Biotecnika Times Newspaper 16th Jan 2018

1. January 16th, 2018.
NEWS - PAGE 3 NEWS - PAGE 4 SCHOLARSHIPS,
INTERNSHIP
PROGRAMMES, JOBS
PAGES 6-12
NEWS - PAGE 2
THE WHO PRE-QUALIFIES BHARAT
BIOTECH’S TYPHOID VACCINE FOR
YOUNG CHILDREN
NASA ASTRONAUT PERFORMS FIRST
EVER SAMPLE-TO-SEQUENCE
ENTIRELY ABOARD SPACE STATION
SOIL BACTERIUM COULD BE
POTENTIALLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST
MELANOMA
DOCUMENTED FOR THE
FIRST TIME...
Snow is a highly porous environment,
exchanging and entrapping air from the
surrounding environment. As more snow
is deposited onto the surface of the snow-
pack, older snow layers compress even-
tually into ice, encasing small samples of
the atmosphere existing over and within
the snow at the time of deposition.
LIVING POLAR SNOW MICROBES
Living Polar Snow Microbes
Documented for the First Time
This same logic has been used to justify
the quantification of shorter-lived, more re-
active trace gases in ice cores including me-
thyl bromide and methyl chloride. However,
these methods rest on the assumption that the
snowpack is quasi-sterile metabolically or, at
least, that microbial production/consumption
of these trace gases is not significant.
Typically, polar ice cores’ sterility makes
them reliable snapshots of ancient climates:
the absence of microorganisms means that
the gas footprint trapped in ice has not been
altered by any digestion process over millen-
nia.
But now, a new study by scientists at the
University of York, has concluded that polar
snow is not sterile after all. In fact, the sam-
pled gases may have been shaped by bacteria
that remain alive as the soft snowpack slowly
turns into ice, a process that may take dec-
ades.
Researchers looked at snow samples in
situ—or in its natural state—as well as sam-
ples sterilized with UV lights. The UV lights
zapped traces of methyl iodide—which
countered what was expected under the as-
sumption that the system should only be in-
fluenced by chemistry rather than living bac-
terium. They found levels of methyl iodide, a
gas produced by marine bacteria, in the nat-
ural snow. Traces of the gas were observed
at tiny concentrations, but the results were
enough to determine living bacteria was very
much viable and active in the ice thought of
as entirely sterile.
“There’s lot of people that have been edg-
ing towards this for a while, but we’ve been
able to show in situ that these things are hap-
pening,” Kelly Redeker, lead author and bi-
ologist at the University of York said. Taking
bacteria from their environment to the lab is
“great, but it’s no longer the natural condi-
tions in which they’re found…All the other
Vol. 02 NO 3
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results to date have been [samples] that have
been taken back to the lab.”
Polar snowpacks are harsh environments
for a few reasons. First of all, they are obvi-
ously pretty cold, capable of reaching -34ºC
(-29.2 ºF). Paired with that they are battered
with a huge amount of UV radiation and
aren’t particularly rich in nutrients. Perhaps
then, the researchers pose, this could broaden
our understanding of where life could live in
extreme and seemingly inhospitable environ-
ments outside of our planet.
“We know that bacteria have the potential
to remain viable and metabolically active at
low temperatures for hundreds to thousands
of years,” said Redeker. “The next step is to
look further down to see if we can observe
active bacteria deep in the ice caps.“
By Disha Padmanabha

2. Vol. 02 NO 3January 16th, 2018.
2
The Hyderabad-based biotech has now an-
nounced that its typhoid vaccine has received
pre-qualification from the World Health Or-
ganisation (WHO).
International Health Metrics and Evaluation
(IHME) estimates that in 2016, there were
approximately 12 million cases of typhoid
fever resulting in around 130,000 deaths.
“Typbar TCV is the first typhoid vaccine,
clinically proven to be administered to chil-
dren from six months of age to adults and
confers long-term protection against typhoid
fever,” Said a company release.
A groundbreaking new study by UK and
Chinese universities is the first to look at a
new combined diabetes drug and found im-
provements in several characteristic symp-
toms of Alzheimer’s.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a risk
factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Previ-
ous studies have shown that the incretin hor-
mones glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and
glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypep-
tide (GIP) have anti-diabetic properties show
very promising effects in animal models of
AD.
This could be a result of insulin not getting
to the cells properly – insulin is a growth
factor which is known to protect brain cells,
and insulin resistance has been observed in
Alzheimer’s disease brains, as well as being
the biological mechanism behind type 2 di-
abetes.
THE WHO PRE-QUALIFIES BHARAT
BIOTECH’S TYPHOID VACCINE FOR
YOUNG CHILDREN
“This [prequalification] enables the pro-
curement and supplies of the vaccine to
UNICEF, the Pan-American Health Organ-
ization (PAHO) and GAVI supported coun-
tries,” Krishna Ella, Chairman and Manag-
ing Director of Bharat Biotech, has said.
The product has been under development
since 2001. With 5 years of follow up data for
seroconversion, Typbar TCV at 25µg / dose
has proven long term protection for children
and adults alike, and can be administered to
children from 6 months of age. Typbar TCV
has been evaluated in human challenge stud-
ies at Oxford University and typhoid conju-
THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO VACCINES AVAILABLE AGAINST TYPHOID THAT ARE MEANT FOR CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN 2, BUT A NEW CONJUGATE
VACCINE MANUFACTURED BY INDIA’S BHARAT BIOTECH AS TYPBAR-TCV COULD CHANGE THAT.
gate vaccines have been recommended by
WHO’s strategic advisory group of experts
on immunisation (WHO-SAGE).
“When we started this project, Typhoid fe-
ver was a neglected tropical disease. This
success is a true reflection of our team’s
ability to develop novel vaccines and sustain
long term product development for fighting
infectious diseases. It demonstrates the pow-
er of global partnerships to achieve novel
breakthroughs”, stated Dr. Ella, “For Typ-
bar TCV to reach vulnerable populations, we
are pleased to announce the price of $ 1.50/
dose for procurement for GAVI supported
countries. Recognizing the importance of
sustained vaccine procurement for low in-
come, we announce a further price reduction
to around $ 1.0 or below / dose, post procure-
ment of 100 million doses.”
“The WHO pre-qualification of Typbar TCV
marks an important milestone in the global
effort to rid the world of typhoid fever and
improve health for some of the most vulner-
able populations in the world,” commented
Oxford University professor Andrew Pollard.
New Diabetes Drug
Reverses Memory Loss in
Mice with Alzheimer’s
So researchers have been investigating
whether drugs that treat type 2 diabetes
might also benefit Alzheimer’s symptoms for
a while now.
This particular study’s “very promising out-
comes” show multi-action drugs developed
for type 2 diabetes “consistently show neuro-
logical protective effects”.
The new drug is known as a triple receptor
drug, meaning that it targets Alzheimer’s in
multiple ways. People with Alzheimer’s have
impaired growth factors – substances like
hormones that stimulate growth – in their
brains. Therefore, the treatment combines
three growth factors: GLP-1, GIP, and gluca-
gon.
The mice in the study were specifically
created to express certain genes associated
with Alzheimer’s disease in humans. The re-
searchers waited for the mice to age before
giving them the drug, therefore giving their
disease some time to develop and damage the
animal’s brain. Once given the drug, the ani-
mals were then made to conduct a maze test
designed to measure their memory.
Results revealed that after being given the
drug, aged mice that already had signs of a ro-
dent version of Alzheimer’s disease showed
improved learning and memory skills. The
results were also seen on a biological level,
and these mice displayed reduced amounts
of plaque buildup in the brain, a major hall-
mark of Alzheimer’s disease. In addition,
these mice also had reduced levels of chronic
inflammation in their brains, overall slower
rates of brain nerve cell loss and increased
brain nerve cell protection.
