018.
• The scholarship will be paid at
AU$5,000 per year for the duration of
the program.
• Scholarship will only be paid for the
normal full-time duration of the pro-
gram.
• Applicants with a conditional offer will
need to meet the conditions of their
offer before they can be awarded the
scholarship.
• Scholarships are only available to study
in the following disciplines:
Computer Science
Information Technology
Engineering
Biotechnology
• Scholarship selection is based on ac-
ademic merit. The Scholarships are
competitive, with academic achieve-
ment forming the basis for scholarship
selection.
• Applications will be considered and
scholarships offered until all scholar-
ships have been allocated.
• Unsuccessful applicants will not be
contacted.
• Scholarship awardees will be involved
in promotional activities for RMIT.
• The scholarship payment towards tu-
ition fees will be credited two weeks
after commencement.
For full terms and conditions please view
the International Scholarships Terms and
Conditions document(PDF).
For further information:
For any questions regarding the scholarship
please contact india@rmit.edu.au
Open Date: Applications are now open.
Closing Date: 30 May 2018
By Disha Padmanabha
fied with a success rate of only 33 percent,
but ovarian cancer was extraordinarily well
identified, with a 98 percent rate of success.
It basically works like other blood-based
cancer detection tests like the prostate spe-
cific antigen test, which is sometimes used
to screen for prostate cancer. Both Cancer-
SEEK and a PSA test look for proteins. But
the PSA looks only for one kind; Cancer-
SEEK looks looks for eight, and will also
look for small pieces of DNA floating around
Next Page>>>>
3
January 30th, 2018. Vol. 02 NO 5

in a person’s blood. When these DNA frag-
ments come from a tumor cell, it’s called cir-
culating tumor DNA; another term used has
been cell-free DNA. The challenge is there
are only a very, very small number of these
ctDNA fragments to be found.
“A novelty of our classification method is
that it combines the probability of observing
various DNA mutations together with the
levels of several proteins in order to make the
final call,” says Cristian Tomasetti, Ph.D., as-
sociate professor of oncology and biostatis-
tics, who developed the algorithm. “Another
new aspect of our approach is that it uses ma-
chine learning to enable the test to accurately
determine the location of a tumor down to a
small number of anatomic sites in 83 percent
of patients.”
Although the current test does not pick up
every cancer, it identifies many cancers that
would likely otherwise go undetected. “Many
of the most promising cancer treatments we
have today only benefit a small minority of
cancer patients, and we consider them ma-
jor breakthroughs. If we are going to make
progress in early cancer detection, we have
to begin looking at it in a more realistic way,
recognizing that no test will detect all can-
cers,” says Bert Vogelstein, M.D., co-director
of the Ludwig Center, Clayton Professor of
Oncology and Howard Hughes Medical In-
stitute investigator.
The next steps for the Johns Hopkins re-
search team include ensuring that the test
works in patients who are not symptomatic.
The rates of false positive and negative re-
sults will need to decline significantly, as
either false reading would put patients in
danger.
Scientists agree that if this test does con-
tinue to improve, it could be a huge break-
through.

Biocon, Novartis Ink Pact

for Next Generation
Biosimilar Development
Program
Asia’s premier biopharmaceuticals com-
pany, Bengaluru based Biocon has now an-
nounced a global partnership with Sandoz,
a Novartis division and the global leader in
biosimilars to jointly develop and market bi-
osimilars, or generic versions of existing bio-
drugs, in markets around the world.
Biocon and Sandoz — which has already
developed a slate of 5 biologic knockoffs —
will go to work on immunology and oncol-
ogy programs together. They plan to share
development, manufacturing and regulatory
costs while splitting the profits on “a num-
ber” of new therapies.
Under the terms of the agreement, both
companies will share responsibility for end-
to-end development, manufacturing and
global regulatory approvals for a number of
products, and will have a cost and profit share
arrangement globally. Worldwide commer-
cialization responsibilities will be divided
and each company’s strengths will be lever-
aged within specific geographies.
Biocon Chairperson & Managing Direc-
tor Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said: “We are
pleased to announce our collaboration with
Sandoz for developing a set of next gener-
ation biosimilar products. This synergistic
partnership will enable us to scale up our
capabilities for an ‘end to end’ play in
the global biosimilars space. We remain com-
mitted to pursue our mission of developing
biopharmaceuticals that have the potential to
benefit a billion patients across the globe.”
Dr. Arun Chandavarkar, CEO & Joint MD,
Biocon, added: “Biocon has worked at the
leading edge of science and has demonstrat-
ed its capabilities in developing high quality
biosimilars. Our credibility has been further
endorsed by the recent USFDA approval of
our Biosimilar Trastuzumab, which is also
the first in the US. Our collaboration with
Sandoz will bolster our existing global bio-
similars portfolio comprising biosimilar an-
tibodies & insulin analogs and will enable us
to address the next wave of global biosimi-
lars opportunities.”
By Disha Padmanabha
Sandoz CEO Richard Francis remarked
that the deal “bolsters our leadership posi-
continued “Biocon is a great complement to ing our long-term commitment to increase
tion in biosimilars and positions us to con-
our proven biosimilar capabilities at Sandoz. patient access to biologics.“
tinue to lead well into the future.” Francis
Through this collaboration, we are reinforc-

Final Tally In: 42 Million

Protein Molecules Are
Present in a Single Cell
Proteins are one of the primary functional
units in biology. Protein levels within a cell
directly influence rates of enzymatic reac-
tions and protein-protein interactions. Protein
concentration depends on the balance be-
tween several processes including transcrip-
tion and processing of mRNA, translation,
post-translational modifications, and protein
degradation.
Consistent with proteins being the final
arbiter of most cellular functions, protein
abundance tends to be more evolutionarily
conserved than mRNA abundance or protein
turnover. Protein levels directly influence
cellular processes and molecular phenotypes,
contributing to the variation between individ-
uals and populations.
Although biologists have studied protein
abundance for years, the findings were re-
ported in arbitrary units, sowing confusion in
the field and making it hard to compare data
between different labs.
“It was hard to conceptualize how many
proteins there are in the cell because the data
was reported on drastically different scales,”
said Brandon Ho, a graduate student at the
University of Toronto.
The most comprehensive proteome-wide
abundance studies have been applied to the
model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
whose proteome is currently estimated at
5,858 proteins. Despite the comprehensive
nature of existing protein abundance stud-
ies, it remains difficult to ascertain whether a
given protein abundance from any individual
study, independent of other abundance stud-
ies, is reliable and accurate.
Given the influence that changes in protein
levels have on cellular phenotypes, reliable
quantification of all proteins presents nec-
essary for a complete understanding of the
functions and processes that occur within a
cell.
Therefore, researchers, through extensive
data analysis of yeast cell protein abundance,
have now produced reliable estimates of the
number of molecules in each protein of a cell
and, thus, the total number within a single
cell.
The team led by scientists at the University
of Toronto has established a “reliable esti-
mate” of 42 million for the baseline number
of those molecules in such a cell.
Led by biochemistry professor Grant Brown
of the university’s Donnelly Centre for Cel-
lular and Biomolecular Research, the team
focussed on cancer biology and the study of
how cells respond to different kinds of drugs
that are used in cancer treatment. Looking
at how the changes in “protein landscape”
By Disha Padmanabha
are important when treating cells with an
anti-cancer drug and for determining who is
predisposed to disease.
To convert these arbitrary measures into the
number of molecules per cell, Ho turned to
baker’s yeast, an easy to study single-cell mi-
crobe that offers a window into how a basic
cell works. Yeasts are also the only organism
for which scientists have a complete picture
of all the proteins encoded by the 6,000 yeast
genes, having measured their abundance
across the board in 21 studies to date. No such
datasets exist for human cells where each cell
type contains only a subset of proteins encod-
ed by the 20,000 human genes.
