DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
The scope of biotechnology is never ending as the power to alter life has just seen its beginning. The field of biotechnology is steadily growing in India – we are among the top 12 destinations for biotechnology education in the world, valued at $137 billion USD in 2023, the Indian Biotechnology Industry is slated to reach 150 billion USD by 2025 (Source:https://investindia.gov.in, 2024).
The Department of Biotechnology at JIIT, NOIDA, established in 2002, remains committed to provide innovative research-informed teaching and learning, and vibrant R & D environment. Faculty with rich research exposure in academia and industry both in India and abroad contributes to the department academic core.
In response to continuously evolving technology and industry needs, curriculum is designed to impart skill sets enabling adaptation to academia, research, and industry. The curriculum provides engineering interface and integrates core subject area knowledge with professional development; focusing on entrepreneurship, analytical and research skills. Students undertake basic courses in genetics, molecular biology, genetic engineering and plant and animal tissue culture as well as specialised courses such as genetic screening and personalised medicine, bioprocess engineering and industrial microbiology, immunotechnology, nanotechnology and biosensors, as electives. Two minor projects of duration of one semester and one major project of two semesters duration help the students in transforming their theoretical knowledge to practical applications (Detailed curriculum : http://www.jiit.ac.in/curriculum-structure-%E2%80%93-4-years-btech-biote...).
Flexible credit-based systems and option to choose from diverse elective subjects provide a wonderful opportunity to the students to broaden their knowledge and also obtain proficiencycertificates in areas such as Industrial Biotechnology, Medical Biotechnology, Plant and Microbial Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, Environmental Biotechnology and Food Biotechnology. Students can also opt for Minor specialization in other branches of Engineering like Computer Science and Engineering and Information Technology, by opting for some extra credits.
The program is fully supported by excellent laboratories for all the core courses like Genetics, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Fermentation and Bioprocess Lab, Bioinformatics and some advanced laboratories such as Transcriptomics lab, Nanotechnology and Drug Delivery, Plant and Animal cell culture labs sponsored by external funding agencies. These labs are equipped with state-of-the-art instruments to encourage students to follow the trajectory of biotechnology experimentation during practical classes and projects. Institutional Bio-safety Committee (IBSC) and Institutional Ethical Committee (IEC) are in place as per mandatory requirement of Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, to generate awareness and monitor bio-safety aspects and regulations. (Link to Laboratories page: http://www.jiit.ac.in/biotechnology-laboratories)
THRUST AREAS OF THE DEPARTMENT
The departmental research is broadly segregated into three Centres as below:
- Center of Excellence in Emerging Diseases
“Centre of Excellence in Emerging Diseases” addresses the questions of molecular mechanism/pathogenesis/host pathogen interactions of emerging and re-emerging viral (Chikungunya & Chandipura) and bacterial pathogens (Mycobacterium and others) and life style diseases such as obesity & diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and CNS disorders using both wet laboratory and tools of computational biology/bioinformatics (genomics, proteomics and evolutionary approaches). Research emphasis is also on peptide based therapeutics, regulatory peptides, biosensor and ELISA based diagnostics, and drug encapsulated nanoparticles and nanoemulsions.
Thrust area includes
- Disease and Omics Technology
- Bioinformatics
- Nanotechnology
- Industrial Biotechnology
- Medical Biotechnology
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
(Link to Centre organisation and activities: Click Here
- Center of Excellence in Plant & Microbial Biotechnology
Plant & Microbial Biotechnology group addresses growing concern over environmental pollution, depleting natural resources and increasing demand of natural bio-products of therapeutic and industrial importance (food flavours-microbial production of Vanillin and probiotics; enzymes -Laccase, protease, tannase, polyphenol oxidase, keratinase from microbial sources, biosynthesis of chitosan, cellulose from microbial sources for bioprocess applications, bio-inoculants of plant and microbial origin for plant growth promotion and antibiosis, microbial remediation of organophosphate pesticides, biocatalyst for the removal of nitrogen and sulphur from petroleum products, phytoremediation of heavy metals-copper (Cu) and lead (Pb); screening for antimicrobial compounds-peptides/antibiotics).