“These very promising outcomes demon-
strate the efficacy of these novel multiple
Next Page>>>>
By Disha Padmanabha
By Disha Padmanabha

3. Vol. 02 NO 3 January 16th, 2018.
3
NASAAstronaut Performs
First Ever
Sample-to-Sequence
Entirely Aboard Space
Station
Furthermore, the risk of contamination is a
big threat to astronauts living in tight quar-
ters. NASA is now changing how they figure
out exactly what that weird fuzzy mold is.
https://youtu.be/sG7qtlZNTsI
Durations for Mars missions are likely
to range from 1.5 to 3 years, with 12 to 24
months of that time spent in transit between
the planets, based on current propulsion tech-
nologies and planetary orbital dynamics. In
response to spaceflight, the human immune
response becomes dysregulated, and micro-
bial pathogenicity can increase during space-
flight.
Beyond gene expression-mediated viru-
lence changes, it is unclear how microbial
populations would evolve, both in terms of
population ecology and genetic mutations,
over the course of a multi-year mission with
increased exposure to ionizing radiation and
microgravity during transit.
This ongoing microbial evolution could
have a profound impact on crew health, as mi-
crobiome stability and dynamics are known
to have significant effects on human health
on Earth. Considering the time required to
reach Mars, intervention from Earth during
the course of a Mars mission will be limited
to electronic communication, meaning that
any analyses or monitoring to be performed
must be done in situ.
NASA microbiologist Sarah Wallace says
that contaminations of such biomaterial is
pretty common aboard the International
Space Station, but the exact nature of the con-
taminants isn’t always known.
“We have had contamination in parts of the
station where fungi was seen growing or bi-
omaterial has been pulled out of a clogged
waterline, but we have no idea what it is un-
til the sample gets back down to the lab. On
the ISS, we can regularly resupply disinfect-
ants, but as we move beyond low-Earth orbit
where the ability for resupply is less frequent,
knowing what to disinfect or not becomes
very important.”
Therefore now, NASA’s Genes in Space-3
project has allowed space-bound scientists to
identify microbes on the station itself.
As a part of the Genes in Space-3 mission,
astronauts on the space station last year
touched a petri plate to surfaces on the space
station and grew the bacteria found there
into colonies, which NASA astronaut Peggy
Whitson used to amplify and then sequence
their DNA. In July 2016, NASA astronaut
Kate Rubins became the first to sequence
DNA in space, but this latest experiment was
both the first time cells were transferred for
analysis and the first time unknown organ-
isms were identified in space.
To identify the microbes, NASA astronaut
and biochemist Peggy Whitson first collected
the samples and used the polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) technique to amplify and
copy sections of the organism’s DNA.
The next step encompassed the sequencing
and identifying of the DNA using the ISS’s
handheld MinION device, but there was a
problem: Hurricane Harvey. The storm was
stopping the microbiologists at the John-
son Space Center from communicating
with Whitson, but they managed to create a
workaround by patching Wallace’s mobile
phone directly into the ISS’ communication
system. Thanks to this, Wallace was able to
help guide Whitson through the sequencing.
During analysis, “Right away, we saw
one microorganism pop up, and then a sec-
ond one, and they were things that we find
all the time on the space station,” Wallace
said. “The validation of these results would
be when we got the sample back to test on
Earth.”
Whitson and the samples traveled back
to Earth in September 2017, when the next
phase of the Genes in Space-3 mission began.
Scientists sequenced the microbes again on
Earth and verified that each had been identi-
By Disha Padmanabha
fied correctly.
This marks the first time a sample had been
taken from space, and tested in space. The
ability to test organic samples without hav-
ing the ferry them back to Earth will greatly
speed up the process of analysis. This could
help with on-board disease diagnosis, as well
quickening the identification of potentially
alien life forms.
Microbes have a pretty bad reputation, and rightly so- I mean these guys are so annoying. And are not exactly pleas-
ant pals of ours. Lurking all over in addition to being the reason behind a number of serious diseases. These “bad”
microbes are the reason why we diligently disinfect our hands and wipe down our kitchen and bathroom sinks, as
well as any other places where germs tend to congregate.
receptor drugs that originally were devel-
oped to treat type 2 diabetes but have shown
consistent neuro- protective effects in sev-
eral studies,” said senior author Christian
Hölscher of Lancaster University in the UK.
There’s still a long way to go before its clear
whether or not this drug will have the same
effect in humans, and whether it’s the best
option to move forward with.
“Further dose-response tests and direct
comparisons with other drugs have to be con-
ducted in order to evaluate if this new [drug]
is superior to previous ones,” Hölscher add-
ed.
But the fact that this multi-approach drug
has shown such promising results so far is in-
credibly exciting, and is a great way to start
2018.
NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson performed the Genes in Space-3 investigation aboard the space station
using the miniPCR and MinION, developed for previously flown investigations. Credits: NASA
Sarah Wallace (L), NASA microbiologist and Genes in Space-3 principal investigator, and Sarah Stahl
(R), microbiologist, are seen in their Johnson Space Center lab with the in-flight sample from the Genes in
Space-3 investigation. Credits: Rachel Barry
TheGenesinSpace-3teamworkedthroughoutHurricaneHarveytoensureoperationscontinuedonthespacestation.Pic-
turedareAaronBurton,KristenJohn,SarahStahlandSarahWallaceastheywatchNASAastronautPeggyWhitsonwork
withintheMicrogravityScienceGlovebox(MSG)duringpartoneoftheinvestigation.Credits:SarahWallace
Kate Rubins conducting the first DNA analysis in space

4. Vol. 02 NO 3January 16th, 2018.
4
Leveraging a Genetic
Mechanism to Enhance
Yield Potential in Cereals
Soil Bacterium Could
Be Potentially Effective
Against Melanoma
In the U.S. alone, more than 80,000 new
melanoma cases are diagnosed each year, and
about 9000 melanoma patients die. Men are
more likely than women to develop melano-
ma; the death rate varies by race and ethnicity
and is highest among Caucasians.
Now, a team from the Oregon State Uni-
versity has upon investigation come across a
type of soil-dwelling bacterium that produces
molecules that are capable of inducing death
in melanoma cells.
The molecule the OSU team recently iden-
tified—called mensacarcin—is a natural
product and secondary metabolite from the
soil bacteria Streptomyces bottropensis.
Mensacarcin is a highly oxidized and stereo-
genic complex molecule that can be obtained
in large amounts from these bacteria. The
properties of this compound are important as
there are few therapies that effectively man-
age melanoma, the most dangerous form of
skin cancer.
“Mensacarcin has potent anticancer activ-
ity, with selectivity against melanoma cells,”
explained senior study investigator Sandra
Loesgen, Ph.D., assistant professor of chem-
istry at OSU. “It shows powerful antiprolif-
erative effects in all tested cancer cell lines
in the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s cell
line panel, but inhibition of cell growth is ac-
companied by fast progression into cell death
in only a small number of cell lines, such as
melanoma cells.”
The team synthesized a fluorescent mensa-
carcin probe to test this molecule at a sub-
cellular level. The probe was localized to
mitochondria within 20 minutes of treatment.
The researchers found that the localization
together with mensacarcin’s unusual meta-
In order to solve the world’s food, feed and
bioenergy challenges, a team at the Don-
ald Danforth Plant Science Center has now
identified a genetic mechanism that controls
developmental traits related to grain produc-
tion in cereals. The work was performed in
Setaria viridis, an emerging model system for
grasses that is closely related to economical-
ly important cereal crops and bioenergy feed
stocks such as maize, sorghum, switchgrass
and sugarcane.
“This work is a great demonstration of how
Setaria viridis can be leveraged to gain fun-
damental insights into the mechanisms that
govern seed production in the grasses – our
most important group of plants that includes
corn, sorghum, rice, wheat and barley,” said
Thomas Brutnell, Ph.D., Director of the En-
terprise Institute for Renewable Fuels, Dan-
forth Center. “It’s also worth noting that this
project was conceived and work initiated af-
ter Dr. Eveland joined the Danforth Center
bolic effects in melanoma cells provide evi-
dence that mensacarcin targets mitochondria.