Next Page>>>>

4
Vol. 02 NO 5
The wealth of existing yeast data meant that
Ho could put it all together, benchmark it and
convert the vague measures of protein abun-
dance into “something that makes sense, in
other words, molecules per cell,” said Brown.
The analysis reveals for the first time how
many molecules of each protein there are in
Microbiome Could Help
Predict Development of
Cancer-Related Blood
Infections
Microbiome: we live in harmony or at least
indifference with the vast majority of these
microorganisms. That’s for the best – the
American Academy of Microbiology es-
timates that you may have as many as ten
times the number of non-human cells in your
microbiome as you have human cells in your
body. In other words, you are composed of
more them than you.
Now, a new study exploring possible indi-
cators of cancer-associated blood infections
has named microbiome to be a helpful deter-
mining factor.
It may be that an imbalanced microbiome
along with a leaky gut and not an unhygienic
central line is the cause of some bloodstream
infections.
“Basically, we wanted to see if the compo-
sition of a cancer patient’s microbiome could
predict who would go on to develop blood-
stream and Clostridium difficile infections,”
says Bryan Nycz, third year medical student
at the CU School of Medicine and the paper’s
first author.
Scientists Call Halt to
Cancer Cell Proliferation
by Shutting Down
Enzymes
The interactions between proteins and bi-
ological membranes are important for drug
development, but remain notoriously refrac-
tory to structural investigation. Further, turn-
ing these proteins or enzymes so as to say,
that are important for the survival of growing
cells is a promising strategy to fight cancer.
But to be able to shut down only one specif-
ic enzyme out of thousands in the body, drugs
have to be tailored to exactly fit their target.
This has been particularly difficult for mem-
brane proteins, as they only function when
incorporated into the membrane lipid bilayer,
and often cannot be studied in isolation.
A new study by a collaborative team of
scientists at Uppsala University, KTH Roy-
al Institute of Technology and University of
Oxford has now been able to demonstrate
that shutting down a particular enzyme could
curb the growth of cancer cells.
The team achieved this by developing a new
technique that shows how drugs inhibit the
new cancer target dihydroorotate dehydroge-
nase (DHODH).
The Erik Marklund group at the Department
the cell, with a total number of molecules es-
timated to be around 42 million
Most of the proteins exist between a range
of 1,000 and 10,000 molecules and some
exceedingly bountiful at over a half million
copies. Meanwhile, others are visible in few-
er than 10 molecules in a cell.
Techniques and insight from this study will
likely lead to new attempts to quantify pro-
The study involved the collection of 42 pa-
tient samples. These samples were collected
during a 2012 outbreak of Clostridium dif-
ficile (C. diff). First, in this population, the
composition of the microbiome differed
based on a patient’s type of cancer and type
of treatment – in other words (and as expect-
ed), the location and type of cancer, along
with cancer treatments like chemotherapy
and antibiotics, affected the diversity and
makeup of patients’ microbiomes.
Additionally, as expected, the microbiomes
of patients who had received bone marrow
transplants and subsequent therapies were
most affected.
Second, the composition of a patient’s mi-
crobiome did not necessarily predict which
patients would develop C. diff infections.
However, the scientists point out that the
relatively small sample size may have con-
tributed to not discovering a significant con-
nection between microbiome composition
and C. diff infection.
Third, the composition of a patient’s mi-
of Chemistry, Uppsala University, has to-
gether with the groups of Sir David Lane and
Sonia Lain at Karolinska Institutet used com-
puter simulations together with native mass
spectrometry, a technique where a protein is
gently removed from its normal environment
and accelerated into a vacuum chamber. The
researchers used this highly accurate ‘mo-
lecular scale’ to see how lipids (the building
blocks of the cell membrane) and drugs bind
to DHODH.
The team also found that DHODH binds a
particular kind of lipid present in the cell’s
power plant, the mitochondrial respiratory
chain complex.
“This means the enzyme might use special
lipids to find its correct place on the mem-
brane,” Michael Landreh explains.
“Our simulations show that the enzyme
uses a few lipids as anchors in the membrane.
When binding to these lipids, a small part of
the enzyme folds into an adapter that allows
the enzyme to lift its natural substrate out of
the membrane. It seems that the drug, since
tein molecules in human cells – and thus to
insights into the mechanisms involved in pro-
tein-implicated diseases.
“This study will be of great value to the en-
tire yeast community and beyond,” said Rob-
ert Nash, Senior Biocurator of the Saccharo-
myces Genome Database that will make the
data available to researchers worldwide. He
crobiome did, in fact, predict whether that
patient would develop a blood infection.
Specifically, the six patients who developed
bloodstream infections had significantly re-
duced microbiome diversity than patients
who remained free of infection. Additionally,
when Nycz and his scientific mentors exam-
ined the types of bacteria implicated in these
infections, three of the six patients who de-
veloped bloodstream infections had been in-
fected with types of bacteria that were specif-
ically abundant in their microbiome samples.
Historically, the widely-accepted term for
this type of infection in pediatric oncology
patients is “central line associated blood-
stream infection” or CLABSI. However, the
current study argues that not all bloodstream
it binds in the same place, takes advantage of
the same mechanism,” says Erik Marklund,
Uppsala University.
“The study helps to explain why some drugs
bind differently to isolated proteins and pro-
teins that are inside cells. By studying the
January 30th, 2018.
also added that by presenting protein abun-
dance “in a common and intuitive format, the
Brown lab has provided other researchers
with the opportunity to re-examine this data
and thereby facilitate study-to-study compar-
isons and hypothesis generation.”
By Disha Padmanabha
infections in this population are introduced
via central lines and that CLABSI may thus
be an inaccurate term to describe these infec-
tions.
“It’s way too early to suggest that pediatric
oncologists make predictions or manipulate
patients’ microbiomes,” says Nycz. “But our
results add to a growing body of literature
suggesting that the microbiome matters dur-
ing cancer treatment. In this case, microbi-
ome diversity and composition may help us
identify patients at greater risk for blood in-
fections.“
By Disha Padmanabha
native structures and mechanisms for cancer
targets, it may become possible to exploit
their most distinct features to design new,
more selective therapeutics,” says Sir David
Lane, Karolinska Institutet.
5
January 30th, 2018.
A Fungi Fix: Self Sufficient
Concrete that Fixes Itself
It’s hard to imagine modern life without
concrete. Thanks to its incredible strength
and versatility this man-made material is
used to build everything from superhighways
to kitchen countertops. Also, if you’ve got an
older concrete floor, you’ve got cracks- its….
natural.
Concrete structures suffer from serious de-
terioration. Cracks are very common due to
various chemical and physical phenomena
that occur during everyday use. Concrete
shrinks as it dries, which can cause cracks.
It can crack when there’s movement under-
neath or thanks to freeze/thaw cycles over
the course of the seasons. Simply putting too
much weight on it can cause fractures. Even
worse, the steel bars embedded in concrete as
reinforcement can corrode over time.
Very tiny cracks can be quite harmful be-
cause they provide an easy route in for liq-
uids and gasses – and the harmful substances
they might contain. Even a slender breach
just the width of a hair can allow enough wa-
ter in to undermine the concrete’s integrity.
And considering the aging nature of much of
the infrastructure that are in place, we may be
soon reaching a time when a large number of
structures will need either massive repairs or
a complete rebuild, both of which are costly
and lengthy processes.
Ingeniously simple and inspired by na-
ture, this “self-healing” concrete could mean
cracked roads and potholes will soon become
PCR Anywhere You Need
It: Biomeme’s Haulable
PCR is Here
A Mobile phone is capable of performing a
wide variety of stuff. At any given moment,
it can be a camera, a game console, a GPS,
or a flashlight, just to name a few of its many
guises. But Max Perelman, the CEO and
co-founder of the Philadelphia-based digital
health start-up, Biomeme, wants to add an-
other. He wants to turn the average iPhone
into a tiny laboratory.