Thrust area includes
- Bioremediation
- Bioresources
- Environmental Biotechnology
- Plant and Agriculture Biotechnology
- Pro- and Prebiotics
- Food Biotechnology
- Microbial Biotechnology
(Link to Centre organisation and activities: Click Here
Rapid industrialization, increased productivity demands and environmentally inappropriate human activities continuously challenge natural resources including Soil, Air, & Water. Multiple pollutants generated as refuse/effluent present serious environmental threats. Biotechnology offers economical and safe solutions to restore Soil, & Water quality through application of a choice of plants & microbes. At Center, we aim to address issues of soil & water pollution broadly subdivided into three subdivisions namely: MAR - Microbe Assisted Remediation, PAR - Plant Assisted Remediation, EAR – Enzyme Assisted Remediation. In MAR, Bacteria & Fungi with proven bioremediation capabilities would be employed for clean-up processes in soil / water environments. Under PAR, chosen phytoremediator plants will be applied to decontaminate soil/water of organic and inorganic pollutants. EAR focuses on Metabolites & Enzymes derived from Plants or microbes, developing them as formulations (nano/micro) for bioremediation.
(Link to Centre organisation and activities: Click Here
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION SUMMARY
The research emphasis is reflected in the active doctoral program (66 students pursuing PhD and 37 completed), publications in international/national journals, and sponsored research projects totalling approximately INR-9.44 Cr from premier national funding agencies namely, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Department of Science and Technology (DST), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and Department of AYUSH.
Here is the research output from the last five years
|
Type of Publication |
Count (Last 5 years) |
|
International Journals |
234 |
|
National Journals |
11 |
|
International conferences |
30 |
|
National conferences |
0 |
|
Book/Book Chapters |
135 |
|
GenBank Submissions |
38 |
|
Patents |
19, 5 awarded |
Publication profile of the department - Click Here
Given below is a snapshot of the ongoing research projects ongoing in the department
|
S No. |
PI |
Co-PI |
Title |
Funding Agency |
Start Date |
End Date |
Grant Amount (In Lakhs) |
|
1 |
Prof. Indu Verma, PGIMER Chandigarh |
Prof. Sudha Srivastava (Co-PI) |
Development and evaluation of rapid diagnostic |
ICMR |
Approved (October 2023) |
|
INR 53.80 Lakh (JIIT) |
|
2 |
Prof. S Krishna Sundari |
Dr.Kamlesh Shukla (Pt.RSU) |
Evaluate ectomycorrhizal diversity in mining-disturbed and undisturbed forest ecosystems in Bastar region, generate metabolic activity profiles of forest ectomycorrhizae to propose best performing isolates for soil restoration |
DBT |
18 January 2024 |
17 January 2027 |
59.80400 Lakh (Total) INR 35.55200 Lakh (JIIT) |
|
3 |
Prof. PammiGauba |
Prof.Shweta Dang |
Exploring the efficacy of plants and microbes for the remediation of E-waste contaminated soil. |
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change |
27 November 2019 |
26 November 2024 |
INR 48.44 Lakhs |
|
4 |
Dr. Rajnish Prakash Singh |
NA |
Molecular Characterization of Type VI secretion system in Enterobacter cloacae SBP-8 to employed as antibacterial tool |
DBT |
2021 |
2026 |
INR 1.13 Crore |
|
5 |
Dr Chakresh Jain |
Prof Shweta Dang |
Deciphering potential gene markers and variants associated with |
DBT |
24 January 2024 |
24 January 2026 |
INR 28.43 lakhs |
|
6 |
Prof Vibha Rani |
Prof PammiGauba |
Study to explore Cross Kingdom Regulation of Anticancerous Indian Herbs derived XenomiRs in Lung cancer: Basic research for Future herbal oncotherapeutics |
ICMR |
20 February 2023 |
19 February 2026 |
INR 15 lakhs (for First Year) |
|
7 |
Prof Shweta Dang |
Prof PammiGauba |
Nano-carrier based nose to brain delivery for anti-psychotic drugs and natural compounds |
ICMR |
01 February 2023 |
31 January 2026 |
INR 11 lakhs (for first Year) |
|
8 |
Prof. Pammi Gauba & Prof. Vibha Rani |
Prof. Shweta Dang (Co-PI) Centre Representatives: Prof. Reema Gabrani & Prof. Indira Sarethy |
Development of Natural Product Laboratory for Advance Research |
DST-FIST |
March 2022 |
March 2027 |
INR 66.00 lakhs |
|
9 |
Prof. Sudha Srivastava |
Dr. Deepshi Thakral (Co-PI) |
Development of Electrochemical biosensor for detection of circulating tumor DNA mutations in Acute myeloid leukemia |
ICMR |
July 2022 |
July 2025 |
INR 33.142 lakhs (for first two years) |
|
10 |