Live-cell bioenergetic flux analysis showed
mensacarcin disturbed energy production and
mitochondrial function rapidly.
“Its unique mode of action suggests it may
be a useful probe for examining energy me-
tabolism,” Dr. Loesgen noted. “Subsequent
experiments revealed that mensacarcin rap-
idly alters mitochondrial pathways, resulting
in mitochondrial dysfunction.”
After careful analysis, the researchers found
that mensacarcin’s action within mitochon-
dria leads to the activation of apoptotic path-
ways in melanoma cells.
“Flow cytometry identified a large popu-
lation of apoptotic melanoma cells, and sin-
gle-cell electrophoresis indicated that mensa-
carcin causes genetic instability, a hallmark
of early apoptosis,” Dr. Loesgen concluded.
“Mensacarcin’s unique mode of action indi-
cates it might represent a promising lead for
the development of new anticancer drugs.“
By Disha Padmanabha
– an impressive feat for a junior faculty
member that speaks to both the advantages
of working on a model system and the great
team that she has assembled at the Danforth
Center.”
In the course of the study, Andrea Eve-
land, Ph.D., assistant member at the Donald
Danforth Plant Science Center, and her team
mapped a genetic locus in the S. viridis ge-
nome that controls growth of sterile branch-
es called bristles, which are produced on the
grain-bearing inflorescences of some grass
species. It was revealed that these sterile bris-
tles are initially programmed to be spikelets;
grass-specific structures that produce flowers
and grain.
The study elucidated how the conversion
of a spikelet to a bristle is determined early
in inflorescence development and regulated
by a class of plant hormones called brassi-
nosteroids (BRs), which modulate a range of
physiological processes in plant growth, de-
velopment and immunity.
In addition to converting a sterile struc-
ture to a seed-bearing one, the research also
showed that localized disruption of BR syn-
thesis can lead to production of two flowers
per spikelet rather than the single one that
typically forms. These BR-dependent phe-
notypes therefore represent two potential
avenues for enhancing grain production in
millets, including subsistence crops in many
developing countries that remain largely un-
tapped for genetic improvement.
“The genetics and genomics tools that are
emerging for Setaria enable more rapid dis-
section of molecular pathways such as this
one, and allow us to manipulate them directly
in a system that is closely related to the food
crops we aim to improve,” said Eveland. “It
means we are just that much closer to de-
signing and deploying optimal architectures
for cereal crops. The prospect of leveraging
these findings for improvement of related
grasses that are also orphan crop species,
such as pearl and foxtail millets, is especial-
ly exciting.”

5. Vol. 02 NO 3 January 16th, 2018.
5
Novel Tool to Test
Likelihood of Drugs
Going Rogue on Entering
the Body
Cure for Baldness?
Mouse Stem Cells Aid
Researchers in Production
of Hairy Skin
Racemisation has a large impact upon the
biological properties of molecules but the
chemical scope of compounds with known
rate constants for racemisation in aqueous
conditions was hitherto limited. To address
this remarkable blind spot, a team of re-
searchers at the Cardiff University in collab-
oration with their counterparts at Liverpool
John Moores University and AstraZeneca,
have now developed a simple test to eluci-
date the likelihood of a drug turning into a
potentially harmful version of itself when it
enters the body.
Unfortunately, despite attempts by pharma
companies to make only the active and de-
sired enantiomer for a drug it is possible for
racemisation to occur once the drug enters
the body and thus form the inactive or poten-
tially dangerous enantiomer form. This is not
only impactful on the health of the patient but
also carries a financial implication to the drug
developer.
The most famous example of this is thalido-
mide, which was withdrawn from the market
when it was found to cause birth defects. One
enantiomer caused the desirable sedative ef-
fects, while the other enantiomer caused the
birth defects. Since the thalidomide crisis,
drug developers have strived to create drugs
containing only one enantiomer.
“Following the thalidomide disaster, re-
searchers worldwide have focussed on mak-
ing compounds enantioselectively — that is
containing just one enantiomer,” explained
Dr Niklaas Buurma, from Cardiff Universi-
ty’s School of Chemistry, lead author of the
study. “However, while compounds are rou-
tinely tested to ensure they are inherently
stable under physiological conditions, not
much thought has been given as to how to
prevent configurational instability at the de-
sign stage, using suitable predictive models.”
The researchers have developed a simple
approach to trawl through large databases of
pharmaceutical drugs and assess the likely
risk of a drug undergoing racemisation – a
process in which a drug flips into a mirror
image of itself and becomes either inert or
potentially dangerous.
The collaborative work, the team set up
experiments to simulate the chemical condi-
tions of the human body and then introduced
a number of drugs to the system, monitoring
the rate at which the different drugs under-
When you aren’t watching men like Jason
Statham or Jude Law, the only airtime bald
men to come by is via the many, many ads on
how to cure baldness. The whole thing agree-
ably sucks. But there’s more to the bummer
of hair loss than just a loss confidence. In
fact, the negative societal connotations of
baldness have been around for hundreds of
years.
But now, looks like researchers are a step
closer to curing baldness.
Indiana University School of Medicine re-
searchers have cultured the first lab-grown
skin tissue complete with hair follicles. This
skin model, developed using stem cells from
mice, more closely resembles natural hair
than existing models and may prove useful
for testing drugs, understanding hair growth,
and reducing the practice of animal testing.
Karl Koehler, author of the paper and a re-
searcher at the University, described the tis-
sue like “a little ball of pocket lint that floats
around in the culture medium.”
Stem cell therapy has been suggested as
a possible future treatment for hair loss for
years. Although various methods of generat-
ing skin tissue have already been developed,
their ability to imitate the real thing has con-
sistently fallen short. Skin consists of 20 or
more cell types and these models often con-
tain only five or six, and none are capable of
hair growth.
Dr. Koehler’s team had previously devel-
oped a mouse stem cell 3D culture system
to create organoids that model the inner ear
and found that the process also generated
skin cells. In their latest studies, the team has
shown how mPSCs grown in 3D culture gen-
erate skin organoids that comprise both the
epidermal and dermal skin layers, and spon-
taneously produce HFs, in a way that mim-
ics how HFs would normally develop in the
mouse embryo skin.
The team’s recent research demonstrates
that a single skin organoid unit developed
in culture can give rise to both the epidermis
(upper) and dermis (lower) layers of skin,
which grow together in a process that allows
hair follicles to form the same way as they
would in a mouse’s body.
Professor Koehler said: “It looks like a
little ball of pocket lint that floats around in
the culture medium. The skin develops as a
spherical cyst and then the hair follicles grow
outward in all directions – like dandelion
seeds.”
The researchers say the skin they developed
grew a variety of hair follicle types similar to
those present naturally on the coat of a mouse.
The skin organoid itself consisted of three or
four different types of dermal cells and four
types of epidermal cells. This diverse combi-
nation more closely mimics mouse skin than
previously developed skin models.
By observing the development of this more
lifelike skin organoid, the researchers learned
that the two layers of skin cells must grow
together in a specific way in order for hair
follicles to develop. As the epidermis grew
in the culture medium, it began to take the
rounded shape of a cyst. The dermal cells
then wrapped themselves around these cysts.
When this process was disrupted, hair folli-
cles never appeared.
“One thing we explored in the paper is that
if we destroy the organoids and try to put
them back together, they don’t always gen-
erate hair follicles,” Koehler says. “So, we
think that it’s very important that the cells de-
velop together at an early stage to properly
form skin and hair follicles.”
“It could be potentially a superior model
for testing drugs, or looking at things like the
development of skin cancers, within an envi-
ronment that’s more representative of the in
vivo microenvironment,” Dr. Koehler said.
“And it would allow us to limit the number
of animals we use for research.”
By Disha Padmanabha
went racemisation.
From their results, the team were able to
generate a simple mathematical model that
could quickly predict the rate of racemisation
in any drug compound, subsequently indicat-
ing how safe and productive that drug would
be if administered. This is the first time an
assessment tool for this purpose has been de-
veloped.