The technology Biomeme has developed
essentially turns a smartphone into a portable
laboratory for low-cost DNA testing. It has
multiple uses to help diagnose and prevent
diseases that affect people globally, such as
diabetes and malaria.
The Biomeme team essentially has taken
the real-time PCR machine—which can cost
thousands of dollars—and made it portable.
Yep, you heard that right.
Biomeme co-founders Jesse van Westrie-
nen, a trained biologist, and Marc DeJohn, an
engineer, conceived of the idea while work-
ing together at a New Mexico startup that
was developing its own diagnostic tests.
Along with Perelman, they began making
prototypes in vanWestrienen’s mother-in-
law’s basement. Perelman pitched the idea
to various investors before hearing about and
applying to the DreamIt Health incubator.
And they were accepted.
The Biomeme PCR system works by pro-
cessing a crude sample using an M1 Sample
Prep Test Kit, which allows researchers to
extract DNA or RNA in about one minute.
6
Vol. 02 NO 5
a thing of the past.
Yes, the solution to all our infrastructural
problems is fungi!
A new technique uses fungi to fill the cracks
in concrete—creating a self-healing concrete.
“The idea was originally inspired by the
miraculous ability of the human body to heal
itself of cuts, bruises and broken bones,”
Congrui Jin, mechanical engineering profes-
sor at Binghamton University—State Univer-
sity of New York, said in a statement.
“Our work is to explore a revolutionary
self-healing concept in which fungi are used
to promote calcium mineral precipitation to
heal cracks in concrete infrastructure,” she
said. “The fungal spores, together with their
nutrients, will be added into concrete during
the mixing process. When cracks appear and
water finds its way in, the dormant fungal
spores will germinate, grow, and precipitate
calcium carbonate to heal the cracks. When Eventually, when the concrete cracks, the with the biggest issue being the survivability
the cracks are completely filled and ultimate- spores are exposed to air and water, and they of the fungus within the harsh environment
ly no more water can enter inside, the fungi become active. of concrete. However, Jin is hopeful that with
will again form spores. As the environmental further adjustments the Trichoderma reesei
conditions become favorable in later stages, The fungus grows inside the concrete, pro- will be able to effectively fill the cracks.
the spores could be wakened again.” ducing calcium carbonate as a byproduct.
While calcium carbonate—better known as “There are still significant challenges to
The researchers’ plan involves embedding limestone—isn’t exactly concrete, it does fill bring an efficient self-healing product to the
spores of a certain fungus, Trichoderma ree- the cracks and prevent the concrete from fur- concrete market. In my opinion, further in-
sei, into the concrete while it’s manufactured. ther degrading. Such a system would dramat- vestigation in alternative microorganisms
The fungus can stay dormant for months or ically extend the lifespan of concrete struc- such as fungi and yeasts for the application
years, consuming virtually no nutrients. tures. of self-healing concrete becomes of great po-
The research is still in fairly early stages tential importance,” said Jin.
The processed samples are then transferred
to a shelf-stable Biomeme Go-Strip, a 3-well
strip that is standard in PCR reactions, and is
directly placed into a small, portable thermal
cycler docked with an iPhone.
The user controls thermal cycling reactions
with the Biomeme mobile app, and data is
automatically synced to the Biomeme online By Disha Padmanabha
portal for access anywhere.
Perelman says, “With all of our develop-
ers and partners – you name it, and we have
folks using the sample prep to extract [it].”
The flexibility lends itself to a variety of
applications. “Hundreds of different groups
have been using our system, for applications
as wide as high school students collecting
ticks across the US and speciating [them] and
testing for Lyme-related pathogens,” says
Perelman, “to folks looking for endangered
and invasive fish species in waterways.” He
points out that Biomeme is also particularly then users centrally can be managing all of tem] ultimately costs the same as collecting
helpful in international research, when sam- their results and comparing results across the a sample and sending it to a central lab. But
ples cannot be transported across borders to devices.” instead of waiting days to weeks to get the
be analyzed. The “two3” thermocycling device including results, [users] are getting them in less than
the iPhone SE costs $3,995, and M1 Sample an hour.”
Another advantage of Biomeme is its cloud- Prep Test Kits are sold separately based on
based data storage and access. Imagine “an researcher needs. Biomeme is currently being used in research
organization with teams of users, and they applications only. In the near future, howev-
have multiple devices — dozens and dozens While that may seem steep, it represents er, the team hopes to obtain FDA approval for
of devices — deployed,” Perelman describes. the convenience, flexibility, and speed with use as a tool for medical diagnostics.
“The teams can work together and share pro- which the Biomeme system can process a
tocols and test results across the devices, and sample. According to Perelman, “[the sys-
Vol. 02 NO 5 January 30th, 2018.

Study Finds Cytokine

IL-23 to Play Crucial Role
in Autoimmune and
Inflammatory Diseases
Interleukin-23 (IL-23), an IL-12 family cy-
tokine, plays pivotal roles in pro-inflammato-
ry T helper 17 cell responses linked to auto-
immune and inflammatory diseases. Despite
intense therapeutic targeting, structural and
mechanistic insights into receptor complex-
es mediated by IL-23, and by IL-12 family
members in general, have remained elusive.
However, an international group of scien-
tists have now found that the cytokine IL-
23 is heavily involved in autoimmune and
inflammatory diseases, thereby opening the
door to new therapies targeting the molecule.
Prof. Savvas Savvides of the VIB-UGent
Center for Inflammation Research, who led
the study said, “We were surprised to find
that both IL-23 and its receptor change dras-
tically to create an intimate cytokine-recep-
tor interface. In this interface, the receptor
uses a functional hotspot on IL-23, enabling
it to recruit an essential co-receptor for
pro-inflammatory signaling. The binding site
of the co-receptor on IL-23 also emerged as
an unexpected finding. What we have now
discovered about the pro-inflammatory com-
plex mediated by IL-23 appears to be a new
paradigm in the field.”
Focusing on the immunomodulatory cy-
tokine IL-23 they discovered that its pro-in-
flammatory activity, which underlies a wide
range of inflammatory diseases, critically
depends on structural activation of the cy-
tokine by its receptor, IL-23R. The results of
the study are published in the leading journal
Immunity.
An estimated 125 million people world-
wide are affected by psoriasis and another
100 million by rheumatoid arthritis, while
the presence of inflammatory bowel diseas-
es (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) in
ethnic populations and previously unaffected
geographical regions is growing at alarming
rates.
Since the first description of IL-23 about a
decade and a half ago, the structural and mo-
lecular basis for the mechanisms underlying
the pro-inflammatory activity of IL-23 re- posite appeared to be true. all, many questions still remain unanswered.
mained unclear. Prof. Savvides and his team For instance: how does IL-23 bind with oth-
have now shed light on the unique way that Prof. Savvides (VIB-UGent): “These initial er possible co-receptors? Furthermore, our
IL-23 interacts with at least one of its recep- research milestones from our program on insights are expected to fuel the development
tors. In general, cytokines activate receptors. IL-23 will be the cornerstone for further re- of new therapeutic strategies against IL-23.”
But surprisingly, in the current study, the op- search in our own labs and elsewhere. After

New Enzymes Critical for

Cell Functioning
Discovered
Nitric oxide has been found to be produced
by virtually every cell type in the body and
plays an important role in controlling the nor-
mal function of cells as well as in regulating
larger scale processes such as the nervous
and immune systems.
NO has effects on neuronal transmission as
well as on synaptic plasticity in the central
nervous system. In the vasculature, NO re-
acts with iron in the active site of the enzyme
guanylyl cyclase (GC), stimulating it to pro-
duce the intracellular mediator cyclic GMP
(cGMP), which in turn enhances the release
of neurotransmitters resulting in smooth
muscle relaxation and vasodilation.
