News & Views Issue 12 November 2016
EDITORIAL
In the final Newsletter issue of 2016 we bring to you updates on India Alliance funded researchers and events, interesting research stories and interviews. We hope you find this issue an enjoyable and informative read.
At the outset, we would like to congratulate our Intermediate Fellow 2010 Dr Amit Singh (IISc Bangalore) who recently received the NASI-Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award in Biological Sciences from the National Academy of Sciences and Research Training Fellow 2015 Dr Sivaranjani Gali (M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore) who won the Paffenbarger Award at Academy of Dental Materials, Chicago. Our felicitations to Intermediate Fellow 2014, Dr Minhaj Sirajuddin (InStem, Bangalore), who was recently selected to join the EMBO Young Investigator (YI) network through a highly competitive three-year grant which includes host of benefits for researchers. He is the first scientist from India to receive this award. We are presently not accepting applications for any of our Fellowship schemes and applications submitted are currently under review. The next call for applications will be made for Clinical and Public Health Research Fellowships in early 2017. Tentative launch timelines are included in this issue. We also feature a few new India Alliance Fellows and their research in this newsletter. The India Alliance continues to support various events aimed at increasing public awareness of science and important public health issues. As part of our ongoing ‘Voices for Health’ series, India Alliance supported a five-day public event at New Delhi based around Mental Health organized by the PRIDE (Premium for Adolescents) team at Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). Ms Pattie Pramila Gonsalves, Project Coordinator, Public Engagement PRIDE Project, writes about this effort in the ‘Public Engagement Corner’. Our current public engagement programme in the ‘Voices for Health’ series is around Environmental Health (EH). We are presently organizing EH sensitization workshops at school and undergraduate colleges with our partners, PHFI and Happy Hands Foundation. In this issue, read an update on these initiatives and our upcoming half-day public awareness event on EH. In an effort to inform Indian researchers abroad about science career landscape in India, India Alliance supports various Young Investigator meetings in India and outside, such as the recently held YIM-UK (16 September) and YIM-Chicago (21-23 October). One of the attendees of the meetings, Dr Viswanadham Duppatla writes about YIM-UK and the importance of such conventions in helping early career researchers to network and identify right career opportunities in India. On the Science Communication front, our 14th biannual two-day Science Communication workshop was held in Hyderabad on 26 and 27 September and our 2nd one-day SciComm and Career workshop in partnership with Nature India and Nature Jobs was held at the XXXIV Annual Meeting of Indian Academy of Neuroscience on 18th October. This issue includes a short report on both these workshops. In the Research Highlights section we bring to you the recently published work of our Intermediate Fellows. Dr Lolitika Mandal (IISER Mohali) provides novel insights into blood cell development in a Fruit fly model which has huge implications for medical research. Dr Thomas Pucadyil (IISER Pune) and his group’s latest research advance our understanding of cellular trafficking pathways involving cell surface protein “Clathrin”. Dr Soumen Basak’s (NII, New Delhi) published work in Oncogene elucidates complex interplay of tumour promoting proteins and transcription factors in cancer drug resistance. Dr Arun Shukla (IIT Kanpur) and his team’s recent research findings further augment our knowledge of GPCR signalling, which has huge significance for drug discovery. Dr Giridhara Babu (IIPH, Bangalore) shares a summary of his recent comment in Lancet on managing threats to respiratory health in urban slums. Senior Fellow at CMC Vellore, Dr Vikram Mathews and his colleagues report novel therapeutic strategy for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) and identify new mutations in APL patients.
This issue also includes interviews of our Senior and Intermediate Fellowship Selection Committee member and Associate Professor at University of San Diego, USA, Prof Shyni Varghese, Early Career Fellow Dr Abhijit Majumder, who is based at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and our new Grants team member Dr Garima Singh. Our heartfelt thanks to all those who have contributed to this newsletter. Special thanks go to Dr Lolitika Mandal for the cover image, which is represents hematopoietic stem cells (purple), progenitor cells (blue), niche cells (green) and cardioblasts (orange) in a Fruit fly. In 2016, India Alliance grew in numbers and strength in various aspects and received constant support and encouragement for its numerous endeavours. We will continue to bring to you updates on India Alliance funded research and other announcements in the New Year and as always will look forward to your valuable comments and suggestions. Best wishes, Sarah Iqbal, PhD Public Engagement Officer
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CONTENT
4 New INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS Drs Prerna Sharma (Intermediate Fellow), Dr Gajinder Pal Singh (Early Career Fellow), Rakshathi Basavaraju and Dhruva Ithal (Research Training Fellows) 6 INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOW IN SPOTLIGHT Interview of Dr Abhijit Majumder, Early Career Fellow, IIT Bombay Intermediate Fellow Dr Minhaj Sirajuddin receives the EMBO-Young Investigator Program Award 9 INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS’ RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Recently published works of Drs Lolitika Mandal, Arun Shukla, Thomas Pucadyil, Vikram Mathews, Soumen Basak, Giridhara Babu 13 IN CONVERSATION WITH.. Prof Shyni Varghese, University of California, USA 14 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT CORNER Public engagement events in ‘Voices for Health’ series 19 Report YOUNG INVESTIGATOR MEETING- UK 2016 21 SCIENCE COMMUNICATION 14th SciComm workshop and 2nd SciComm & Career Workshop 22 INDIA ALLIANCE STAFF CORNER Dr Garima Singh, Grants Consultant, India Alliance
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New
INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS
Interdisciplinary approach to investigate ‘ciliary beating’ in eukaryotes Dr Prerna Sharma Intermediate Fellow 2016 Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Website
resistant to artemisinin, our best anti-malarial drug. If it further spreads to Africa it could have devastating consequences. In order to deal with the challenge of artemisinin resistance, I am interested in evolutionary processes that lead to anti-malarial resistance, the molecular mechanism of artemisinin resistance, and target identification of novel anti-malarial compounds to facilitate discovery of drugs that could replace artemisinin.
I am currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. My PhD was in the area of soft matter which lies at the intersection of physics, chemistry and biology. I studied interfacial dynamics for the Ph. D. degree at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. My techniques were microscopy and optical trapping which are also widely used in biophysics research. I then moved to Brandeis University, USA for postdoctoral work that focused on self-assembly with biopolymers. It is here that I learnt a number of techniques in microbiology and molecular cloning. The ‘Quantitative Biology’ program at Brandeis University encouraged extensive formal and informal interactions between physicists and biologists through its weekly seminar series. These interactions introduced me to a number of interesting problems in biophysics, one of which was ciliary beating in eukaryotes. I felt that my inter-disciplinary expertise could provide a new perspective and insight by combining ideas and methods from biology with that of physics of nonequilibrium systems in the particular context of ciliary beating in Chlamydomonas, a single celled biflagellate algae. On my return to India, I applied to Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance with a proposal that focused on collective effects in ciliary beating. This choice was driven by the fact that India Alliance had a broad and holistic view of biomedical research.