Dr. Shazia Haider |
Prof. Pammi Gauba |
Identification of key regulators and their controlling Mechanism in a combinatorial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Network: an integrated bioinformatics analysis |
Life Sciences Research Board (LSRB), DRDO |
June 2022 |
June 2025 |
INR 24 lakhs |
|
11 |
Dr. Jyoti Sharma (Institute of Bioinformatics) |
Prof.Vibha Gupta (JIIT) |
Development of computational framework for COVID-19 multi-omics data analysis. |
ICMR |
May 2022 |
April 2024 |
INR 11.04 lakhs |
|
12 |
Prof.Vibha Gupta (JIIT) |
Prof Punit Kaur (AIIMS), Dr Jyoti Sharma (Institute of Bioinformatics) |
Reverse pharmacology and multi-target approach for designing of novel therapeutics and candidates for Covid-19. |
ICMR |
April 2022 |
April 2024 |
INR 21.7 lakhs |
Detailed description of externally funded projects executed by the department - Click Here
Details of the ongoing and awarded PhD from the Department: - Click Here
PLACEMENT STATUS
Competent curriculum and interaction with leading scientists from academia and industry through invited lectures, workshops and conferences ensures all-round development of the students. Our students continue to secure positions in graduate schools for MS/Ph.D at universities of international/National repute such as Max Planck Institutes, John Hopkins, Georgia Tech, Keck Graduate Institute, Penn State, IITs etc. among others. Many students have been selected in core biotechnology firms Panacea Biotech, Cadilla Biotech, Ranbaxy, and Premas Biotech Ltd.
Table below shows the placement status of our students:
|
Sr No |
Batch |
Total Eligible Participating Students |
Total No. of Offers |
% of Total Offers |
Absolute Offers |
% of Absolute Offers |
|
1 |
2023 |
49 |
52 |
106% |
38 |
78% |
|
2 |
2022 |
42 |
46 |
110% |
37 |
88% |
|
3 |
2021 |
36 |
35 |
97% |
30 |
83% |
MOTIVATION FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS
As an activity of Capability Enhancement and Development Cell at our institute, departmental faculty and our curriculum supports students to ace the prestigious national and international examinations like GATE, CSIR-NET, ICMR, DBT-JRF, CAT, GRE etc. Following is a summary of our students who have bought us laurels in National and International Competitive Examinations in the past 3 years:
|
Academic Year |
Higher education |
Competitive Examinations (GRE, GATE, IELTS, TOFEL) |
|
2020-21 |
9 |
4 |
|
21-2022 |
16 |
4 |
|
22-2023 |
11 |
7 |
STUDENTS WORKING WITH BIOTECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
Biotechnology employers can come from diverse areas – small start-up firms pitching hydroponics, firms dealing with waste treatment and environmental engineering solutions, food and food processing firms, online education ventures, global pharmaceutical giants. Our students have placed in several well-established biotechnology companies such as – TechSci Research, Nestle India, Unimrkt Research.
ALUMNI
The alumni represent the success stories of an educational institute. Each alumnus harbours a unique experience of and is a reliable knowledge source for current and prospective students. Our department continually engages with alumni for feedback on curriculum, guest lectures for students and trainings.
Distinguished Alumni: Click Here
STudent's Academic Enrichment Cells
- A technical hub “RIBOSE” involves students in societal projects/events. In the past, the hub has organized difference technical events, quizzes, model making competitions and bio-entrepreneurship competition. Hub is also actively involved in organizing technical events during techno-cultural event of the institute ‘IMPRESSIONS’ and technical event of the institute ‘CYBERSHRISHTI’, where events ranges from model making competition to bioinformatics based technical events.
For details of student's activities, please visit Facebook Page:
- Department of Biotechnology at JIIT annually organizes International Conference on Advances in Biosciences and Biotechnology (ICABB) in the month of January since 2017 onwards. The Annual conference brings together eminent speakers from academia, industry and research institutes, to engage in scientific discourses and share their ideas, knowledge, and experience with participating research scholars and students. For an overview of recently concluded ICABB – 2024 Click Here
- Detail of upcoming ICABB 2025 (Click here)
- The department also organizes a Faculty Development Program, annually (since 2015), to motivate faculty members and facilitate augmentation of knowledge and skills. (Click here):