Nitric oxide via cyclic GMP can also regu-
late protein kinase G activity, protein phos-
phorylation and numerous other biological
processes.
Now, researchers at Case Western Reserve
University have discovered previously un-
known enzymes in the body that convert NO
into “stopgap” molecules—SNOs—that then
modulate proteins. The newly discovered en-
zymes help NO have diverse roles in cells.
They may also be prime therapeutic targets to
treat a range of diseases.
“Nitric oxide has been implicated in vir-
tually all cellular functions, and too much
or too little is widely implicated in disease,
including Alzheimer’s, heart failure, cancer,
asthma and infection,” says study lead Jon-
athan Stamler, MD, professor of medicine
at Case Western Reserve University School
of Medicine and President, University Hos-
pitals Harrington Discovery Institute. “The
prevailing view in the field is that too much
or too little NO is due to activity of enzymes
that make NO, called NO synthases. Howev-
er, the new findings suggest that NO synthas-
es operate in concert with two new classes
of enzymes that attach NO to target proteins,
and raise the possibility of literally hundreds
of enzymes mediating NO-based signaling.”
The groundbreaking study finally explains
how NO can have so many different func-
tions in cells. By converting NO into differ-
ent SNOs, cells can achieve different results.
The study found that the enzymes work to-
gether to control proteins through a process
called S-nitrosylation.
The team describes a chain reaction. First,
NO synthases make NO. Then, a new class
of enzymes—SNO synthases—convert NO
into SNOs, that attach to proteins and modu-
late their function. A third class transfers the
SNOs to additional proteins that control nu-
merous additional cellular functions, includ-
ing growth, movement and metabolism, and
also protect cells from injury. Without SNO
synthases, cells can’t use NO.
And there are potentially hundreds of dif-
ferent SNO–generating enzymes that make
thousands of different SNOs.
NO signaling in cells is essentially designed
to make SNOs—lots of them.
“This opens the field to new understand-
ing and opportunity, as hundreds of enzymes
likely carry out signaling inside cells through
this process. Each of these enzymes could po-
tentially be targeted specifically in disease,”
Stamler said.
With so many enzymes in the new model, it
now makes sense why drugs that increase NO
levels are not interchangeable. “The assump-
tion is that they all work the same way to in-
crease NO. But our findings suggest that NO
itself is just the first step. It’s all in what the
cell does with NO and which SNO it’s con-
verted into,” Stamler said. “Administration
of NO cannot replicate the function of SNOs
carried out by these new enzymes.”
The researchers further hope to identify in-
dividual SNO synthases in different tissues
By Disha Padmanabha
and their specific roles in disease. The new
enzymes could serve as therapeutic targets
for drug developers.
“The assumption has been that one has
to block NO production to stop this from
happening. But the treatments don’t work,”
Stamler said. Since NO has such sweeping
effects inside cells, blocking it has major side
effects. Under the new model, researchers
could target disease-specific SNO synthases
working downstream of NO.
“Now we know that we can block S-ni-
trosylation without altering NO production,”
he said. “This provides a new horizon of
therapeutic opportunities, and changes per-
spective in the field.”

7
January 30th, 2018.
Programmable Droplets
that Could Enable More
Efficient, Cost Effective
Biology Experiments
Fluids behave very differently on the micro-
metric scale than they do in everyday life and
microfluidic systems deal with very small
volumes of these fluids, down to femtoliters
(fL) which is a quadrillionth of a liter.
A microfluidic chip is a pattern of micro-
channels, molded or engraved. This network
of microchannels incorporated into the mi-
crofluidic chip is linked to the macro-envi-
ronment by several holes of different dimen-
sions hollowed out through the chip. It is
through these pathways that fluids are inject-
ed into and evacuated from the microfluidic
chip.
But the catch is that this means that they
are mechanical, and they break down all the
time. A massive part of the costs in health-
care—both in development of pharmaceuti-
cals and in lab tests—is spent on the tedious
of work of manually moving around small
amounts of liquid.
A single blood test in the United States
costs an average of $1,500. A biologist in a
lab will spend 30–50% of their time simply
moving liquids, and will go through a mas-
sive amount of disposable lab equipment in
the process.
“Biology is moving toward more and more
complex processes, and we need technolo-
gies to manipulate smaller- and smaller-vol-
ume droplets,” says Udayan Umapathi, a
researcher at the MIT Media Lab, who led
the development of the new system. “Pumps,
valves, and tubes quickly become complicat-
ed. In the machine that I built, it took me a
week to assemble 100 connections. Let’s say
you go from a scale of 100 connections to a
machine with a million connections. You’re
not going to be able to manually assemble
that.”
With his new system, Umapathi explains,
thousands of droplets could be deposited on
the surface of his device, and they would au-
tomatically move around to carry out biolog-
ical experiments.
“The operator specifies the requirements
for the experiment — for example, reagent A
and reagent B need to be mixed in these vol-
umes and incubated for this amount of time,
and then mixed with reagent C. The opera-
tor doesn’t specify how the droplets flow or
where they mix. It is all precomputed by the
software.”
8
Vol. 02 NO 5
The model uses a printed circuit board, a
printed electronic gadget that comprises of a
plastic board with copper wiring kept over it.
It is designed with a variety of terminals. In
the model, the analysts coat the board with
a substantially denser cluster of little circles,
just a micrometer high, produced using a hy-
drophobic (water-repellent) material. Beads
skate over the highest points of the circles.
The specialists are additionally exploring
different avenues regarding structures other
than circles, which may work better with spe-
cific natural materials.
The team’s aim was to plan a covering for
the surface of the circuit board that would
lessen grating, empowering beads to slide
crosswise over it, and that would keep natural
or concoction atoms from adhering to it, so
they won’t debase future investigations.
This system has a hydrophobic surface with
beads saved on it normally attempt to accept
a round shape. Charging a cathode pulls the
bead descending, straightening it out. In the
event that the cathode underneath a leveled
bead is progressively killed, while the anode
alongside it is slowly turned on, the hydro-
phobic material will drive the bead toward
the charged terminal.
Moving beads requires high voltages, some-
where close to 95 and 200 volts. However,
300 times each second, a charged cathode in
the MIT analysts’ gadget interchanges be-
tween a high-voltage, low-recurrence (1-kilo-
hertz) flag, and a 3.3-volt high-recurrence
(200-kilohertz) flag. The high-recurrence
flag empowers the framework to decide a
bead’s area, utilizing basically a similar inno-
vation that touch-screen telephones do.
In case the bead isn’t moving quickly
enough, the framework will naturally support
the voltage of the low-recurrence flag. From
the sensor flag, the framework can likewise
appraise a bead’s volume, which, together
with area data, enables it to track a response’s
advance.
Umapathi believes that digital microfluidics
could drastically cut the cost of experimental
procedures common in industrial biology. “If
you look at drug discovery companies, one
pipetting robot uses a million pipette tips in
one week. That is part of what is driving the
cost of creating new drugs. I’m starting to
develop some liquid assays that could reduce
the number of pipetting operations 100-fold.” By Disha Padmanabha
MIT researchers have developed hardware that uses electric fields to move droplets of chemical or biological solutions around a surface, mixing them in ways that
could be used to test thousands of reactions in parallel. Image: Jimmy Day
Vol. 02 NO 5
IISc Integrated PhD
Programmes
Admissions – 2018
Integrated Ph D Programmes:
The Institute offers exciting opportunities
to motivated and talented Bachelor’s degree
holders with a keen sense of scientific en-
quiry for pursuing advanced research in fron-
tier areas of Biological, Chemical, Physical
and Mathematical Sciences leading to a Ph D
degree. Experience shows that students enter-
ing this program save nearly a year compared
to those who go for a 2 year Master’s degree
program elsewhere and then join the Institute
for a Ph D program. Each year, the Institute
admits 50 to 60 students (15 to 18 in the Bi-
ological Sciences, 15 to 18 in the Chemical
Sciences, 15 to 18 in the Physical Sciences
and 12 to 15 in the Mathematical Sciences)
under this program. The program consists
of flexible course work, an internship-type
laboratory training (wherein ample opportu-
nities exist for the candidate to acquire basic
experimental skills and familiarity with ad-
vanced techniques for research), a research
project to demonstrate the attainment of a
high degree of scientific ability followed by
advanced research leading to a Ph D thesis on
a specific topic.