Resistance to anti-malarial drugs has often emerged in South-East Asia but the reasons for this are not understood. We recently analysed thousands of Plasmodium falciparum genomes and discovered that South-east Asian strains of P. falciparum have a higher propensity for amino acid changing (non-synonymous) mutations compared to those from Africa , which might be related to their higher propensity to develop drug resistance. Artemisinin resistance is now known to be associated with more than 20 mutations in a P. falciparum protein Kelch13. We recently mapped these mutations to understand the structural effects of these mutations on this protein. We are utilizing laboratory evolution and whole genome sequencing to identify the targets of many anti-malarial compounds from the open source Malaria Box (http://www.mmv.org/researchdevelopment/open-access-malaria-box). Target identification is a crucial step in the development of new anti-malarial drugs.
Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation of Cerebellar Vermis in Schizophrenia: Impact on Negative Symptoms and Brain Connectivity
Dealing with artemisinin-resistant malaria Dr Gajinder Pal Singh Early Career Fellow 2016 International Centre For Genetic Engineering And Biotechnology, New Delhi
Dr Rakshathi Basavaraju Research Training Fellow 2016 National Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences, Bangalore Website
Website My interest in neurosciences dates back to my days of medical school where I developed interest in
One of the most important public heath challenges of our time is the emergence and spread of malaria
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New
INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS
human behaviour and the science governing the same. I developed interest in psychiatric disorders during my psychiatry rotations, and I took up psychiatry as I was interested to gain understanding of the biological basis for human behaviour. I got an opportunity to work in a research project in Psychiatry in NIMHANS before I started my residency where I learnt investigative Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and its use in detecting mirror neuron activity in schizophrenia and the findings of these studies have won awards in state and zonal level conferences. My MD thesis was also based on TMS. Having worked so far in exploring biological basis I wanted to take up some work which has a direct clinical yield and hence we planned this study in novel therapeutics for the very difficult to treat and disabling negative symptoms in schizophrenia.
Medical Sciences, Hubli, Karnataka. During my medical education I had developed keen interest in Clinical Research and was determined to pursue a career as Clinical Researcher. With the golden opportunity to learn MD in Psychiatry from a premier institute - National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, I could nurture both my clinical and research interests. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which is a wonder treatment in psychiatry attracted my inquisitive mind. This paved the way for my thesis work during my MD wherein I modified the electrical parameter and looked at efficacy and cognitive adverse effects of ECT in patients with schizophrenia. I got the opportunity to present the findings of my research work in some of the National and International conferences.
Theta Burst Stimulation (TBS) is a novel patterned repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) technique whose safety and efficacy has been established in a small group of schizophrenia patients in an open label study. The aims of our India Alliance-funded study is to examine the efficacy of iTBS (intermittent TBS) to the cerebellar vermis for negative symptoms in schizophrenia, to examine the resting state functional connectivity correlates of clinical improvement in negative symptoms and cognitive deficits. It would be a double-blind randomized controlled trial, where 60 patients of schizophrenia meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria will be randomized to intervention arm who will receive iTBS and control arm who will receive sham TMS (30 in each group). A resting state functional MRI will be obtained at baseline and at the end of the iTBS sessions. Patients will receive iTBS or shamTMS for 5 days under MRI guided neuronavigation (two-sessions a day, four hours apart).
Even though ECT is considered the most effective treatment in the field of psychiatry for all severe mental illnesses, mechanism of its action still remains enigmatic. With this fellowship I aim to take a step closer as a clinician to predict the response to ECT among schizophrenia patients. This fellowship would also allow me to learn newer modalities in research like functional neuroimaging, Diffusion Tensor Imaging. During this fellowship I aspire to assimilate the techniques of both research methodologies and use of imaging in psychiatric research with the auspices of my mentors - Dr B.N. Gangadhar, Dr Jagadisha T.and Dr Rose Dawn Bharath.
INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWSHIP TENTATIVE LAUNCH
Exploring brain connectivity, neuroprophic and clinical correlates of treatment response to Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) in refractory schizophrenia
Clinical and Public Health Research Fellowships Next competition : January 2017 Margdarshi Fellowship Next competition : February 2017
Dr Dhruva Ithal Research Training Fellow 2016 National Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences, Bangalore
Senior & Intermediate Fellowships Basic Biomedical Research Fellowships Next competition : February 2017
Website
Early Career Fellowships Basic Biomedical Research Fellowships Next competition : May 2017 Research Training Fellowships For Clinicians Next competition : July 2017
Hailing from Thirthahalli, a small town in Shivamogga district of Karnataka, I completed my MBBS from Karnataka Institute of
Check our website regularly for latest updates.
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INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOW IN SPOTLIGHT
DR ABHIJIT MAJUMDER
Early Career Fellow, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Dr Abhijit Majumder is an Assistant Professor and Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Early Career Fellow based at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. He was the recipient of MIT Technology Review’s Top Innovator under 35 (TR35 India) in 2012.
What are you working on and what impact do you hope it will have?
What inspired you to become a scientist?
My lab is working on cell mechanics in general. We are looking into how different mechanical aspects of a tissue control/influence cellular behaviour and fate. By mechanical aspect I mean, tissue rigidity, stretching, vibration, fluid stress etc. We are specifically interested to study cell-material interactions. For that we employ material preparation, their characterizations, live cell imaging, traction force microscopy, atomic force microscopy, microfabrication and microfluidics. We call our lab as "M-Lab" which captures the four major areas of our work: materials, matrix, mechanics and microfluidics. I would also like to put "M" for motivation as well which is probably the core driving force for any research group. In short, we are trying to mimic cell's in vivo environment as much as possible. In future, we will like to explore areas such as organ-on-chip.
I really don't know the answer but surely there was no eureka moment for this decision. However, some signs were there since I was a kid. I remember, in my first or second grade textbook, there was a storey of Galileo. That time, I did not know the word "Scientist". So, whenever anyone asked me what I wanted to be in future, my answer used to be "Galileo". I was a rebellious kid who refused to accept any instruction if not explained properly. I was not a very active kid but I loved to think a lot. I was (and still am) also fond of reading detective stories and solving puzzles and riddles. So overall, I think I wanted to be in a profession where I can ask questions, I can encounter new challenges and where I can get the freedom to do my work independently. All these considerations put together probably drove me towards science. Later on, my sister who is six years older to me and is now a biologist working in US may have also left an impression on me. What challenges do you see for young scientists like yourself in India and how did you overcome them?
The knowledge gained will help in designing efficient scaffolds for tissue engineering, cell delivery systems for stem cell based treatments and might indicate new treatment target to control diseases related to cellular migration including cancer. It will also help us to understand the role of mechanics in pattern formation, development and pathological conditions. After answering this question, I would also like to add one rejoinder. I personally do not like to look for possible impact. When Newton discovered gravity, he did not think of sending spacecrafts into deep space. So, I believe that scientists are the truth seekers and they should continue to search for newer knowledge objectively.
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In my opinion, the challenges are many and some of them are generic and some of them are institute specific. A few generic problems are funding, lack of infrastructure, lack of exposure and delay in getting reagents. Let me elaborate them a bit. Although I have not faced the funding issue much thanks to the India Alliance, many of my colleagues face funding difficulties in their starting years. My institute gives me INR 25-50K for my annual consumables which does not amount to much for a biologist. As a result, we are completely dependent on external funding which a new faculty may not get in their first one or two years of tenure.
INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOW IN SPOTLIGHT
DR ABHIJIT MAJUMDER
Early Career Fellow, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
This makes starting your own group quite an uphill task.
expertise in something that is substantially different from my PhD research topic yet connected. Thanks to this generous funding for consumables, I could use all the seed grant money from IIT Bombay to buy equipment and could set up my lab faster. Getting a chance to meet and interact with renowned scientists during the Annual Fellows’ Meeting is another big advantage. Programs like leadership training also helped a lot in terms of soft skill building. Last, but probably the most important, the unique flexibilities offered by this fellowship along with regular reviews keeps an excellent balance between independent thinking and accountability.
Many of the times reviewers ask for specific experiments. One may not have the infrastructure/money to conduct that specific experiment. So, we need to plan our experiments according to what we have rather than what we should. Non-availability of reagents is another problem. It takes a month or two to get a simple antibody. Add bureaucratic hurdles and paperwork to it, and the time delay will easily become three to four months. Planning an experiment early is the only way out which is a real difficult challenge.
Based on your experience, what advice would you give to those applying for IA Fellowships?
What role do you think scientists can play in the society today? To start with, scientists should instil scientific temper and thought process in the society. They should inspire people to ask critical questions and must play an active role in providing rational thoughts on issues affecting the society. Do we, as scientists, question all our beliefs in our daily life with the same rigour that we use to question our hypothesis in our labs? If we cannot take a claim in a published paper on its face value and ask critical questions, why can't we do the same everyday with claims made by different groups of people? We must interact more with school and college students to popularize science. Ask a college student if s/he know what Filmfare award is and then ask the same person if s/he knows what Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award is. The message will be clear. If we want to attract young minds towards science, we must engage with them. We should disseminate scientific knowledge in simple language. In this regard, I think, we should also give popular talks in regional languages, particularly targeting school kids.
In the last few years, I have helped a couple of applicants in preparing their applications. I have also interacted with many of them during their application process. A general concern that I found in their proposal is a lack of clarity. I must admit that today when I look back at my own proposal, I find many flaws. To bring clarity of thought, one must start preparing early on. For instance, if you plan to apply in September 2018, start preparing by mid2017 and build your proposal step by step. First ask yourself a few questions. 1. Is the question you are asking in the proposal novel? 2. Is the question important? 3. Is the question too broad or too narrow? and finally 4. Why do you think that you are the right person and your host institute is the right place to address this question? Please think through and address these questions in your application. Also, one should have a detailed flowchart of planned experiments. They may not include this in their proposal but having a thorough plan is a must. When writing the proposal, think as if you already have the grant. This imagination helps to plan your experiments better. What keeps you going every day?
Scientists should also safeguard the value of curiosity driven research. We must make public as well as the policymakers understand that every research won't become a product overnight. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a good example in this regard. When discovered, no one thought that it will have such a wide application one day. How has Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance funding helped you and your research? For a young faculty it is not easy to get funding in a field where they do not have any proven track record. Thus, this funding helped me to explore an interdisciplinary research area and build my
I think the key driving force is my sense of responsibility towards my students and towards the public money that I am using for my research. Other than that, simple fun of doing science, the challenge that research throws everyday keeps me going. I simply enjoy analysing my data, playing with it. Finally, the thought that I'll see something today under the microscope, that no one has seen/observed ever in human history, is a great kick. Find out more about Abhijit’s research.
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INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOW IN SPOTLIGHT
Intermediate Fellow, Dr Minhaj Sirajuddin receives the EMBO-Young Investigator Program Award Report by National Centre for Biological Science (NCBS) Communications Office Dr Minhajuddin Sirajuddin, Assistant Investigator at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) has been awarded the prestigious European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator Programme (YIP) award for the year 2016. He is the first scientist from India to receive this award. India's recent entry into the EMBO community has paved the way for young researchers like Dr Sirajuddin to apply for such prestigious research awards. The rapidly growing research community in India now has access to a combination of excellent facilities and collaborative opportunities. Through several schemes, EMBO supports talented researchers in the field of life sciences at all stages of their career to enable excellent science. The EMBO Young Investigator programme (YIP) is a highly competitive scheme that aims to facilitate development of early career researchers into worldclass researchers, primarily via networking opportunities. EMBO Young Investigators are encouraged to interact with each other, group leaders and the growing network of former Young Investigators. They also benefit from both financial and practical support, including mentorship by EMBO members and access to core facilities at EMBL, Europe's flagship laboratory for basic research in Molecular Biology. Dr Sirajuddin joined the Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Disease at inStem in October 2014. He has been working on understanding the structure and function of cytoskeletal assemblies, which form the basic framework for maintaining cell integrity and power biological movements. This has larger implications, since mutations in these cytoskeletal components have been linked to a variety of human diseases including cardiomyopathies and muscular dystrophies. He proposes to study actin and microtubule cytoskeletons, to identify and characterize proteins that function in the organization and stability of these structures. This is expected to have implications in various disease conditions. Dr Sirajuddin’s research has the potential to bridge the knowledge gap between human mutations from clinical studies and molecular mechanisms affecting biological
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processes. Support via the EMBO Young Investigator Program will further Dr Sirajuddin’s collaborations with colleagues in the EMBO member states, which will be crucial to achieve the goals of his program. “The EMBO YIP network brings together some of the best young minds in science across Europe and associated member countries. It will be a great opportunity to interact, exchange and learn new ideas from the current and former YIPs. The programme also allows us to take advantage by facilitating to travel to meetings, collaboration with other labs and access EMBL facilities. It is particularly attractive as my lab members also can avail many of these benefits.” said Dr Sirajuddin sharing his views about the EMBO award. Prof Apurva Sarin, the Dean of inStem spoke about the award and said “We are delighted that the first EMBO-YIP awarded to India is hosted at inStem. This is recognition of the possibilities that Minhaj's research brings to the CCBD and the Shanta Wadhwani Centre for Cardiac and Neural Research, generously supported by the Wadhwani Foundation at inStem.” About EMBO: EMBO is an organization of leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences. The major goals of the organization are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information, and help build a research environment where scientists can achieve their best work. For more information: http://www.embo.org/about-embo About India-EMBO partnership: The Government of India and the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) and the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), recently signed an agreement inducting India as a member state of the EMBC and EMBO. The agreement will have farreaching implications for Indian science through the strengthening of links between the Indian and European life-sciences research communities. For more details, please visit https://indiabioscience.org/meetings/indiaembo-launch-series Funding support: Dr Sirajuddin’s research program is supported by an Intermediate Research Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance and intramural support via inStem and the Shanta Wadhwani Centre for Cardiac and Neural Research
INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOW’S