“We believe that this risk-assessment will
make it possible to manufacture safer medi-
cation by helping the pharmaceutical indus-
try to quickly spot medication that will fail
during development and focus their efforts
on compounds that are more likely to work,”
added Buurma.
By Disha Padmanabha

6. Vol. 02 NO 3January 16th, 2018.
6
SCHOLARSHIP
The Visiting Students’ Research Pro-
gramme (VSRP-2018) will be held at
TIFR, Mumbai during the period May 7
to July 4, 2018.
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR) conducts annual summer pro-
grammes in which talented students are
introduced to research activities in the
areas of Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry,
Computer Science, Mathematics, and
Physics.
The selected students are expected to work
on a research project under the supervision of
a TIFR researcher.
The programmes are held both at the
Mumbai campus of the TIFR as well as at
the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics
(NCRA), Pune during mid May to early July
each year.
TIFR pursues basic research primarily in
Astronomical, Biological, Chemical and
Physical Sciences, Mathematics, Theoreti-
cal Computer Science and Systems Science
(including Communications & Applied Prob-
ability) and runs a graduate program leading
to a Ph.D. in all these areas.
Eligibility:
Physics/Chemistry/Biology/Mathematics/
Computer & Systems Sciences :
1) Two years of undergraduate course work
in an academic institution.
2) Should not have particpated in VSRP be-
fore.
Please note that the VSRP programme is for
students currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s
or Master’s programme and not for PhD stu-
dents or faculty members.
Selection:
Selection is purely based on the academic
performance of the student, submitted write-
up and referee reports. There is no selection
test/interview.
Stipend/Accommodation:
Selected students are paid a monthly sti-
pend @ Rs 7000/- per month and to and fro
travel re-imbursement from the place of their
residence. Also, free shared accomodation
on- or off- campus is provided.
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT),
Govt. of India, Indo-US Science and Tech-
nology Forum (IUSSTF) and WINStep
Forward are partnering to support the
prestigious Khorana Program for Scholars
named in honor of Dr. Har Gobind Khora-
na, who won the Nobel Prize in 1968 for
his work at the interface of Chemistry and
Biology while a member of the UW faculty.
The Khorana Program will provide oppor-
tunities to Indian students to undertake
research at University of Wisconsin-Madi-
son (UW) and partner universities in Sum-
mer 2018 for a period of 10 weeks. A list of
UW partner universities is available http://
www.winstepforward.org
The Khorana Program is envisaged to:
• Provide encouragement to young
scholars to undertake R&D
• Enable students to carry out research
at a premier University in the United
States
• Transform research into societal ben-
efits Build a seamless scientific com-
munity between India and the United
States
Scholarship includes:
• Stipend
• Airfare
• Health Insurance
Eligibility Details:
B.Tech, M.Tech and B.Sc./M.Sc. students
currently enrolled in recognized institutions
of higher education in India in Biotechnology
and allied areas are eligible to apply.
Students pursuing Ph.D/Final year stu-
dents are not eligible to apply.
Application Guideline:
• Pre-final year candidates enrolled in
B.Tech, M.Tech, B.Sc, M.Sc., MBBS
in Biotechnology and allied areas (in-
cluding agricultural, food, health and
biomedical sciences) are eligible to ap-
ply. Final Year students and Ph.D. stu-
dents are NOT eligible to apply
The applicant should have:
- Cumulative Grade Point Average
(CGPA) of 8.0 or higher OR
- Percentage: 80% and higher.
• Only those candidates (preferably
TIFR – Visiting
Students’ Research
Programme
(VSRP-2018)
IUSSTF & DBT India :
Khorana Program for
Scholars | Biotech
Candidates Eligible
How to Apply:
Students are encouraged to apply online.
1. Registration includes two steps : First
complete basic registration step by clicking
the “Apply Online” button given below.
2. During the basic registration, “Prefered
Subject” indicates TIFR subject area you are
applying for (Physics / Chemistry / Biology /
Mathematics / Computer & Systems Scienc-
es).
3. After completing basic registration, an
email will be sent to you with a link for ad-
vanced registration. Before proceeding to
advanced registration, please keep the fol-
lowing ready :
a) Scanned photo (.jpg file of size not ex-
ceeding 100kb ) of your passport size pho-
tograph.
b) Students can select upto 2 departments,
and for each department, they can fill in two
areas of interest from the options available in
the menu. Please read the Information Bro-
chure before you fill this section.
c) A write-up of up to 400 words, describ-
ing your interest in the most preferred field
of study has to be provided in the appropriate
box. The write up should not contain special
characters. In particular, use of equations in
write-ups is strongly discouraged.
d) Names, Affiliation, Designation, Contact
address (both e-mail and physical address)
and contact phone number of two referees
who would be filling referee reports for you.
They should be teachers or persons with
whom you have interacted academically.
The link for filling up the Referee Report
Form online will be sent by email to both
Referees after complete registration.
Students from remote areas who do not
have access to internet can send a request for
application form along with a self-addressed
stamped envelope of Rs 20/- to :
Superscribed (VSRP-2018)
The Assistant Registrar (Academic)
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba
Mumbai 400005.
Last date for application :
For Maths – February 28, 2018
For all other subjects – January 31, 2018
NOTE : REFEREES CAN FILL THE
ONLINE REPORT FORM TILL ONE
WEEK AFTER THE LAST DATE.
pre-final year) who shall be completing
their degree program on or after May
2019 are eligible to apply.
• Candidates are encouraged to fill out the
online application and upload scanned
copies of latest marksheet/transcript,
No-Objection Certificate & 2 Letters
of Recommendation. Supporting doc-
uments should be provided strictly ac-
cording to the check-list mentioned in
the application form. Please DO NOT
attach Class X/Class XII marksheets.
• Recommendation letters can be sent
along with the application form or if
referees wish to give a sealed one, they
may send it directly to scholar@in-
dousstf.org with Applicant’s full name
in the subject line.
• Hard copies of the application form/
supporting documents are not required.
• If you do not have a passport and have
applied for it, choose “Applied for” in
the passport details section of the Ap-
plication form.
• Applications in subject-fields other
than those specified in the advertise-
ment will not be considered.
Program dates : May – July 2018
Submission Deadline : 31 January 2018
Application Guidelines:
Applications should be submitted using our
Online Application Portal for Visitation Pro-
grams. Hard copies and electronic copies of
the application forms will not be accepted.
Contact Us:
Dr. Nishritha Bopana
Indo-US Science and Technology Forum
(IUSSTF)
12 Hailey Road, Fulbright House, New Del-
hi- 110 001
Phone: 91-11- 42691713, 42691700,
42691708
Fax: 91-11-23321552
Email : scholar@indousstf.org
Application Deadline – 31 January 2018

7. Vol. 02 NO 3 January 16th, 2018.
7
ICGEB offers competitive Pre-doctor-
al Fellowships in Life Sciences to highly
motivated scientists wishing to pursue
PhD research studies in a world-class sci-
entific environment. Fellowships include
participation in a competitive research
programme, access to state-of-the-art fa-
cilities, participation in ICGEB Meetings,
Seminars and Journal Clubs and a com-
petitive stipend, plus full coverage of tui-
tion 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; appli-
cants for ICGEB Cape Town and New
Delhi should hold an MSc degree.
• Candidates must have a good working
knowledge of the English language,
supported by a proficiency certificate
(TOEFL, Cambridge Certificate, or
equivalent). Not required when scho-
lastic education has been undertaken in
English.
• Candidates for Trieste, 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.
The Dr Manmohan Singh Scholarships
aim to support students from India to pur-
sue doctoral studies at St John’s College,
Cambridge. Under this initiative, a num-
ber of scholarships will be made available
for September/October 2018.
It is expected that the students will go
on to become leading achievers and opin-
ion-formers within Indian Society, and ap-
plicants should be able to demonstrate lead-
ership potential accordingly. All candidates
must first apply for doctoral studies at the
University of Cambridge, selecting St John’s
College as their first choice.