Eligibility, Selection Procedure, Online
Application Instructions given below:
Biological Sciences:
Department/Centre/Unit: Biochemistry,
Centre for Ecological Sciences, Molecular
Reproduction, Development & Genetics,
Molecular Biophysics, Microbiology & Cell
Biology, and Centre for Neuroscience (BS).
BASIC QUALIFICATION FOR ELI-
GIBILITY: First Class in Bachelor’s or an
equivalent degree in Physical, Chemical or
Biological Sciences (including Biotechnolo-
gy, Pharmaceutical, Veterinary Sciences and
Agricultural Sciences).
Areas of Research: Biomembranes –
Physical and Physiological Studies; Struc-
ture-Function of Nucleic Acids; Gene
Structure and Function in Prokaryotes and
Eukaryotes; Microbial and Human Genet-
ics; Recombinant DNA Technology; Molec-
ular Virology and Mechanisms of Disease
Processes; Enzymology, Protein Chemistry
and Engineering; Cellular and Applied Im-
munology; Molecular Endocrinology and
Reproductive Biology; Conformation of Bi-
omolecules and Biopolymers; Protein and
Virus Crystallography; Structural Biology;
ADMISSIONS
Mathematical Ecology; Human Ecology;
Behaviour and Sociobiology; Conservation
Ecology; Evolutionary Biology, Ecophysiol-
ogy, Plant Molecular Biology and Develop-
ment, Imprinting, Molecular Oncology, Cell
Biology. Neurobiology of diseases, Nervous
System Development; Learning and Memory
and Synaptic Physiology; Cognitive Neuro-
science and Computation in visual and motor
systems.
Eligibility:
Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in Bi-
ology/Biotechnology/ Chemistry/ Physics/
Mathematics/ Pharmacy/ Veterinary Scienc-
es/ Agriculture as applicable to individual
disciplines, under the 10+2+3/4 system, are
eligible to apply to this program.
Candidates with BE/ B Tech degrees who
qualify in the Mathematics/ Mathematical
Statistics paper in JAM are eligible to apply
for the Mathematical Sciences.
Candidates with BE/ B Tech degrees who
qualify in the Biotechnology paper in JAM
are eligible to apply to the Biological Scienc-
es.
Candidates who seek admission to the Inte-
grated Ph D programmes at IISc should qual-
ify in JAM 2018 and must submit the IISc
online application during February/March
2018. The JAM result must be updated online
in the Applicant’s Interface immediately after
the JAM results are announced.
Candidates who have cleared JEST 2018
and seek admission to the Integrated Ph D
programme in the Physical Sciences are also
eligible to apply.
Additional notes
(a) The minimum requirement for ad-
mission to the Integrated Ph D program is
a FIRST CLASS or equivalent Grade in the
Bachelor’s degree (as declared by the Uni-
versity) as indicated against each department.
(b) The minimum requirement of a FIRST
CLASS in the qualifying examination is re-
laxed to PASS CLASS for SC/ST candidates.
(c) Some departments have specific re-
quirements of subjects at the Bachelor’s or
10+2 levels. Candidates have to ensure that
they meet these requirements.
(d) Those in the final year of their qualify-
ing examination and awaiting results are also
eligible to apply. However, they should have
completed all the requirements for the award
of the qualifying degree, including all exami-
nations, dissertation projects, viva-voce, etc.,
by the time of joining, i.e., by the end of July
2018.
Integrated Ph D Programmes – The disci-
plines, minimum qualifications and areas of
research are listed in the table given below.
Candidates can choose to apply to a maxi-
mum of 2 disciplines.
Selection Procedure:
The short-listing of candidates for interview
is done based on the performance in JAM
2018. Short listing for Physical Sciences is
also done based on JEST 2018. Interviews
are held during 28 to 30 May 2018.
Selection – For Biological, Physical and
Mathematical Sciences selection will be
based on the combined performance in the
Test and in Interview. For Chemical Scienc-
es, selection will be based only on the perfor-
mance in the Interview.
Candidates written the following papers
in JAM are eligible for the discipline(s) to
which they seek admission.
• Biological Sciences
• Biological Sciences (BL) or Biotech-
nology (BT) or Chemistry (CY) or
Mathematics (MA) or Physics (PH)
Notes
(a) The interview letters for the short-list-
ed candidates will be sent by email at least
2 weeks in advance. Such candidates shall
make necessary arrangements for attending
the interview. No separate communication
will be sent by post. TA (second class sleeper
class train fare) will be paid to all the can-
didates who attend the interview. The SC/ST
candidates are invited to come to the Institute
one week before the interview date and inter-
act with the faculty members of the Institute.
(b) Candidates called for an interview have
to make their own arrangements for travel
and accommodation etc.
(c) Candidates called for an interview
should bring with them attested copies of
all the transcripts (marks cards from SSLC
or equivalent onwards, degree certificates of
the qualifying examination, etc.) and produce
them before the interview committee, failing
which, they will not be interviewed.
(d) Candidates belonging to the SC/ST cate-
gory should bring the original caste/tribe cer-
tificates, issued by competent authorities for
purposes of verification.
(e) Candidates belonging to the Persons
with Disability (PwD) and Kashmiri-Migrant
(KM) categories should produce the originals
of the appropriate certificates, issued as per
Government of India rules.
(f) The offer letter for the selected candi-
dates will be posted on IISc website www.
iisc.ac.in/admissions during the second week
of June. They can download the offer letter
and make necessary arrangements including
payment of fees etc. No separate communi-
cation will be sent by post.
(g) The candidates admitted to the Integrat-
ed Ph D programmes should report to the In-
stitute for completing admission formalities
on 26.07.2018.
(h) At the time of joining, candidates should
have completed all the requirements for the
January 30th, 2018.
award of the qualifying degree including
all examinations, dissertation projects, vi-
va-voce, etc.
(i) Only candidates who produce all the
mark sheets and degree certificates (original
or provisional) issued by the University Au-
thority will be given regular admission.
(j) Candidates who are awaiting results but
have completed all formalities for the award
of a degree should produce at the time of
joining, a Course-Completion Certificate, is-
sued by the Head of the institution (The Prin-
cipal/Registrar). Such candidates will be giv-
en only provisional admission, which will be
regularized on their producing all the marks
sheets and degree certificates (original, or
provisional) etc., issued by the University
Authority on or before 31 October 2018, fail-
ing which, the provisional admission stands
cancelled.
(k) Candidates who are given provisional
admission are eligible for a scholarship only
on regularisation of admission (on produc-
tion of the required documents). They will be
paid a scholarship with retrospective effect,
i.e., from the date of joining.
Please check Online Application Instruc-
tions: https://www.biotecnika.org/2018/01/
iisc-integrated-phd-programmes-admis-
sions-2018/
IMPRS-PMPG Doctoral
Programme
Admissions – 2018
Applications are open for IMPRS-PMPG
Doctoral Programme Admissions – 2018.
Its a joint initiative of the University of
Potsdam and the Max Planck Institute of
Molecular Plant Physiology.
International Max Planck Research
School ‘Primary Metabolism and Plant
Growth’
Next Page>>>>
9
January 30th, 2018.