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Similarity in early blood cell development between fruitfly and mammals Dr Lolitika Mandal, Intermediate Fellow 2011 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali The development of blood cells (or hematopoiesis) in humans is directly linked to many diseases, including leukemia or blood cancer. Studies in last decade have demonstrated that hematopoiesis in the fruitfly Drosophila bears remarkable similarity to that in vertebrate, including humans, making the former a good model system to understand the latter. The blood-forming organ (lymph gland) of Drosophila larvae has specialized progenitor cells that share several similarities with stem cells. Just like stem cells, these groups of cells gives rise to mature blood cells, which depends on the niche in which these cells develop and the signals/cues they receive. Our recently published work in eLife describes the signals that are required for the maintenance, quiescence and differentiation of these specialized progenitor cells into blood cells. Here, we questioned the identity of the founder cell for these progenitors and discovered hematopoietic (blood) stem cells (or HSCs) in Drosophila. Using lineage tracing and genetic ablation they show the
presence of a transient, hitherto unknown multipotent cell in the early larval stages of Drosophila. Like many other stem cells, these cells also depend on a niche for their maintenance. We identified Dpp/BMP as a niche signal for these HSCs, extending the similarity across divergent taxa. This work demonstrates that early HSC development in fruitfly is similar to that in mammals, and brings about a paradigm shift in our understanding of hematopoiesis. This has farreaching implications for stem cell based therapies, wherein it is imperative to know how tissue specific stem cells are specified in development. Dpp dependent Hematopoietic stem cells give rise to Hh dependent blood progenitors in larval lymph gland of Drosophila. Nidhi Sharma Dey, Parvathy Ramesh, Mayank Chugh, Sudip Mandal, Lolitika Mandal. eLife. October 2016
Understanding cellular trafficking pathways involving cell surface protein “Clathrin� Dr Thomas Pucadyil, Intermediate Fellow 2011 IISER Pune Cell-fate determination, self and non-self discrimination and nutrient uptake from the cellular microenvironment are phenomena, which rely on a finely controlled display of membrane proteins on the cell surface. The cell surface localization of most membrane proteins is a balanced outcome of complex trafficking pathways. Most membrane proteins are taken up from the cell surface by a protein called clathrin, which assembles into a basket-shaped structure to bud-out a portion of the cell surface membrane in a membrane proteinladen, clathrin-coated pit. Clathrin does not directly interact with the membrane but requires specialized adaptors for its recruitment to and subsequent build-up of a clathrin-coat on the cell membrane. Clathrin adaptors recognize clathrin via short sequence motifs; referred to as clathrin boxes and adaptors display diversity both in the numbers and types of evolutionarily conserved clathrin-binding boxes. How this diversity relates to the process of
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clathrin assembly during the growth of a coated pit remains unclear. Using real-time, fluorescence microscopy-based assays, we directly reconstitute the process of adaptor-mediated clathrin assembly using five unique clathrin adaptors. Remarkably, we find that clathrin assembly selectively leads to the clustering of some but not all adaptors. Furthermore, our results indicate that adaptor clustering is determined not by the amount of clathrin recruited or the degree of clathrin clustered but instead by the rate of clathrin assembly thus emphasizing the need to invoke kinetics of protein interactions to better understand cellular trafficking pathways. Comparative analysis of adaptor-mediated clathrin assembly reveals general principles for adaptor clustering. Pucadyil, T.J. and Holkar, S.S.. Molecular
Biology of the Cell (2016)
INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOW’S RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Novel therapeutic strategy for Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) and novel mutations in APL patients Dr Vikram Mathews, Senior Fellow 2012 Christian Medial College Vellore Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), a type of cancer of the white blood cells, is characterized by mutations in a novel PML-RARA oncogene (1-4). Arsenic trioxide (ATO) has proven efficacy as first line therapy in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) (5). The relative specificity of ATO in the treatment of APL results from the ability of ATO to bind directly to the PML (promyelocytic leukemia) and chimeric PML-RARA (promyelocytic leukemia– retinoic acid receptor-α) protein which in turn leads to its degradation inside the cell. The existing literature suggests that this degradation is mediated by intra-cellular organelles called proteasomes (6, 7). Based on the current understanding of the mechanism of action of ATO in APL, proteasomal inhibition would be antagonistic to the action of ATO. We had previously reported, in an in vitro model, that there was evidence of significant microenvironment mediated de novo drug resistance (EM-DR) to ATO (8). This suggests that malignant cells residing in specific microenvironments as in the bone marrow were likely to be more resistant to treatment than when they were removed from this environment. We had also demonstrated that co-culturing malignant cells with stromal cells in vitro (mimicking the effect of the micro-environment in vitro) resulted in upregulation of the NF-κB pathway in malignant cells and inhibiting this pathway could overcome the microenvironment mediated drug resistance to ATO. Further, we had recently reported that by using a proteasome inhibitor (bortezomib)(9)we could overcome such drug resistance and that this drug synergizes with ATO in the treatment of APL. On a separate note there has been a recent concern of ATO resistance in patients treated with upfront ATO (10). The focus of ATO resistance has centered on mutations in PML-RARA gene (10-12), specifically missense or point mutations in the B2 domain of the PML gene that results in the inability of ATO to directly bind to the PML and PML-RARA oncoprotein leading to resistance (12). While additional mutations have been noted in up to a third of relapsed APL patients in the PML-RARA gene it is not clear whether such mutations are associated with secondary ATO resistance as described for those in the PML B2 domain (10). However, the published data suggests that patients with such mutations have an unfavorable clinical outcome (1012). There is a need to address novel strategies and therapeutic modalities to treat relapsed APL, especially those that have received ATO as upfront therapy.
promyelocyte in a stromal co-culture system was contradictory to existing dogma on the mechanism of action of ATO. The mechanism of such a synergy has not been previously evaluated and the theoretical antagonism of combining these two agents on PML and PML-RARA degradation, which is central to clearance of the leukemia initiating compartment in APL and achieving cure (12, 13)has not been previously addressed. In this study we evaluated the mechanism of bortezomib induced cytotoxicity against malignant promyelocytes, its potential mechanism of synergy with ATO and the fate of PML-RARA when this combination was used. We demonstrate an alternative mechanism of PMLRARA degradation following treatment with ATO and bortezomib and also demonstrate synergy between these two agents. Through a series of in-vitro experiments, animal models and preliminary clinical trial data we have validated the beneficial effect of this combination in the management of APL. Most interestingly this combination is highly effective against ATO resistant APL cell lines and in patients with relapsed APL (14). The overall management of APL has evolved into a de-escalation strategy from intensive myelo-toxic combination chemotherapy to non myelo-toxic regimens (15). This evolution has been achieved by remarkable progress in the understanding of the biology of the disease and the mechanism of action of agents, such as ATO and ATRA, used to treat this condition. Data in this research publication along the same lines, demonstrates the potential of the use of another non-myelotoxic agent (proteasome inhibitor) in combination with ATO being effective even in ATO resistant and relapsed APL. The potential is that this group of drugs could replace potent myelo-toxic anthracylines even in high risk and relapsed APL where they continue to be used in standard of care. These observations bring to the forefront novel biology, illustrate new therapeutic targets and have significant translational potential which could have a bearing on other leukemia’s and cancers beyond APL. Rationale and efficacy of proteasome inhibitor combined with arsenic trioxide in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. S Ganesan, A A Alex, E Chendamarai, N Balasundaram, H K Palani, S David, U Kulkarni1, M Aiyaz, R Mugasimangalam, A Korula, A Abraham, A Srivastava, R A Padua, C Chomienne, B George, P Balasubramanian and V Mathews. Leukemia Comprehensive mutational analysis of primary and relapse acute promyelocytic leukemia. V Madan et
Our in vitro observation of a possible synergistic cytotoxic effect of combining bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, and ATO on malignant