Eligibility:
Applicants should be able to meet the fol-
lowing criteria:
• An Indian national with a valid Indian
passport, currently based in India
• Below 35 years of age on 31 Decem-
ber, 2017
• No previous significant exposure to a
UK education, or receipt of UK gov-
ernment funding
• Hold a Master’s (postgraduate) degree
from a reputed Indian university/insti-
tution with a First Class award in the
relevant subject or field by October
2018
• Intend to pursue a full-time Doctoral
research degree from the University of
Cambridge, commencing by Septem-
ber/October 2018, which they have al-
ready identified
• Able to display evidence of leadership
qualities – for example, from extracur-
ricular activities, contribution to the
country or society in their chosen field
• Fluent in spoken and written English
• Able to fulfil any other admission crite-
ria laid down by the University
Value of Award :
The scholarships cover:
• Academic fees
• International airfare
• Monthly stipend to cover living ex-
penses
• UK Visa
Applying:
Applicants must apply for their chosen
Doctoral programme at the University of
Cambridge, to commence by September/
October 2018. Candidates should consult the
full application guidelines below, and apply
for the scholarship via the online application
form below by 15 January 2018.
Arturo Falaschi ICGEB
PhD Fellowship
Programmes
(Life Sciences)
Dr Manmohan Singh
Scholarship – 2018 |
Applications Invited
Financial Support:
Duration:
3 years PhD course with the possibility of
1-year extension.
Monthly stipend:
Trieste (Italy): Euro 1,300, New Delhi (In-
dia): 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 re-
turn travel provision upon completion
of the fellowship.
• Medical health insurance coverage is
provided for the duration of the fellow-
ship.
• University tuition fee is covered for the
entire PhD registration period.
• Visa/permit of stay application and re-
newal costs are reimbursed.
• Support for participation in Meetings
and Courses is generally 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.
Next Page>>>>
Application process:
It is the responsibility of the applicants to
identify a suitable Doctoral programme
and supervisor at the University of Cam-
bridge, apply for a place for September/Oc-
tober 2018 and secure admission.
1. Identify a suitable doctoral programme
and supervisor at the University of Cam-
bridge
2.Applicants to visit the University of Cam-
bridge Graduate Admissons Office web site:
www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk and make
formal application to the University.
3. Applicants to select St John’s College as
their first choice College on their application
form.
4. Applicants to indicate on their Graduate
Application Form via the Applicant Portal
that they are applying for the Dr Manmohan
Singh Scholarships if asked (this is not man-
datory), but also to complete the section ap-
plying for funding from the University.
5. Applicants to complete the online Col-
lege Application form for the Dr. Manmohan
Singh Scholarships Competition via the Col-
lege website to notify St John’s that they have
applied to the University and wish to be con-
sidered for the Scholarship. This form must
be returned to St John’s by 15 January 2018.
Notes:
• Only those applicants who get an offer of
admission at St John’s College will be
eligible for the award of the Scholarship.
• Candidates should NOT approach St
John’s College directly at this stage.
Online Application Form
Selection:
Candidates for these scholarships are se-
lected through a process of short listing from
the applications received, followed by per-
sonal interviews, which will be conducted by
Skype.
Subsequent to the interviews the selection
committee identifies the required number of
candidates for the awards. The decision of
the selection committee will be final.
Selection results will be communicated
within a month following the interview.
Post selection:
Pre-departure briefings, UK visa and travel
arrangements for the selected candidates will
be co-ordinated by St John’s College.
General Notes:
• St John’s College will acknowledge re-
ceipt of applications through the emails
provided on the College application
form. For this purpose, applicants are
requested to provide their latest email
ids. However, the College will not be
responsible for failure of on-line deliv-
ery.
• St John’s College will further contact
only applicants who have reached the
later stages of the University’s selec-
tion procedure. These candidates will
be asked to provide further information
to support their application. This infor-
mation and that provided on the Grad-
uate Application Form will be used to
draw up the short-list.
• St John’s will contact the short-listed

8. Vol. 02 NO 3January 16th, 2018.
8
The Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) invites nominations for
the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Priz-
es in Science and Technology for the year
2018. The SSB Prizes are to be given for
research contributions made primarily in
India during the past five years. The age of
the nominee for the SSB Prize 2018 should
not be more than 45 years as on 31 Decem-
ber 2017.
The SSB Prizes are awarded for notable and
outstanding research, applied or fundamental,
in the following disciplines: (1) Biological
Sciences, (2) Chemical Sciences, (3) Earth,
Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences,
(4) Engineering Sciences, (5) Mathematical
Sciences, (6) Medical Sciences and (7) Phys-
ical Sciences. The SSB Prize carries with it
a citation, cash award and a plaque for each
scientist selected for the award.
Regulations Governing the Award of the
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize For Sci-
ence and Technology
Preamble
• The award is named after the founder
Director of the Council of Scientific &
Shanti Swarup
Bhatnagar Prize for
Science and
Technology 2018 –
Nominations Invited
candidates inviting them for interviews.
Applicants are requested not to contact St
John’s College directly.
• Short-listed candidates will be inter-
viewed by Skype during April or May
2018.
Candidates will be expected to make their
own travel and accommodation arrange-
ments, if necessary.
Further Information:
For further information and clarification
please contact: drmanmohansinghscholar-
ships@joh.cam.ac.uk
The deadline for submission is 15 Janu-
ary 2018.
Industrial Research (CSIR), the late Dr
(Sir) Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar and is
known as the ‘Shanti Swarup Bhatna-
gar (SSB) Prize for Science and Tech-
nology’.
• The Prize is given each year for out-
standing contributions to science and
technology.
Nature of the Prize
SSB Prizes, each of the value of Rs 5,00,000
(Rupees five lakh only)*, are awarded annu-
ally for notable and outstanding research,
applied or fundamental, in the following
disciplines: (1) Biological, (2) Chemical, (3)
Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary, (4)
Engineering, (5) Mathematical, (6) Medical,
and (7) Physical Sciences.
Purpose : Recognition of outstanding In-
dian work in science and technology.
Eligibility :
• Any citizen of India engaged in re-
search in any field of science and tech-
nology up to the age of 45 years as
reckoned on 31st December of the year
preceding the year of the Prize.Over-
seas citizen of India (OCI) and Persons
of Indian Origin (PIO) working in India
are also eligible.
• The Prize is bestowed on a person who,
in the opinion of CSIR, has made con-
spicuously important and outstanding
contributions to human knowledge and
progress – fundamental and applied
– in the particular field of endeavour,
which is his/her specialization.
• The Prize is awarded on the basis of
contributions made through work done
primarily in India during the five years
preceding the year of the Prize. (For
this purpose ‘primarily’ will mean ‘for
the most part’)
Award of the Prize : In awarding the
Prize, the Governing Body of CSIR is
guided by the recommendations of the
Advisory Committees constituted under
clause 10.
Nominations
Names of candidates may be proposed by
a member of the Governing Body of CSIR;
Presidents of academies of all-India char-
acter; Vice Chancellors of Indian Univer-
sities; deemed Universities and Institutions
of national importance; Deans of Science,
Engineering, Medical, Agriculture, and Tech-
nology Faculties; Directors of the Indian In-
stitutes of Technology (IIT); Directors Gen-
eral of the major R&D Organizations, such
as the Defence Research & Development
Organization, the Indian Council of Agricul-
tural Research, the Indian Council of Medical
Research, India Meteorological Department;
Chairmen of Atomic Energy Commission,
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, etc.; Direc-
tors of CSIR Laboratories/ Institutes, Bhab-
ha Atomic Research Centre, Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, Physical Research
Laboratory, Indian Association for the Cul-
tivation of Science, etc.; Secretaries of the
Government Science Departments like the
Department of Atomic Energy, the Depart-
ment of Biotechnology, the Department of
Environment, the Department of Information
Technology, the Department of Ocean De-
velopment, the Department of Science and
Technology, the Department of Scientific
and Industrial Research, the Department of
Space; etc., Member in-charge (Science) in
the Planning Commission; and the former
Bhatnagar Prize Awardees.