The IMPRS ‘Primary Metabolism and Plant
Growth’ (IMPRS-PMPG) is a joint initiative
of the University of Potsdam and the Max
Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiolo-
gy. The IMPRS-PMPG programme has been
running since 2007. We are accepting talent-
ed graduate students into the programme at
regular intervals. For more information, read
on and explore the links on the left hand side.
Research Focus:
Plant growth, seen from a physiological
point of view as resource (carbon, nutrients)
acquisition and its conversion into plant bio-
mass, is the main focus of the IMPRS-PMPG.
The research projects of our doctoral students
aim to elucidate plant growth and biomass
acquisition from this physiological point of
view with primary metabolism as a starting
point.
Multicellular organisms adjust their growth
and development in response to a multitude
of endogenous and exogenous cues including
nutrient and water availability, activities of
bioenergetics pathways, light and tempera-
ture. In order to thrive, they must optimize
the use of available resources, balancing
their needs for energy, biosynthetic building
blocks, and reserves. Whereas animals satis-
fy their demand of organic nutrients by feed-
ing on plants or other animals, green plants
produce all of their own organic compounds.
A plant’s ability to grow thus depends entire-
ly on its own photosynthetic and metabolic
capacity.
The rate of growth and development has to
be adjusted to the metabolic status of a plant.
To achieve this, the metabolic status needs
to be translated into an appropriate response.
Thus, growth and primary metabolism are
highly interconnected via multiple cross-act-
ing regulatory mechanisms and controls.
To study the relationship between primary
metabolism and growth, we are following
a systems-oriented approach, using Arabi-
dopsis thaliana and other model plants. Our
research combines cutting-edge analytical
techniques, molecular phenotyping (-omics)
technologies and physiology with bioinfor-
matics and modelling approaches.
Research is at the core of the doctoral pro-
gramme. IMPRS-PMPG students conduct
their research projects under the supervision
of our faculty members, within their groups
and departments. You can find more informa-
tion about the faculty of the IMPRS-PMPG,
their research interests and links to their web-
sites on the IMPRS Faculty page.
Doctoral Training within IMPRS-PMPG:
Our IMPRS is an interdisciplinary doctoral
programme devoted to scientific excellence
in plant biology, with a focus on plant sys-
tems biology and plant genomics. Research is
at the core of the doctoral programme.
The programme provides intellectual and
technical training through original research,
interdisciplinary dialogue, and training of
transferable skills.
Our doctoral candidates are highly
skilled young researchers.
The doctoral research projects of our stu-
dents are carried out in our faculty members’
research groups, under the direct supervision
of the faculty member and senior scientists in
his or her group.
In addition, each doctoral student is support-
ed by an independent PhD advisory commit-
tee (PAC). The PhD advisory committee is
designed to give guidance to the student and
evaluate the progress of the research project
10
during yearly meetings. The PAC comprises
2-3 members and is tailored to the needs of
the student and his or her thesis project. At
least one of the committee members has to
be from another department than the student,
and the student’s direct supervisor is not a
member of the committee.
The elements of our curriculum and doc-
toral training have three major aims:
• Support of doctoral candidates and
their scientific projects
• Promotion of interdisciplinary dialogue
• Development of transferable skills
The doctoral candidates within IM-
PRS-PMPG come from a variety of scientific
backgrounds – biology, biochemistry, chem-
istry, bioinformatics, physics and mathemat-
ics. Their research projects have an experi-
mental or theoretical/bioinformatics focus
or combine both approaches. We aim to be
as flexible as possible in our scientific and
complementary training so that the curricular
activities fit the individual needs of each PhD
student and his or her thesis project.
Students who work on one side of the spec-
trum – experimental or theoretical – come
into contact with the other side of the spec-
trum during the various weekly seminars at
different levels in the MPI-MP and, more
directly, the monthly IMPRS seminar where
IMPRS students present and discuss their
research projects. In addition, the yearly IM-
PRS retreat provides a valuable opportunity
for our students to exchange knowledge and
experience and to discuss new research ideas
in interdisciplinary teams.
Application for the IMPRS-PMPG:
Requirements and Procedure
The IMPRS-PMPG doctoral programme is
open for students from all countries. Once
you are accepted into the programme, you
will be enrolled as doctoral student at the
University of Potsdam.
Below you find information about require-
ments for the doctoral programme and your
application.
The IMPRS-PMPG application call for
doctoral projects starting in summer/au-
tumn 2018 is now open.
Degree Requirements:
To be accepted as a doctoral student, you
must hold a Master, Diplom, or equiva-
lent degree in a subject relevant to our pro-
gramme. In exceptional cases we may accept
students with an excellent BSc (1st class hon-
ours; 4-year degree) who may need to attend
additional courses and seminars during their
first year. Additional requirements will be de-
fined on a case-by-case basis.
Language Requirements:
The language of the programme is English.
Therefore, a very good knowledge of English
is absolutely required, both for the selec-
tion interview and later for the doctoral pro-
gramme. A working knowledge of German is
very useful for living in Germany but is not
required for the doctoral programme.
We encourage you to support your applica-
tion with scores of internationally valid lan-
guage exams like TOEFL, IELTS, or other
tests. This will make the evaluation of your
application easier for us. If you do not sup-
port your application with an English test we
may conduct a telephone interview with you
before the interview workshop in Potsdam.
Institution code (DI code) for the TOEFL
test: 4240 (Max Planck Institute of Molecular
Plant Physiology)
Required Documents:
At the end of the online application we ask
you to upload the following two documents
as PDF:
• Your CV including a personal statement
about your motivation. The personal
statement is similar to the cover letter
you would write in a written applica-
tion. We would like to hear about your
research interests, your background
and career goals. With your motivation
statement you can tell us why specifi-
cally you would like to join our doctor-
al programme and convince us that you
are an ideal candidate.
• Your academic degree documents,
transcripts and language test. These
are documents relevant to your appli-
cation: your Bachelor and Master de-
gree certificates and transcripts, for ex-
ample. In addition, if you have taken a
language test include a copy of the test
certificate. All submitted documents
and certificates must be in English or
German. If they are not in either lan-
guage, please submit a copy of the orig-
inal document and a translation into
English. Candidates who are accepted
into the programme will have to show
the original documents and, if applica-
ble, certified translations into English
when they register with the University.
All documents should be converted into
PDF format before uploading them. If possi-
ble, try to optimize the size of the PDF.
Please note that we can only consider appli-
cations that are complete.
Research Interest:
In our application form, we ask you to
name three IMPRS faculty members whose
research is of interest to you and whose re-
search groups you would like to join should
you be a successful candidate. You should
explain your motivation for choosing a re-
search group and tell us why specifically you
are interested in the research of this group.
Moreover, we ask you to write an essay that
addresses the research of the group that you
would like to join the most. In your essay,
you can show us your ability to think inde-
pendently and creatively about science.
You can find a list of our faculty members
with brief descriptions of their research on
the “IMPRS faculty” page. If you click on the
name of a faculty member, you are guided to
their websites where you find more informa-
tion about the research in the faculty mem-
ber’s group and department. Please note that
some faculty members may not be available
for new projects during specific application
calls.
All applications will be reviewed during
the application time frame. A shortlist will
be created based on the best applications
and excellent reference letters. Please do not
send references directly to us, we will contact
your referees. We may contact your referees
before the application deadline, and we may
also contact you if we have any questions re-
garding your application.
The best candidates will be invited for our
two-day selection workshop. The workshop
will take place about 8-10 weeks after the
application deadline. On the first day, can-
Vol. 02 NO 5
didates will give a 10 minute oral presenta-
tion about their previous scientific work (e.g.
their Masters thesis) and are then asked ques-
tions by the audience for 5-10 minutes. On
the second day of the workshop, there will be
half hour interviews with faculty and coordi-
nators. We may provide you with one or two
publications as preparatory material for the
interviews 10 days in advance. During the
workshop, you will have the chance to visit
research groups and talk to group members.