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INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOW’S RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Elucidating complex interplay of tumour promoting proteins and transcription factors in cancer drug resistance By Dr Soumen Basak, Intermediate Fellow 2010 National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi Environmental drug resistance constitutes a serious impediment for therapeutic intervention in cancer and related diseases. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a tumor promoting protein, induces the expression of pro-survival factors, and thereby confers resistance in cancerous cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. The Nuclear Factor or NF-kappaB (NFkB) family is composed of multiple dimeric DNA-binding proteins that regulate transcription of DNA to RNA process in a cell. TNF-induced activation of the transcription factor, RelA:p50 via the canonical NFkB activating pathway has been implicated in pro-survival gene-expressions in cancerous cells and results in their drug-resistance. Owing to negative feedback control hardwired within the canonical NFkB pathway, TNF only transiently induces the RelA:p50 activity. How transient RelA/NFkB signaling induced by TNF imparts a prolonged drug-resistant state in cancerous cells remain an active area of research. On the other hand, cell-differentiating and organogenic cues activate the non-canonical NFkB pathway, which promotes nuclear translocation of alternate transcription factor, RelB containing NFkB dimers. It is thought that RelB/NFkB mediates the expression of only a select set of lymphoid
chemokines. In our recently published study, we show that genetic aberrations associated with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, reposition RelB/NFkB under TNF control. We provide evidence that cancer-associated mutations may perpetuate TNF-induced pro-survival NFκB activity through autoregulatory RelB control and thereby may exacerbate environmental drug resistance. Our study, which combines biochemistry, genetics and mathematical modeling, also reiterates the importance of system-level analyses in designing therapeutic intervention strategies for cancer. Future studies ought to examine possible involvement of the autoregulatory NFkB pathway in other human cancers as well as in physiological processes, including immune cell maturation. Non-canonical NFκB mutations reinforce prosurvival TNF response in multiple myeloma through an autoregulatory RelB:p50 NFκB pathway Payel Roy, Tapas Mukherjee T, Budhaditya Chatterjee, Bharath Vijayaragavan, Balaji Banoth, Soumen Basak. Oncogene
LANCET COMMENT
Managing threats to respiratory health in urban slums By Giridhara Babu, Intermediate Fellow 2015 Public Health Foundation of India, IIPH-H, Bangalore campus Since urban slums are proportionately growing with the economic development of a country, it is important to address the health of people living in these slums. Our Lancet Comment focuses on the risk of dual burden of infectious and noncommunicable respiratory diseases among the slum dwellers in low and middle income countries, who are forced to live in informal settlements with inadequate access to health services. The diseases include pneumonia in early life; asthma beginning in childhood; and tuberculosis, COPD, and restrictive lung diseases during adulthood. The comment cites burden and risk factors for respiratory illness in the
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slums in three countries, India, Peru, and Uganda. Evidence suggests that pollution, ambient and indoor, is a major public health issue affecting the poorest pool of slum residents in low-income and middle-income countries. There is a need for an integrated approach, targeting both ambient air and household air pollution to achieve full health benefits. Comprehensive strategies to meet clean air guidelines for ambient air and air in the home; awareness campaigns and packaged interventions to promote healthy environment; access to primary and secondary preventive care, including
INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS’ RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and influenza virus, and actions against tobacco smoke and for healthy eating; and governmental policies targeting poverty reduction and equity in healthcare access can help improve the current situation in urban slums.
Managing threats to respiratory health in urban slums. William Checkley, Suzanne L Pollard, Trishul Siddharthan, Giridhara R Babu, Megha Thakur, Catherine, H Miele, Onno CP Van Schayck. Lancet
Respiratory Medicine
GPCR signaling: A paradigm change By Dr Arun Shukla, Intermediate Fellow 2014 Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
A class of cell surface receptor molecules, referred to as G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), are key centers for receiving external signals and transmitting the message across the cell membrane. These receptors convey the message to the cell’s interior by interacting with effector molecules such as heterotrimeric G Proteins and β-arrestins (βarrs). Interaction of GPCRs with βarrs involves two distinct components that are the phosphorylated carboxyl-terminus and the activated receptor core made up of transmembrane bundles. In the field of GPCR biology and signaling, it is generally believed that both set of interactions between the receptor and βarr must engage to yield functional outcomes such as receptor signaling and endocytosis. Contrary to this notion, here we demonstrate that interaction between a prototypical GPCR, the β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR) and βarr only through the carboxyl-terminus is sufficient to initiate receptor signaling and endocytosis. This surprising finding uncovers a previously unanticipated paradigm of GPCR signaling and regulation. GPCR ligands constitute the largest class of drugs for human diseases and they represent about half of the currently prescribed medicines including
drugs for hypertension, allergy and neurological disorders. Ligands that can selectively engage one of the two signaling effectors (G protein and βarrs), referred to as biased ligands, have emerged as a new class of therapeutics with promise of significantly lower side-effects. In our study, we observe that a biased ligand of β2AR promotes only the single point contact between the receptor and βarr involving the receptor carboxyl-terminus. This key aspect of biased GPCR signaling reveals a fundamental insight that was unknown until now and it is likely to significantly influence our thinking about designing biased ligands at GPCRs. Therefore, our findings not only provide a key conceptual advancement for our understanding of GPCR signaling but they also have direct implications of design and discovery of novel GPCR ligands and therapeutics. Functional competence of a partially engaged GPCR–β-arrestin complex. Punita Kumari, Ashish Srivastava, Ramanuj Banerjee, Eshan Ghosh, Pragya Gupta, Ravi Ranjan, Xin Chen, Bhagyashri Gupta, Charu Gupta, Deepika Jaiman & Arun K. Shukla. Nature Communications
About the image : The image shows a schematic representation of biphasic interaction between activated GPCR (red) and βar (blue). In the first step, βarr interacts with the phosphorylated carboxyl-terminus of the receptor (yellow) and forms a partially engaged complex (middle). In the second step, βarr interacts with the activated receptor core leading to the assembly of a fully-engaged complex (right).
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IN CONVERSATION WITH
PROF SHYNI VARGHESE
Prof Shyni Varghese is an Associate Professor at University of California, San Diego, USA. Her group works at the interface of bioinspired materials and stem cells. She has given various talks and workshops in India including the very popular, Stem Cell Engineering Workshop at NCBS, Bangalore. Prof Varghese is also on the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Fellowship Selection Committee and recently gave a talk at a Symposium held at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum.
What motivated you to become a scientist? I was a very curious kid who always asked “why” and “how”. I also liked the freedom to explore and find solution to problems which are very relevant to society. and if you were not a scientist, you would be.. Police Officer or IAS officer or a lawyer. I always wanted to make a difference in the society and wanted to work for the people.
repair and disease progression. Moving forward, we harness these fundamental understandings to develop therapeutics involving stem cells and biomaterials, including stem cell transplantation, activation of endogenous cells for tissue repair, and therapeutic interventions targeting the Extracellular matrix (ECM). These research efforts will also lead to human specific technological platforms, such as organs-on-chips, that could enable drug discovery and development. What according to you are the challenges in your field of research and how do you see the field evolve in the next ten years?
Could you briefly take us through your scientific journey and about your current research. I did my PhD in polymers under the guidance of Drs R A Mashelkar and Ashish Lele at National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India. My work was in the area of hydrogels with no connection to Biology. But, I was always fascinated with the idea to help people. I read about this emerging research area — regenerative medicine, biomaterials, and stem cells. Regenerative medicine largely refers to an interdisciplinary area which deals with the process of restoring damaged tissues or organs by healthy cells or engineered tissues. I realized that my knowledge in physical sciences, polymers, and hydrogels could be applied to advance this fascinating and relevant field. So I did a postdoctoral training in the area of tissue engineering at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), USA.I was then recruited as a faculty member in the department of Bioengineering at UC San Diego.