University Faculties should recommend
scientists working in their institutions only
and route nominations through their respec-
tive Vice Chancellors, while the Faculties in
IITs are required to send their nominations
through their Directors. The Directors Gen-
eral of the R&D Organizations and the Chair-
men of Commissions may sponsor names of
scientists working in their respective organi-
zations. The Directors of CSIR laboratories/
institutes can nominate candidates in disci-
plines of their interest irrespective of the fact
whether they are working in CSIR laborato-
ries/ institutes or outside. The recipient of a
Bhatnagar Prize can send nomination of one
person only for each year’s award. Nomi-
nations from other individuals sponsoring
their own names or of others are not accept-
able. Each nomination, as per the prescribed
pro-forma, should be accompanied by a de-
tailed statement of work and attainments of
the nominee and a critical assessment report
(not more than 500 words) bringing out the
importance of significant research and devel-
opment contributions of the nominee made
during the five years preceding the year of
the Prize. Nominations not made as per pre-
scribed format are unacceptable.
A candidate once nominated would be
considered for a total period of three years,
if age-wise eligible. Once such a nomination
has been received, CSIR may correspond di-
rectly with the nominator for supplementary
information, if necessary. In case a nominee
has resigned from his present position in
India and has gone abroad, his nomination
would become invalid immediately.
Advisory Committees
• The Advisory Committees for each
year’s award are constituted with the
approval of the Chairman of the Gov-
erning body of CSIR. The Committees
consist of at least six experts including
at least one former Bhatnagar Awar-
dee in the respective discipline. On
receipt of nominations for a particular
year, CSIR circulates the list of nomi-
nees along with the detailed statement
of work and attainments of each can-
didate to all members of the Advisory
Committee related to the concerned
discipline. CSIR convenes meetings
of the various Advisory Committees
in consultation with the Chairmen,
for selecting the recipients of the SSB
Prizes. The compositions of various
Committees, the information submit-
ted for their scrutiny, the proceedings
of the meetings and the procedure for
consideration of the nominations, other
than as detailed herein, are kept confi-
dential.
• Where the recommendation for the
Prize is unanimous or not less than
2/3rd of the members of the Advisory
Committee have agreed to one name
(or maximum of two names in case
they are judged to be of equivalent
merit), the recommendations are sub-
mitted to CSIR for approval.
• The award of the Prize in a specific
discipline may be withheld by CSIR in
any year, if, in the opinion of the Ad-
visory Committee, no sufficiently mer-
itorious candidate is found suitable in
that year.
Presentation
• The names of the recipients are made
public on 26 September, the CSIR
Foundation Day by the Director Gen-
eral, CSIR.
• The Prizes are awarded at a formal
presentation ceremony arranged by
CSIR. At the ceremony, a suitable ci-
tation on work of the recipient of the
Prize is read out.
• The SSB Awardee should give a lecture
in the area of the award, especially in
a small college or a CSIR laboratory
preferably away from the Awardee’s
city for dissemination of science.
HRDG can help by providing TA/DA
for this.
• In all matters of award of SSB Prizes,
the decision of CSIR shall be final.
How to Apply :
Nominations addressed to Scientist In-
charge – SSB YSA Unit, Human Resource
Development Group, CSIR Complex,
Library Avenue, Pusa, New Delhi – 110
012 should be sent as per the prescribed
proforma (original + 2 copies) along with
reprints of significant publications of the
last 5 year’s period on or before 31 March
2018.
Softcopy (in PDF format) of duly filled pro-
forma and significant publications of the
nominee is also required in a USB/Pen
drive.

9. Vol. 02 NO 3 January 16th, 2018.
9
The DKFZ Summer Internship is an 8-week
program for outstanding and ambitious mas-
ter’s students who are interested in gaining
laboratory research experience.
Students of the Summer Internship spend
two months working in a laboratory at the
DKFZ where they participate in cutting-edge,
cancer-related research and interact with
leading scientists in the field as well as with
fellow students from around the world.
During their internship, students take part
in the Internship Core Course which includes
professional skills courses about topics re-
lated to scientific presenting and communi-
cation, and scientific seminars about recent
research at the DKFZ. In addition, students
are connected with scientists at the DKFZ
and are invited to join outings and events in
and around Heidelberg.
Who is eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for the DKFZ Sum-
mer Internship you must be working towards
a master’s degree and be able to provide
proof that you are enrolled in a university for
the full duration of the internship (i.e. until
the end of September). If you already hold a
master’s degree, unfortunately you are not el-
igible to apply for the Internship. You should
be ambitious, hardworking and have a desire
to gain more experience working in the lab.
You must be able to take part in the full
internship, which takes place from 1st Au-
gust – 30th September.
How to Apply?
We particularly encourage applications
from international students. Applications
for the DKFZ Summer Internship should be
submitted in English through our Summer In-
ternship Online Application System. The sys-
tem opens in December of each year. The ap-
plication deadline is 1st March of each year.
As part of your application, you will be
asked to provide electronic copies (PDF for-
mat) of the following documents (in English):
• university registration certificate that
confirms your status as a student for the
full duration of the internship
• university transcript of records
• high school certificate(s)
The University of Tokyo Research Intern-
ship Program (UTRIP) is a summer internship
program for students majoring in natural sci-
ence and other relevant fields. The program
will provide students with an opportunity to
gain the experience of “real graduate-school
life” or “research-centered life.” UTRIP is a
gateway to pursuing an advanced degree and
experiencing academic life at UTokyo. The
program will be a good trial for students to
test their aptitude for rigorous graduate study
in the natural sciences. Participating students
will closely work with leading researchers
of the Graduate School of Science (GSS) at
UTokyo. In addition to an opportunity for an
outstanding scientific research work experi-
ence, the program includes off-campus ac-
tivities such as a field-trip to a historical or
natural site in Japan, and social and cultural
events to promote a better understanding of
Japanese culture and build a good relation-
ship with current students at UTokyo. Lec-
tures on cross-disciplinary scientific areas are
also part of the program.
At the conclusion of the program, students
are required to make an oral presentation and
submit a report on the research project.
Features of UTRIP:
• A research project program with full-
time commitment.
• Participants will have an opportunity to
get involved in research at the frontier
of natural science.
• As part of the program, students will
read published research articles per-
taining to their projects, and participate
in laboratory meetings with their facul-
ty advisors.
• Financial support: All participants
except for those receiving the FUTI
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME
DKFZ Summer
Internship in Cancer
Research, Germany |
Applications Open for
2018
The University of Tokyo
Research Internship
Program – 2018
In addition, you will be asked to provide a
letter of support from your university super-
visor/advisor.
Should you be shortlisted for the second
round of review, you will have the chance to
select from a list of summer research projects.
Application Deadline for the DKFZ Sum-
mer Internship 2018:
- 1st March 2018
Application is possible via our Online
Application System
Award will receive the GSS-UTRIP
Scholarship, which includes air fare
support, free housing, and a stipend.
For details check the Financial Support
page.
• Students will visit a historical or natu-
ral site of interest in Japan.
• Specially-arranged Japanese language
course will be available.
• Participants who successfully complete
the program will be awarded a certifi-
cate from the school.
Eligibility & Requirements:
Applicants for UTRIP must:
• Have completed at least one full year
in a Bachelor’s degree program at the
time of application.
• Be enrolled in and, after the UTRIP
program ends, be expected to return
to, at least another semester, quarter, or
another equivalent academic term, in a
Bachelor’s degree program (or a Bach-
elor’s-equivalent year of an integrated
Bachelor’s-Master’s degree program)
at a university outside of Japan. At se-
lection, the priority for nomination is
given to applicants expected to be in
their third year of a four-year Bache-
lor’s degree program and to applicants
expected to be in their second year of a
three-year Bachelor’s degree program.
Second-year students in four-year
Bachelor’s degree programs are also
encouraged to apply.