You will also get the chance to meet students
from the doctoral programme and get a guid-
ed tour to learn more about the Institute and
University of Potsdam.
Final decisions for the awarding of doctoral
fellowships will be within three weeks after
the selection workshop.
Key Information and Dates for the Ap-
plication Round:
The IMPRS-PMPG application procedure
is online only. The link to the application
portal is on the right hand side of this page.
You can find more information below and
on the second page. You can download a PDF
with instructions, tips and a field-by-field
guide for the online application at “Helpful
Hints” on the right. When our application call
is closed, the PDF will give you an idea of
the information we ask for. Please read all in-
formation carefully before you apply via the
online portal during application calls.
Key dates for the application round
2017/2018
Application deadline:
The application portal will close at mid-
night CET on 12 February 2018.
First shortlist (aka “long list”): The first
shortlist will be created until end of February
2018. We will contact your referees in late
February or early March if you are on this
shortlist.
Invitations for interviews:
Decisions about whom we invite for in-
terviews will be made in March. Invita-
tions will be sent out by March 26, 2018.
Interview workshop:
The selection interviews will be held at
the end of April (week starting April 23rd).
Application Deadline – 12 February
2018.
Arturo Falaschi ICGEB
PhD Fellowship
Programmes (Life
Sciences)
Next Page>>>>
Vol. 02 NO 5
ICGEB offers competitive Pre-doctoral
Fellowships in Life Sciences to highly mo-
tivated scientists wishing to pursue PhD re-
search studies in a world-class scientific en-
vironment. Fellowships include participation
in a competitive research programme, access
to state-of-the-art facilities, participation
in ICGEB Meetings, Seminars and Journal
Clubs and a competitive stipend, plus full
coverage of tuition fees and health insurance.
The Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowship
Programmes:
The Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowships
programme offers long and short-term fel-
lowships for scientists who are nationals of
ICGEB Member States to perform research
in Trieste, New Delhi or Cape Town.
PhD Fellowships:
ICGEB offers postgraduate studies with the
aim of obtaining the “Doctor Philosophiae”
(PhD) degree in the life sciences. Thanks to
specific agreements, the title can be awarded
through a number of academic institutions
of international standing, which include The
Open University (UK) and the International
School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Tri-
este, Italy, the Jawaharlal Nehru University in
New Delhi and the University of Cape Town
in South Africa.
The structure of the three-year PhD course
includes intensive laboratory research activi-
ties, participation in seminars and communi-
cation training during Journal Club sessions,
symposia and international meetings.
Eligibility:
Applicants must be nationals of an ICGEB
Member State. Nationals of India and South
Africa, ICGEB Host Countries, are not eligi-
ble to apply for ICGEB Fellowships in their
home country.
Degree requirements: applicants for
ICGEB Trieste should hold a BSc (Honours)
degree; applicants for ICGEB Cape Town
and New Delhi should hold an MSc degree.
Candidates must have a good working
knowledge of the English language, sup-
ported by a proficiency certificate (TOEFL,
Cambridge Certificate, or equivalent). Not
required when scholastic education has been
undertaken in English. Candidates for Tri-
este, Italy must be below the age of 32 years
at the time of application (i.e. date of birth
after 31/03/1986). There is no age limit for
applications for ICGEB New Delhi and Cape
Town.
Financial Support:
Duration: 3 years PhD course with the pos-
sibility of 1-year extension.
Monthly stipend: Trieste (Italy): Euro
1,300, New Delhi (India): US$ 1,020, Cape
Town (South Africa): ZAR 12,500.
Travel: the fellowship includes provision
for travel expenses from the student’s home
country to the ICGEB lab at the beginning of
the fellowship and a return travel provision
upon completion of the fellowship. Medical
health insurance coverage is provided for the
duration of the fellowship. University tuition
fee is covered for the entire PhD registration
period. Visa/permit of stay application and
renewal costs are reimbursed. Support for
participation in Meetings and Courses is gen-
erally provided by the Group Leader / PI.
ICGEB makes no financial provision,
nor can it provide administrative support
for family members of participants in the
programme.
To Apply:
Applicants should contact the ICGEB
Group Leader/PI of their choice with a moti-
vation letter, to determine availability of lab-
oratory space and to define the research pro-
ject proposal that will form an integral part of
the application.
Submission:
Please complete this application on line.
In addition, please upload a single pdf doc-
ument containing all requested attachments
(see application form below).
Selection:
All submitted applications will be transmit-
ted to the respective ICGEB Liaison Officer
in the country of which you are a national for
endorsement. Endorsement is a fundamental
requirement for the Fellowship to be award-
ed.
The ICGEB Fellowships Selection Com-
mittee will evaluate complete and endorsed
applications received by the closing date.
The main criteria for selection include scien-
tific excellence of the project, the qualities of
the candidate’s CV and potential benefit for
the home country.
The candidates will be notified of the out-
come by e-mail as soon as possible following
the closing date for applications.
Accomodation:
• ICGEB Trieste: A Housing Service is
run through the Welcome Office – Fri-
uli Venezia Giulia. For further informa-
tion please see: http://www.icgeb.org/
trieste-housing.html
• ICGEB New Delhi: A Guest House is
run on campus, on a twin-share basis,
for a nominal rate.
• ICGEB Cape Town: Accomodation
support is provided to fellows. Ar-
rangements are agreed prior arrival.
Doctoral Programme @
University of Verona |
14 Positions Available
The INVITE doctoral programme aims to
encourage each student’s intellectual curi-
osity and support the acquisition of critical
thinking skills by training them in the use
of innovative theoretical tools and practical
methods.
The students’ research activities will be
finalised by the completion of a specif-
ic research project, but added value will be
achieved by incorporating two additional
generic objectives: to acquire theoretical, ex-
perimental and procedural skills; and to di-
rect research towards problems relevant for
society, industry, or the general development
of a scientific field.
The training and research programme in-
cludes three main components:
• The training and research programme
of the PhD courses
• A meta-disciplinary training pro-
gramme
• A coaching, counselling and vocational
guidance
We are glad to pre-announce the INVITE
call for candidatures.
The call officially opens on 15 January
2018 and closes at 16 April 2018. From 15
January 2018 you can start the application
on a specific online system.
You can already get a lot of information
about the call on this website in order to be
ready when the call opens. Please, keep in
your mind that the call must be approved
by the Steering Commission of INVITE and
light changes and details might be introduced
by the official text.
The call in short
The University of Verona is looking for 14
PhD candidates of any nationality and of any
age who wish to embark on a doctoral pro-
gramme of the University of Verona. We to-
tally offers 14 PhD positions in all disciplines
covered by the PhD Programmes of our uni-
versity, organised in four Graduate Schools:
Arts and Humanities; Legal and Economic
Sciences; Health and Life Sciences; Natural
and Engineering Sciences.
Training and research programme of the
PhD courses
Each INVITE PhD student will be enrolled
in one of the fourteen PhD courses of the
University of Verona:
Health and Life Sciences
• Applied Life and Health Sciences
• Biomolecular Medicine
• Cardiovascular Sciences
• Clinical and Experimental Biomedical
Sciences
• Inflammation, Immunity and Cancer
• Neuroscience, Psychological and
Psychiatric Sciences, and Movement
Sciences
Natural and Engineering Sciences
• Biotechnology
• Computer Science
• Nanosciences and Advanced Technol-
ogies
In addition to the specific core training of-
fered within the chosen doctoral course, PhD
students will be involved in a series of ac-
tivities, including seminars and specialisa-
tion courses, which will help to broaden their
knowledge on topics of interest that are rele-
vant for their research projects. Students will
be encouraged to attend and/or contribute to
international conferences and workshops, in
order to enhance their capacity to present and
discuss scientific data.