Moving from bench-to-bedside (or from lab research-to-clinic). I think we will see more and more clinical trials and application of stem cells and tissue engineering to treat detrimental diseases (maybe I am too optimistic here). Just imagine using some of your research to help patients with no hope. If a cure comes from our research (or my lab), I will be ecstatic — that would be the best reward. Is there a research area other than yours that interests you deeply? Neuroscience and Psychology. I am very fascinated by the brain and our mind. What is the best advice you have ever received? Stay curious and be persistent
In our laboratory, we employ an interdisciplinary approach by combining principles of physical sciences, engineering, materials science, biology, and medicine, to tackle several of the rising challenges in the area of biomedical sciences and regenerative medicine. By developing and employing biomimetic materials and engineering tools (microfabrication, microfluidics, and computational tools) we study the inter-dependency between cells and their environment on tissue
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Your message for young students and researchers.
Don’t let others tell you what you can do and what you cannot. Follow your passion and dream. Find out more about Shyni’s work here.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT CORNER
MENTAL HEALTH AT A DURGA PUJA PANDAL 6-10 October, 2016
By Pattie Pramila Gonsalves, Project Coordinator, Public Engagement
PRIDE Project at Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)
Tens of thousands of people visit the annual ‘Durga Puja’ celebrations in New Delhi every year. A Durga Puja ‘pandal’ (or a marquee) may seem like an odd place to engage with young people on the issue of mental health, but, in fact, this year it offered a unique environment to talk about how to help and support those in crisis situations and promote self-help and wellbeing. The PRIDE (Premium for Adolescents) Project advocated for positive ‘mental health’, a term that otherwise often carries stigma and shame; through games, public performances and a comic book at the festival.
Wellcome Trust, UK. India is in the midst of a mental health crisis, where suicide and self-harm are the leading causes of death among young Indians. Through enabling a dialogue with young people around issues related to mental health, PRIDE aims to tackle many of the psychosocial issues surrounding the poor mental health of adolescents and youth. These include but are not limited to the silence, fear and stigma around issues of gender, sexuality and relationships; violence and abuse; poverty, caste and religion; lack of safe spaces for discussion and dialogue; and embarrassment to seek help.
Good mental health makes life better for adolescents and young people. This is the underlying aim and philosophy of the PRIDE project. Supported by the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance, PRIDE organized a special booth at the festival on the occasion of World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2016. The event focused on this year’s World Health Organisation (WHO) theme for Mental Health Day, “psychological first aid”. Events at the celebration ran between 6-10 October 2016, at the Durga Puja Festival at B-Block Durga Puja, Chitaranjan Park, New Delhi.
At the festival, PRIDE focused on increasing awareness of basic mental health first aid and to empower especially young people to understand better how to help and support their peers who may face mental health challenges. Visitors to the stall had the opportunity to participate in two jar games that asked about the sources of their mental stress, and activities they engage in that make them happy. One set of jars sought to locate the reason behind most stress-ridden situations, while the other provided options that uplift moods and make people happy. Players put colored balls in the jars of their choosing. At the end of the festival, it was discovered that the jar containing ‘School or office’ related stress was the fullest, and the jar “Speaking to friends” was the fullest as a source of stress-relief and happiness — a testament to the pressures related to our education and employment systems.
Founded on a strong belief in the power of the arts to positively engage and impact mental health and wellbeing, PRIDE’s strategy seeks to engage young people through complementary approaches of community engagement and capacity building, using the arts and mixed media. The PRIDE Project is implemented by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Sangath and is funded by the
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PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT CORNER MENTAL HEALTH AT A DURGA PUJA PANDAL
Nearly 500 visitors also filled in a short survey asking them if they knew how to respond to assisting others with mental health problems and about their own coping habits.
about their own mental health included – family and school, teachers and types of challenges or problems faced for students, and how to overcome study and exam stress, activities to relax, how to overcome failure and deal with peer pressure for students. A local publishing house, Hachette participated as a sponsor for prizes.
More than half the visitors responded that they did not know how to respond if a friend or family member faces a panic attack, anxiety, depression or any other mental health problem. The most common responses to coping with stress were focused on arts-based activities (like listening to music), recreational activities (playing sports and watching TV) and talking to a friend or family member.
While the activities at the festival were in full swing, the PRIDE team also used social media to engage and inform the general public by posting myths and realities about adolescent and youth mental health on Facebook and Twitter. Photos from the event and a short Facebook Live video were also posted on October 10th on the occasion of World Mental Health Day.
An original comic book for children advocating for help-seeking behavior, “In the Life of Ravi and Asha”, was available for visitors to pick up. The book does not provide a clear-cut storybook ending, but instead highlights resolutions and provides encouragement to seek help in times of need. It was encouraging that in addition to children, many older youth and parents seemed equally keen on picking up and reading the comic too.
About the PRIDE Project PRIDE (Premium for Adolescents) is a research program seeking to develop psychosocial interventions for adolescents with mental health problems in India. Its Public Engagement component aims to enable a dialogue with young people around issues related to mental health through a variety of community-based activities. PRIDE is implemented by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Sangath and is funded by the Wellcome Trust, UK.
Young people and children were engaged in different interactive ways through performances and an art competition. Special music and theatre performances by Delhi-based organizations including Music Basti, Shapno Ekhon and Dribble Academy helped provide a different kind of engagement for visitors to the festival.
Links Public Health Foundation of India http://www.phfi.org PRIDE Project http://www.mhinnovation.net/innovations/pride-premiumadolescents#.WBwimaNh2t9
More than 150 children (ages 3 – 17) from the local area also participated in a visual art competition. Themes intended to encourage young people to think
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PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT CORNER
#YOURENVIRONMENT YOURHEALTH Environmental Health Sensitization Workshops
According to WHO, 25% of the global burden of disease is due to modifiable environmental risk factors. These risk factors which include air pollution, unsafe water and chemical contamination contribute significantly to India’s disease burden. Additionally, given there is scientific evidence that low-level environmental exposures during early life can predispose individuals to adverse health outcomes later in life, it is important to raise awareness of this looming public health problem. Our ongoing Public Engagement programme, #OurEnvrionment OurHealth, in the Voices for Health series jointly organized by the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) is focusing on various environmental health issues that India and the world in general is grappling with today, which includes, climate change, air pollution, e-waste, soil and water pollution etc. #OurEnvironment OurHealth awareness programme is bringing together local communitybased organisations, private organisations, area schools and colleges and other key stakeholders with an interest in environmental health and offer a platform for conversation/activities to raise awareness of relevant environmental health topics. Through this programme, we are currently organising Environmental Health sensitization workshops at undergraduate colleges and schools in New Delhi.
Environmental Health researchers engage with college students “Youth is the hope of our future” – acting on this thought, researchers from PHFI held half-day environmental health sensitization workshop at St Stephen’s College, New Delhi on 1st October. At the workshop researchers engaged with the students on various EH issues, such as, climate change, ewaste, pesticides, air pollution, water pollution, through lectures, discussions, factsheets and hands-on-activities. During the workshop students were split into groups and asked to develop and present a community and social media awareness campaign which were judged for content, presentation and impact. Students proposed various creative and innovative ways to engage with communities about environmental health. Through the workshop, researchers urged the students to educate themselves on public health issues, spread awareness and become champions for environmental health.