• Be enrolled in a natural science or re-
lated field.
• Be thinking of pursuing long-term ca-
reer goals in a scientific area.
• Be able to commit to the entire six con-
secutive weeks of the UTRIP program
(June 13 to July 24 for 1st Crew stu-
dents, and June 27 to August 7 for 2nd
Crew students) on a full-time basis.
• Be able to present coverage of a health
insurance plan that is effective during
the internship program before arriving
in Japan.
• English proficiency: test scores of
TOEFL or an equivalent English profi-
ciency test (such as IELTS) are required
if English is not your first language.
Test scores that have already expired
are accepted, as long as the applicant
is still able to produce proof of the test
scores upon request by the UTRIP of-
fice. Students who have received an
English-medium education continu-
ously for the past 8 years are exempted
from submitting English proficiency
test scores.
Requirements:
Upon enrolling in the UTRIP program, stu-
dents must agree to fulfill the following re-
quirements:
• To devote their full efforts to conduct-
ing the UTRIP project
• To participate in the project for the full
six-week period
• To attend all academic and social
events scheduled over the course of the
UTRIP program
• To submit a written research final re-
port approved by the UTRIP supervi-
sor within one month of finishing the
UTRIP program
• To give an oral presentation on the
scheduled day
• To complete all required procedures by
the designated deadlines.
Application Procedure:
All required documents are required to be
submitted online. Please note that original
official transcripts will be required for enroll-
ment purposes if applicants are successfully
selected for UTRIP. Please contact us if you
have any technical difficulties.
• Application information
Prior to submitting your application, make
sure to review the list of Hosting Labs &
Project Topics / Faculty Members & Topics
to identify a hosting lab and project of your
interest. The applicant selects up to two host-
ing labs and indicates the order of preference
in the online application. See project reports
of the past programs, which demonstrate the
depth and level of achievement made by for-
mer participants, in our archives for 2017,
2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.
• Personal information
You are required to state general informa-
tion in your profile. As we rely mainly on
email to communicate with all applicants,
please include a current email address on
your application and be sure to promptly re-
spond to all correspondence. Please also note
that the Corresponding Address will be used
for important and time-sensitive matters such
as sending visa application documents, so
you should enter an address where you can
be sure to receive shipments throughout April
and May, 2018.
• Personal statement
Address the following topics in 700 – 1000
words in total:
- Your reasons for selecting the particular
research project(s) in the UTRIP program,
and what you hope to gain from this expe-
rience
- What makes you qualified for the particu-
lar research project(s), briefly highlighting
your skills and experience when they are spe-
cifically required by the faculty member(s) of
your choice, or when they appear to be help-
ful to conduct research in the laboratory(ies)
that you have selected
- Whether you are thinking of applying to
the Graduate School of Science at the Uni-
versity of Tokyo after you graduate from
your current university, citing your reasons
Educational background and qualifica-
tions:
Resume / CV
This should include in-depth descriptions of
any work experience, responsibilities or pro-
jects relevant to the research topic on which
you wish to work during the program. It
should also briefly explain courses you have
taken or will take as well as prizes and awards,
which are relevant to the research topic, if
you have any GPA. Applicants whose univer-
sities provide official GPA scores must write
Next Page>>>>

10. Vol. 02 NO 3January 16th, 2018.
10
DEFENCE FOOD RESEARCH LABO-
RATORY,
DEFENCE RESEARCH AND DEVEL-
OPMENT ORGANISATION,
MIN OF DEFENCE, GOVERNMENT
OF INDIA.
SIDDARTHANAGAR, MYSORE – 570
011
Applications are invited from the candi-
dates who fulfill the qualification for the post
of Junior Research Fellowship as per the de-
tails given below:
Position 1
Name of the Position : Junior Research
Fellow
No.of.Positions : 01
Stipend :
Rs. 25,000/- per month.
Qualifications :
First Class – M.Sc., in Bio-chemistry
Position 2
Name of the Position : Junior Research
Fellow
GOVT R&D JOB VACANCIES @ DEFENCE
FOOD RESEARCH LABORATORY (DFRL)
JOBS
No.of.Positions : 01
Stipend :
Rs. 25,000/- per month.
Qualifications :
First Class – M.Sc., in Biotechnology
Position 3
Name of the Position : Junior Research
Fellow
No.of.Positions : 01
Stipend :
Rs. 25,000/- per month.
Qualifications :
M.Sc., in Food Science / Food Science &
Nutrition / Food Technology
The fellowship is offered for a period of
two years and is extendable by 01 more year
subject to satisfactory progress. A monthly
stipend with HRA and Medical Facilities are
admissible as per Rules.
The age limit is 28 years on the closing date
for receipt of application for the said ost,
which is relaxable up to 5 years for SC/ST
and 3 years for OBC Candidates .
Candidates working in the Government /
Public Sector Undertaking / Autonomous
Bodies should apply through proper channel.
Those having qualified NET/CSIR/GATE/
UGC Examination will be preferred.
How to Apply:
Eligible Candidates may apply on Type-
written / computerised application as. per
specimen given here under with Indian Post-
al Order ( IPO ) for Rs. 50/- for the said post,
drawn in favour of Director, Defence Food
Research Laboratory, Siddartha Nagar, My-
sore – 570 011 ( Candidates belonging to
SC,ST and OBC are exempted from the pay-
ment).
The Candidates are required to produce the
Caste Certificate issued by Competent Au-
thority on the prescribed proforma in case of
SC/ST/OBC. Certificate in proof cf Qualifi-
cation etc., should be brought IN ORIGINAL
at the time of Written Test / Interview. The
offer of fellowship/ Associate- ship does not
confer any right for absorption in DRDO.
No. TA / DA will be given for attending the
Written Test / Interview.
Incomplete application and the application
in other than the prescribed· format will be
liable for rejection.
The envelope containing the application·
should be super scribed as ‘” APPLICATION
FOR JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOW-
SHIP”.
Application should be sent under ordinary
post I SPEED POST within 21 days from the
date of publication of advertisement and ap-
plication received after the due date will not
be considered.
Application Deadline – 21st January
2018
biotecnika.org
those scores. If your university does not pro-
vide an official GPA score, you are required
to calculate your own GPA and then describe
the calculation in the “Notes” section.
English language qualifications
Applicants who speak English as their first
language OR those that have received an
English-medium education continuously for
the past 8 years are exempted from submit-
ting the test scores.
All other applicants must fill in their test
scores of TOEFL or an equivalent English
proficiency test (such as IELTS). Test scores
that have already expired are accepted, as
long as the applicant is still able to produce
proof of the test scores upon request by the
UTRIP office.
Supporting documents:
Scanned copy of academic transcript
Submit a scanned copy of the official uni-
versity transcript(s). A transcript must in-
clude:
• Your name
• University name
• Year of admission
• List of courses completed (Course ti-
tles, grades and credits should be in-
cluded)
When applying, please submit a scanned or
electronic copy of your academic transcript.
We will request an official academic record
in its original copy (with an official stamp
affixed and authorized signature) after your
acceptance into the UTRIP program.
Recommender information:
You are required to submit one recommen-
dation letter issued by a professor who knows
your educational background and academ-
ic performance and can make an informed
judgment on your suitability for the research
project with which you wish to work. Talk
to your recommender BEFORE you sub-
mit your application and ask them to write
a recommendation letter for you. When you
send in your online application, a notification
email will be automatically sent to your rec-
ommender, asking them to send us their rec-
ommendation letter through another online
submission page. Make sure to check in with
your recommender to confirm that they have
received this link, as an automated email can
often be mistakenly sorted by a spam filter.
For your application to become valid, your
recommender also needs to complete the
online recommendation form by the recom-
mendation deadline of 17:00 on 2 February,
2018, Japan Standard Time (GMT+0900).
Recommendation letters sent by email will
not be accepted. In case of technical difficul-
ties, recommenders must contact us in time
for us to send them an alternative method of
recommendation form submission.