Who Can Apply?
Few restrictions apply to candidates.
• You must not have lived in Italy for
more than 12 months in the 3 years im-
mediately before the call deadline, i.e.
January 30th, 2018.
in the period from 15 January 2015 to
15 January 2018;
• You must hold a Master’s Degree that
grants you the access to PhD pro-
grammes;
• You must not already hold a PhD and
must have less than 4 years of research
experience.
Research Areas:
Health and Life Sciences
• Genomics, Epidemiology–biostatistics,
and Microbiology - PhD programme in
Applied Life and Health Sciences
• Biochemistry, and Clinical Proteomics
and Genomics- PhD programme in Bi-
omolecular Medicine
• Cardiovascular Science - PhD pro-
gramme in Cardiovascular Sciences
• Epidemiology, Genetics and Patho-
physiology - PhD programme in Clin-
ical and Experimental Biomedical
Sciences
• Inflammation, Immunity and Cancer -
PhD programme in Inflammation, Im-
munity and Cancer
• Neurosciences, Psychological and
Psychiatric Sciences, and Movement
Sciences - PhD programme in Neuro-
science, Psychological and Psychiatric
Sciences, and Movement Sciences
Natural and Engineering Sciences
• Plant biotechnology - PhD programme
in Biotechnology
• Medical informatics, Biomedical im-
age processing and Bioinformatics -
PhD programme in Computer Science
• Nanoscience in translation - Phd Pro-
gramme in Nanosciences and Ad-
vanced Technologies
For further information about the research
topics, please contact the people indicated at
the bottom of each research area presenta-
tion.
How to Apply?
You must apply electronically by 16 April
2018 through a specific platform. The sub-
mission system will open on 15 January
2018.
To apply you need to fill in an online ap-
plication form, upload a CV and some addi-
tional documents (Bachelor’s and Master’s
Degree certificate, Diploma Supplement),
upload a motivation and presentation letter
and reference letters.
You are also expected to propose a research
proposal within 14 different research areas.
What are the employment conditions:
The INVITE PhD students will be en-
rolled in the PhD programme starting in the
Academic Year 2018/2019 and they will
be employed from 1st of October 2018 to
30th September 2021, under a 36-month re-
search contract, as defined by the Italian Law
240/2010 Art. 22 (“assegno di ricerca”). It is
a temporary work contract introduced specif-
ically for universities and research organisa-
tions, that includes retirement contributions
and social charges.
The salary will be paid on a monthly basis
and is composed by the following compo-
nents (gross amounts):
• Living allowance: €2000/month for 36
months;
• Mobility allowance: €600/month for
11
January 30th, 2018.
36 months;
• Family allowance: €150/month for 36
months for students with family obli-
gations at the call deadline.
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
(IAVI) is a global, not-for-profit, public-pri-
vate product development partnership or-
ganization whose mission is to ensure de-
velopment of safe, effective and accessible
preventive HIV vaccines for use through-
out the world. Over the last 15 years, IAVI
has been instrumental in building bridges
between diverse sectors, creating a unique
end-to-end network of global partnerships
with stakeholders in 25 countries that ensure
participation across regions and domains to
accelerate HIV vaccine design and develop-
ment, and ensure that a vaccine is made avail-
able and utilized by those who need it most.
IAVI in India is focused on facilitating unique
partnerships and inter-disciplinary collabora-
tions with key stakeholders nationally and
globally towards accelerating the design and
development of affordable and accessible
HIV vaccines and other biomedical tools of
prevention to help address diseases of public
health interest in India and globally. These
partnerships nurture emerging science; sup-
port capacity and capability building through
trainings, information exchange and tech-
nology transfer, and assist in strengthening
implementation science capacity to aid in al-
leviating the health-burden created by these
diseases.
Job Opportunity:
Job Title : Program Specialist
Location : New Delhi
Reports to : Senior Associate Director,
Vaccine R&D, IAVI, India
Position Summary:
IAVI is currently seeking qualified applicants
to engage in the design and coordination of
research initiatives/programs in India (along
12
As PhD students of the University of Vero-
na you will have access to a lot of services
and social benefits.
You can find more information about the
JOBS
with Africa and other global partners). Spe-
cifically, the applicant would:
• Aid in outlining collaborative research
activities that are critical to HIV pre-
vention and vaccine research and devel-
opment. Such research activities would
focus on population-based studies across
the spectrum of HIV disease including:
• Community engagement (Socio-behav-
ioral and epidemiology research);
• Clinical research (Establishment of spe-
cific cohorts and biorepository);
• Translational research towards under-
standing the disease and delineating
host-pathogen interactions for identifi-
cation of molecular signatures associat-
ed with disease progression and control;
• Product design and development, par-
ticularly for vaccines and monoclonal
antibodies;
• (The applicant may have expertise in one
or more of the above areas)
• Work with the team to outline and im-
plement capacity and capability building
efforts including specific trainings, tech-
nology transfer and knowledge sharing
activities in the above-mentioned areas
and set up appropriate linkages through
industry-academia involvements;
• Coordinate relations with existing inter-
nal and external stakeholders including
national and international advisors and
experts and assist in writing grants and
program proposals.
• Facilitate implementation, coordination
and management of various programs,
as requested by the team lead.
The position provides a unique opportunity
for a professional seeking prospects to lead
a strategic portfolio growth, and design and
implementation of innovative technical ap-
employment conditions on this webpage.
Please, visit regularly this website to get up-
to-date and do not miss the deadline.
PROGRAM SPECIALIST POSITION FOR
LIFE SCIENCES CANDIDATES @
INTERNATIONAL AIDS VACCINE
INITIATIVE (IAVI)
proaches. As a technical specialist, the role
may offer global exposure combined with
opportunity for program management and
participation in various programs of national
significance.
Exemplary Skills Required:
• Evidence of specific training in one or
more of the above mentioned areas, ide-
ally a PhD in life science/epidemiology/
other allied fields from a top institution;
• Experience (2 – 3 years) in design and
implementation of related research stud-
ies with in-depth technical and opera-
tional knowledge, for example towards
research preparedness for research and
development of biomedical tools (prefer-
ably in HIV), clinical and immune-biol-
ogy research, and product development;
• Outstanding analytical skills; ability to
do deep primary research, analyse and
draw conclusions;
• Excellent organizational skills; strong
interpersonal relationship skills; must
have excellent communication skills –
both written and verbal;
• Computer skills, including internet nav-
igation and various office applications;
• Maturity and poise to interact with sen-
ior leadership and both internal and ex-
ternal stakeholders with ability to navi-
gate conversations;
• Enjoy both working independently and
collaboratively in a small collegial team
environment with honesty, integrity, in-
tellectual curiosity;
• A self-starter with the ability to deliver
under pressure, and meet deadlines ef-
fectively.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are
Vol. 02 NO 5
https://www.biotecnika.org/2018/01/doc-
toral-programme-university-verona/
representative of those that must be met by an
employee to successfully perform the essen-
tial functions of this job. Reasonable accom-
modations may be made to enable individu-
als with disabilities to perform the essential
functions. Specific visions abilities required
by this job include close vision, distance vi-
sion, color vision, peripheral vision, depth
perception and abilities to adjust focus.
Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics de-
scribed here are representative of those an
employee encounters while performing the
essential functions of this job. Reasonable
accommodations may be made to enable in-
dividuals with disabilities to perform the es-
sential functions.
Compensation:
IAVI shall offer a competitive salary and ben-
efits package commensurate with experience.
Duration of Project:
1 year contract with possibility of extension
subject to satisfaction of service delivery and
funding.
To Apply:
Please send your CV along with a cover
letter to schatrath@iavi.org and mpant@
iavi.org .
IAVI is an equal opportunity employer and
encourages applications from diversity can-
didates.