The second workshop was held at Indraprastha Institute of Information Techonology-Delhi on 12 November 2016. A report on this and the other workshops in this series will be shared in our next newsletter.
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PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT CORNER #YOURENVIRONMENT YOURHEALTH Environmental Health Sensitization Workshops
Š Happy Hands Foundation
Snapshots from the college workshop The project continued for next two months where the puppeteers visited 15 different public and private schools across New Delhi and NCR such as Presidium International, the Air Force School, Government Boys Senior Secondary School, etc. Over one thousand students from grade 6 and 7 attended these puppet shows. Through these puppet shows, students were able to understand different public health issues and learnt how to define and assess them. The initiative ensured engagement with youth from different schools through a post-show interaction and received positive feedback from them.
These workshops are an ongoing initiative, if you would like to hold one at your college, please email your request to public.engagement@wellcomedbt.org.
Using traditional story-telling to talk about Environmental Health India has a long tradition of story-telling using different art forms, which is rarely used these days to convey important social and health issues. Our partners for the #OurEnvrionment OurHealth programme, Happy Hands Foundation organised two formats of environmental health workshops, which used Puppetry and Patua art to engage with youth from schools in a dialogue about health and sanitation issues.
Once, the students were able to gain an understanding of how social and environmental conditions can impact individuals and the surroundings, they had to articulate their thoughts in illustrations done in Patua. The students got acquainted with Patua which is a traditional storytelling art form of West Bengal and used their ideas to develop scroll stories on Public Health. Each scroll depicted a story in 6 panels. These scroll stories will be circulated among peers, parents, and general public to engage different audiences.
In September 2016, Happy Hands Foundation, conducted its first puppet show performance at public schools in Greater Noida. The puppet shows featured women puppeteers from Kathputli Colony, Shadipur, Delhi, who developed puppet shows on different themes - recycling, hand-wash and sanitation and also composed songs related to respective themes. This exercise ensured that these women gave serious thought to the EH issues at hand and themselves become environmental health champions in their communities.
Snapshots from the school workshops (With inputs from Rachita Gupta, Happy Hands Foundation)
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PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT CORNER #YOURENVIRONMENT YOURHEALTH
UPCOMING EVENT
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INDIA ALLIANCE OUTREACH
2nd YOUNG INVESTIGATORS’ MEETING – UK 2016 16 September 2016, University of Cambridge By Dr Viswanadham Duppatla 2nd Young Investigators’ meeting – UK 2016 (YIM UK 2016) was aimed at connecting young Indian researchers in UK and Europe with Indian science leaders, industry professionals and science funding agencies. Early career researchers got a glimpse of different opportunities in Indian academia and industry. This event was organised by a group of Postdocs and PhD students with support from IndiaBioscience. Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India and Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance jointly sponsored the event. The meeting comprised of informative lectures about Indian science funding scenario, networking sessions and panel discussions. Keeping in line with the objective of YIMs, the main focus of the event was guiding early career researchers on various science career options in biology. Interesting discussion regarding recruitment process in India, evaluation of significance of research work and journal impact factors, attracted major participation from audience and panel members. The opening remarks were given by Dr Shekhar Mande, Director, National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, and Dr Smita Jain from IndiaBioscience. Dr Mande talked about the evolution of Indian science and technology landscape. He presented an overview of organisation of scientific institutes in India. During the talk about the autonomy of DBT institutes, he mentioned about the non-interference of the government in decisions concerning the institutes. This shift towards complete autonomy clearly points to a future of a healthy ecosystem of biotechnology initiatives in India. It was interesting to learn that institutes like NCCS are actively engaged in science outreach activities. Dr Smita Jain from IndiaBioscience presented objectives of YIMs and its work in progress in engaging young researchers in India and abroad. Information was presented on the success of early career researchers who have returned to India after a stint abroad. Dr Smita Jain gave a preview of changing landscape of Indian science and the interest of funding agencies in improving the career guidance facilities. Indian researchers in Europe expressed the concern of not having an established postdoc culture in Indian science. Hopefully more institutes in India will learn about the significance of these activities and build a sustainable system for supporting early career transitions in science. The event then proceeded on to the first session which consisted of academic bodies in India. It was refreshing to hear how the private and public universities are adopting a ‘liberal’ attitude with
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respect to the Indian educational system. Prof Malabika Sarkar, Ashoka University explained how their university is pursuing science and humanities together in their liberal curriculum. Dr Sharmistha Banerjee, from the University of Hyderabad shared how her experience in teaching helped her in progressing her research. She also presented an overview of teaching and research options in central universities. It was interesting to learn that even universities are becoming part of “Make in India” program using their technology incubator centres. Prof LS Shashidhara, from IISER Pune, joined the meeting via Skype and briefed the audience about IISER recruitment process and support system available to newly recruited researchers. Worth noting was the attempt of IISERs to change ‘copy paste’ learning system to one that encouraged critical thinking. Second session focussed on research and career opportunities in the research institutes and industry. Dr Mahindra Agarwal, IIT Kanpur, introduced current opportunities in the newly established IITs. It is worth noting that IIT Kanpur allows young researchers to settle well with equal or less teaching and ‘office’ work load. Dr Sharmila Mande from Tata Consultancy Services provided overview of R&D activities of various companies in India and organisation of TCS research centre. This was followed by Q & A session on job opportunities and recruitment process. Panel members suggested that applicants should be open minded during the application process and approach institutes where existing facilities can support their research. There were several vacancies and rolling advertisements throughout the year in the newly established institutes. Passionate discussions about developing Indian science and finding suitable institutes was carried over to the lunch and poster sessions. Third session on fellowships and funding was started by Dr Shahid Jameel, CEO, Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance. He walked the audience through the evolution of the fellowship programme through which over 200 researchers have been awarded Fellowships over a wide geographical distribution. Several participants were interested in Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance activities which promote science communication workshops, public engagement and support for events which benefit researchers. Dr Suman Govil from DBT reported about various fellowship opportunities and support systems available for young researchers, with a special emphasis on women scientists. It was evident from the presence of DBT sponsored MSc program beneficiaries at this meeting, that the program has transformed the Biotech education in India.
YOUNG INVESTIGATOR MEETING – UK 2016 16 September 2016 CRUK, University of Cambridge Ann-Marie Glynn, Head, Global Activities EMBO, introduced various opportunities for Indian researchers through the EMBO India initiative. The panel members provided insights on a range of interesting questions regarding funding mechanisms and different fellowships in India. As a member of the audience, it was reassuring to see how these organisations work with complete autonomy. Most members agreed that Indian university system needs revamping at every level to compete on the global stage.
on improving Indian science, Prof Ramakrishnan said that India has ample scientific talent and bureaucracy should just let them function freely. He suggested that Indian researchers, instead of working on incremental research topics, should be more focused on issues specific to the Indian subcontinent, like local diseases, crop improvement which matter most for the country.