Online Application Form:
Make sure that you have all the above infor-
mation and materials ready at hand when you
submit your online application. There are no
“save” functions on this application system.
Note that each applicant is responsible for the
completeness of his or her own application.
We cannot respond to any inquiries asking
whether any specific applications submitted
on our system have been judged to be valid.
The system closes at 17:00 on 26 January
2018, Japan Standard Time (GMT+0900).
Selection:
Selection will be made based on all of your
submitted documents.
Selected students will receive a notification
from the UTRIP office around mid-March to
early April, asking them to confirm their will-
ingness to participate in the UTRIP program
by a specified date. Make sure that you check
your emails regularly, and that emails from
utrip.s@gs.mail.u-tokyo.ac.jp are not treated
as spam by your spam filter.
Contact:
All matters related to UTRIP application
should be addressed to: utrip.s@gs.mail.u-to-
kyo.ac.jp
Before asking questions, please first read
through our Frequently Asked Questions
page, which may give you your answers right
away.
*Note that, due to the large number of
emails we receive and our limited capacity,
we will only reply to inquiries relating to ap-
plication that arrive before noon, Wednesday
January 24th, 2018, Japan Standard Time
(GMT+0900), and to inquiries relating to
recommendations that arrive before noon,
Wednesday January 31st, 2018, Japan Stand-
ard Time (GMT+0900).
Program Schedule:
Possible dates for stay at UTokyo in 2018:
First Crew: 13 June 2018 – 24 July 2018
Second Crew: 27 June 2018 – 7 August
2018
Deadline:
The application period is from 5 January
2018 to 17:00 on 26 January 2018, Japan
Standard Time (GMT+0900).
The recommendation form must be com-
pleted online by the recommendation dead-
line of 17:00 on 2 February, 2018, Japan
Standard Time (GMT+0900).
Note that all application and recommenda-
tion materials must arrive through our online
systems by the respective deadlines. No late
submissions of applications or recommenda-
tion letters will be considered.
Selection Result:
Selection notification will be announced on
the UTRIP website on 10 April 2018. Select-
ed students will be notified directly by email
as well, between mid-March and early April.

11. Vol. 02 NO 3 January 16th, 2018.
11
GOVT LIFE SCIENCES RECRUITMENT –
TECHNICAL ASSISTANT (PROTEOMICS)
POST @ C-CAMP
GOVT JOB : MOEF RECRUITING PROJECT
ASSOCIATE WITH SALARY OF
RS. 50,000/- P.M.
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Plat-
forms (C-CAMP), is a Dept. of Biotechnol-
ogy (Govt. of India) initiative and a not for
profit organization based in Bangalore. We
act as an enabler of Bioscience Research,
Innovation and Entrepreneurship by pro-
viding Research, Development, Training
and Services in State Of The Art Tech-
nology Platforms. As a part C-CAMP’s
mandate of promoting entrepreneurship
and innovation, C-CAMP has created and
fostered an entrepreneur-friendly culture
in and around academic/research environ-
ment through its involvement in seed fund-
ing schemes for Startups, Entrepreneur
Mentorship program and Bio-incubation
facility.
Name of the Position : Technical Assis-
tant (Proteomics)
SOCIETY OF INTEGRATED COAST-
AL MANAGEMENT (SICOM)
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND
FORESTS
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Advertisement No. 1 HR/2017 – SICOM
Ministry of Environment and Forests is im-
plementing the World Bank assisted Integrat-
ed
Coastal Management (ICZM) project
through the Society of Integrated Coastal
Management (SICOM). SICOM is the Na-
tional Project Management Unit of the ICZM
project. SICOM is located in Delhi and op-
erating in all the coastal states and Union
Territories of Government of India. SICOM
is inviting applications for the contractual
positions on project mode given in the table
below.
Name of the Position : Project Associate
No.of.Positions : One (1)
Age : No bar
Job Profile:
The job responsibilities for the position in-
clude :
• To support facility in-charge for main-
taining the lab updates such as: pro-
curements, critical laboratory duties as
assigned and safety.
• Prepare/process samples for protein
analysis
• Use LC/MS/MS equipment and soft-
ware tools to acquire data on extracted
samples
• Perform standard QA/QC procedures
• Aid in biological interpretation of pro-
teomic data
• Support in management of scheduler,
log books for the machines.
• Support for student training and their
experiments.
• Support in maintenance of all the sup-
porting instruments.
• Complete understanding of the high
resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS)
including its operations, calibration
and maintenance.
• Ensure routine maintenance on ana-
lytical instrumentation specially Mass
spectrometry and liquid chromatogra-
phy.
Qualifications and Experience:
The candidate should have MSc in life
sciences with minimum 2 years of experience
in HRMS applications in proteomics and / or
peptide mapping.
How to Apply:
Application must include description of pre-
vious experience (maximum 1 page) along
with CV and be forwarded to hr@ccamp.res.
in by 25th January, 2018
This is a contractual position. Remuneration
shall be based on qualification & experience.
Please refer to this advertisement in your
subject liner. Candidates whose profile
matches our requirement will be contacted
directly; there shall be no communication
otherwise.
Application Deadline – by 25th January,
2018
No.of.Positions : 01
Maximum age as on 01st September 2017
: 35 years
Remuneration (consolidated) :
Rs. 50,000/- per month
Tenure :
One year and tenure may be extended fur-
ther on the basis of requirement
and review of performance.
Qualification :
First class master Degree in Natural Scienc-
es/Marine Science/ Life Sciences/ Environ-
ment/Marine Biology.
Experience :
2 yrs. Post qualification experience in the
field of environment
How to Apply:
• Candidates applying for more than one
post should submit separate applica-
tions
• Candidates will have to produce the
proof of details furnished in their ap-
plications, in original at the time of in-
terview.
• Applications received after the due
date, unsigned applications, applica-
tions wherethe post number is not filled
in / not filled correctly and applications
incomplete in any respect, will not be
considered
• Only Indian Nationals need apply
• It may be noted that if at any stage, it
is found that an attempt has been made
by the applicant to willfully conceal or
misrepresent the facts, his candidature
will besummarily rejected or his em-
ployment terminated
Interested qualified persons may send
their applications as per Performa pro-
vided below by Speed Post only, to the fol-
lowing address so as to reach on or before
18.01.2018.
Additional Project Director,
Society of Integrated Coastal Management,
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate
Change,
111, First Floor, Pandit Deen Dayal Antyo-
daya Bhavan,
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi-110003
Application Deadline – on or before
18.01.2018.

12. Vol. 02 NO 3January 16th, 2018.
12
RESEARCH FELLOW POST @ NIMHANS |
MSC HUMAN GENETICS &
BIOTECH CANDIDATES APPLY
Applications are invited from the eligible
candidates for filling up the post of “Jun-
ior Research Fellow” on contract basis for
DST-SERB funded project titled “Develop-
ment of next generation sequencing based
assay for mutationdetection in duchenne
and becker muscular dystrophy” under
Dr. Nalini A, Professor of Neurology &
Principal Investigator, NIMHANS.
Name of the Post : Junior Research Fel-
low
No. of Posts : 01 (One)
Maximum Age Limit : 35 years
Emoluments :
Rs.16,000/- per month plus 20% HRA
Duration of the Post :
6 months
Educational Qualification :
MSc in Human Genetics or MTech in Bi-
otechnology with six months experience in
Molecular Genetics lab.
Experience :
Preferred experience with Cycle Sequenc-
ing, fragment analysis, MLAP &bioinformat-
ic analysis.
How to Apply:
Eligible candidates fulfilling the criteria
may apply by email to atchayaramnalini@
yahoo.co.in. The candidates, who apply,
should invariably mention the Notification
no, Date, Email ID, Contact no. and Postal
address without fail, otherwise the applica-
tions will not be considered.
The last date for receipt of filled in applica-
tion together with the relevant documents is
Upto 17.01.2018 upto 4.00 P.M. Applications
received later will not be entertained.
Application Deadline – 17.01.2018 upto
4.00 P.M.