Final session featured prominent researchers of Indian origin whose scientific journeys transpired into an interesting discussion. Dr Polly Roy from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine shared how she balanced her personal life and scientific career. Dr Ramanujan Hegde shared his experience of transitioning into research from being a medical doctor. Prof Venki Ramakrishnan, President, Royal Society, who is also a visiting professor at the Indian institute of Science, Bangalore joined the discussion session. Answering a question posed by Dr Shahid Jameel About the author- Dr Viswanadham Duppatla: Visu successfully transitioned to science management and will be heading MNR Research and Innovation Center, Hyderabad. Visu actively pursues science communication as a hobby and live tweeted for the meeting. #YIM_UK2016 https://twitter.com/visu_bio
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A key observation at the meeting was that agencies awarding fellowships are flexible and willing to help suitable applicants. In addition, they encouraged public outreach and a wide range of science communication activities. The meeting also led to satellite meetings among small groups of postdocs. This association hopefully will facilitate future collaborations and build a support system for researchers to navigate the maze of a complex science career choices. Welcome back to India where you can make an impact and be part of its future.
About the editor - Dr Nibedita Mukherjee: Nibedita is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge and was one of the organizers for YIM-UK (2015 and 2016).
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION 14th Science Communication Workshop 26-27 October 2016, Hyderabad
To be able to communicate your ideas effectively is both an inborn as well as practiced skill. Through our Science Communication workshops we aim to train young Indian science researchers in these important written and oral communication skills while making them aware of essential ethical guidelines that must be followed by researchers when carrying out and reporting their research. These workshops serve as a refresher course to those already endowed with these skills and provide guidance to those who want to improve them. We recently organized our 14th two-day Science Communication (SciComm) Workshop in Hyderabad where 31 participants mostly comprising of PhDs, Postdocs, young faculty and clinicians from 29 different institutions across India received training on research ethics, manuscript and grants writing and presentation skills. In addition to this, there was an engaging discussion on career choices in academia and the importance of mentorship
towards building a successful career. Our eminent panel of mentors were, India Alliance Fellows, Dr Sreelaja Nair (TIFR Mumbai), Dr Giridhara Babu (exSciComm participant, IIPH Bangalore), Dr R Mahalakshmi (IISER Bhopal), Dr Mohan Joshi (Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi) , CEO of the India Alliance, Dr Shahid Jameel and Ms Sumathy Haridas (HR consultant, Bangalore) . The two days entailed enthusiastic interaction between the participants, mentors and India Alliance staff about the workshop modules, career choices and their current research. The eagerness to learn and active questioning at the workshop by the participants reinforced the importance of Science Communication in nurturing and training the future researchers of India.
The next two-day Science Communication workshop will be held tentatively in March 2017. Announcements for the same will be made on our website shortly.
2nd Science Communication & Career Workshop 18 October 2016, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar In addition to successfully running two formats of SciComm workshops since 2011 (one-day SciComm101 workshop, since 2014), India Alliance recently entered into a partnership with Nature India, a one-stop portal for all the science news in the country, and Nature Jobs to hold Science Communication and Career Workshops, as a satellite to major scientific meetings in the country. Through this partnership we intend to not only provide training on scientific communication but also share useful tips with the participants on how to communicate research to a lay audience. The latter is important especially in light of misrepresentation of scientific research in the popular media combined with a lack of interest on part of the researcher to engage with the public on matters of science, both of which distorts public understanding of science. These workshops also include a session on alternate science careers which aims to provide useful pointers to those who
wish to transition from academia to a different career such as industry, science policy, administration, journalism etc. Our second workshop in this series was held at the 34th Annual Meeting of Indian Academy of Neurosciences 2016 at National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana on 18 October 2016 which was attended by around 75 participants from 18 institutions. In addition to brief lectures and case study discussions on Manuscript writing, research ethics and presentations skills, Nature India organised a competition at the workshop where the participants submitted a short science story comprehensible to a lay audience and prizes were given to the three best stories.
The next workshop will be held at the 40th All India Cell Biology Conference, Jiwaji University, Gwalior on 16 November. To request one at a conference, send your request to workshops@wellcomedbt.org
For more details visit "SciComm Workshop" under "Quick Links" on our website
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INDIA ALLIANCE STAFF CORNER
DR GARIMA SINGH GRANTS CONSULTANT, INDIA ALLIANCE Dr Garima Singh recently joined the organisation as a Grants Consultant. She joins us after a Postdoc at Cornell University, USA. We can already say that, when not busy looking at Fellowship applications, Garima encourages and leads the team in meditation and Yoga. We welcome her to the India Alliance family and hope she has fruitful time at the organisation ! In this interview she shares with us her journey so far, interests and more.
What is your background? I was born and brought up mostly in Delhi and I grew up scientifically and otherwise in Ithaca, New York, USA pursuing a Post-PhD career at Cornell University. I take pride in calling myself an Ithacan, as this place and time spent there is very close to my heart. I am a trained protein X-ray crystallographer and biochemist with expertise in protein engineering, G proteins and cell signaling. While at Cornell I honed my other interests in counseling, coaching and leadership by creating series of interactive workshops for students and professionals. I have conducted these workshops at Cornell and Binghamton Universities as well as other communities in the area since 2012. I also trained as a yoga and mediation instructor in 2014.
in their scientific capacity but also in context with science policy, ethical clearances, intellectual property rights, commercial regulations, public engagement, infrastructure and finances. This clearly is the first step towards knowing what exists and finding avenues to improve it. When not busy on the job, what do you enjoy doing? When not at work, I enjoy all regular activities like shopping, visiting places, catching up with friends and family. Sometimes when inspired, I write. One of my areas of interest is to enhance the quality of human life through improving the interpersonal relationships. Here is one recently published piece : http://yogarepublic.us/index.php/2016/08/31/3secrets-healthy-relationship/
What to do you look forward to doing at the India Alliance?
I also paint, play drums, volunteer to teach yoga and mediation.
I was really impressed by the kind of work India Alliance does through their fellowships and outreach programs aiming to enhance quality of biomedical research in India, supporting outstanding scientists trained worldwide to come back to India and establish their own research, forging ties with organizations to further the betterment of science and public's engagement with science. India Alliance's efforts have certainly increased awareness of science policy and good research practices among scientific communities in India. This offers hope that a lot more can be done. As an experienced scientist in India and USA, I hope to bring my perspective on the areas that need improvement in day to day operations in a research laboratory in India that deter or add on to the quality of scientific research. This has two aspectsImplementation of policies regarding science; e.g. Hazardous waste management, specific trainings for researchers and staff, and secondly, policies on code of conduct for research personnel and minimizing risks of research misuse. In addition to contributing towards our various fellowships as a Grants consultant, I get to read proposals not only
What was the last piece of research that excited you?
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I love how big data is changing the world. I think we have done a lot of research and collected precious data over the years. Data science can enable us to put it to use for greater good. After all we do science so we could enhance quality of human life and evolve as a species. Here is one of the works I am reading these days: http://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/articles/bigdata/big-data-in-healthcare.html Who inspires you (living or dead)?​ Change and transient nature of things inspire me because it keeps hope alive. I am guided by my own observations of day to day human interactions and existence- whether mundane or profound. Lately, works of Michael A. Singer have kept me grounded. One of my favorite reads by him is "The Surrender Experiment".
Please send your feedback, suggestions and contributions to public.engagement@wellcomedbt.org
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