Centres

AREAS OF FOCUS

The School of Innovation for analytical sciences will focus on emerging processes and technologies in areas such as

• Space Sciences
• Biotechnology
• Marine Biology
• Macatronics and Robotics
• Nanotechnology
• Pharmaceuticals/Nutraceuticals/alternate medicine
• Simulation and modelling

ADVANCED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH CENTRES (AMTRCS)

Malkolak Knowledge Centre (MKC) focuses primarily on research and development in various key areas of medical research.

The necessity of providing better health care, preventing major long term and stubborn ailments which are unresolved both in west and the east, understanding the mechanisms of the genetic behaviors is still a mystery for many. Reaching the genetic studies to the benefit of poor is yet to be achieved which is missing in the present context.

The gap identified is as follows:

• Medical professionals focus purely on clinical practice and lack enthusiasm to choose the field of research
• Lack of awareness of these advanced medical treatments with latest technological inputs

  MKC is pooling necessary expertise and looking at resources and support to set up these centres with a view to take up advanced research in the areas of Genetics or stem cell therapies, tuberculosis, leprosy, cholera and diarrhea diseases, viral infections including AIDS, Malaria, kala-azar nutrition, food and drug toxicities, reproduction issues immunohematology, oncology and medical data analytics etc. and leveraging international and national expertise that supports Government of India’s agenda for Public Health.

• To establish state of art AMTRCs facilitating advanced research in different medical streams
• To network with institutions having proven research capabilities
• Encouraging key and focused research

Areas of Research:

• Stem Cell Research
• Modeling the impact of climate changes on ecosystem cost and health effects.
• Human genetics.
• Clinical Informatics.
• Medical informatics.
• Bio Informatics and Bio Statistics.
• Technology and training & Orientation.

MALKOLAK INSTITUTE OF MARINE STUDIES

MALKOLAK INSTITUTE OF MARINE STUDIES is being set up in Goa to accomplish graduate, post graduate and Ph. D. programmes in core and emerging disciplines of the Marine Science and Technology and Maritime Studies, under the leadership of world renowned scientist Dr.Anil C.Chatterji.

VISION

To be a unique institution that generates, disseminates and applies innovative knowledge and a catalyst for the development of progressive individuals and sustainable environment

MISSION

To drive the fields of science, technology and management of aquatic natural resource through generation of excellent academic and research programs towards the development of the leaders of the world needs who ensure the sustainability of society and the nation.

OBJECTIVES

PROJECTS PLANNED

Project Title: Implementation of a conservational programme for the protection and sustainable utilization of Indian horseshoe crab along the coast of Orissa

Project Title: Isolation and purification of heparin from fish waste

MALKOLAK INSTITUTE OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE AND NUTRACEUTICALS (IAMN)

Location of IAMN

It is proposed to set up the research Centre in the foot hills of Jammu, J&K State under the leadership of Dr. S. K. Bakshi, PhD, Ex-Deputy Director, Indian Institute of IIM, Jammu.

Core objective

To create a state-of-the-Art Herbal Research Centre devoted to innovative Science and Technological advancement and integrating various segments of higher education related to the Herbal Health care Medicine based on Indian Herbals to meet the aspirations of domestic and Global Herbal Industry

Mission

The fundamental mission of Institute of Alternative Medicine and Nutraceuticals (IAMN) is Generation, advancement and dissemination of scientific knowledge on Indian Herbals and value addition in order to provide global standards of excellence in the fields of education and research focussed to growing needs of the herbal industry

To contribute to increased productivity, commercialization and competitiveness of prioritized high value Indian Botanicals through generation and promotion of knowledge, information and technologies that respond to requirements of the industry.

To sustain and develop its identity as a research and teaching institution of the highest quality .

To enhance the scientific and cultural vision of society as well as its economic position by conducting regular seminars, industry cum grower meets and bringing primary producers closer to scientists/Technologists, manufacturers and buyers.

IAMN will remain focused on integrated research for development by ensuring that all research activities undertaken or promoted are market/demand-driven. IAMN will achieve this through active participation of the industry.

Approach & Strategic Goals

All over the world there is growing interest in natural (alternative) health care products and it is increasingly felt that the future will belong to medicines and health foods based on natural products. Considering this, the research & development programmes at IAMN will be planned/initiated in the following sequence.

• Preparation of research projects, having adequate scientific components in line with the mandate of IAMN, for securing external funding from Government/ industry sources.
• Identification of value added products much sought after by the industry.
• Prioritization of the potential Botanicals having desired chemical composition ideal for value addition.

Standardization of appropriate ago-&post harvest technology of each prioritized botanical. Crop species having higher production returns per unit area to be earmarked for commercial cultivation after successful pilot scale field trials.

• Chemical evaluation of the selected botanicals for marker compounds
• Developing technologies for the production of standardized herbal extracts meeting international quality standards.
• Developing pharmacologically active and adequately tested herbal formulations as potential herbal medicine/health supplements.
• Collaborating with Universities and Research Ins. both in India and abroad.
• Capacity and competence building for integrated agricultural research for development
• Disseminate research findings and catalyse adoption of suitable technologies
• Information and documentation services focusing on information technology and content delivery, organisation, maintenance and archiving.
• Developing strong market linkages with the user industry

MALKOLAK INSTITUTE OF LIFE SCIENCES, HYDERABAD

Malkolak Institute of Life Sciences aims to work in the emerging life sciences areas such as Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals/Nutraceuticals/Alternate medicine, Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling and Simulation, Computer Aided Drug Designing (CADD), Medical Informatics, Biostatistics, Clinical research, Clinical Data Management, SAS, Oracle Clinical and Medical Coding. The Center also aims establish more state-of-the-art research facilities in India or abroad either on its own or in strategic partnerships with other collaborating organisation(s), to carry out basic and applied research to develop process to manufacture and/or synthesis novel products and branded products for domestic and export markets. The other research areas include pre-clinical and clinical studies for drug discovery and development. The training wing of the center aims in imparting education and training in all these emerging fields of science.

There is a dramatic increase in our knowledge of nature and natural processes. The main purpose of the proposed Institute which is located at Hyderabad is to encourage students for research by exposing them to variety of research areas.

The Center for Drug Design and Molecular Simulation lab of Malkolak Institute of Life Sciences announces to start Bioinformatics and Cheminformatics programs from 10th May 2012 at their R & D premises.

Bioinformatics and its scope in India

Bioinformatics or computational biology is the use of information technology in the field of molecular biology. Here computers are used to gather, store, analyze and merge biological data into lot of databases. It is an interdisciplinary research and has been useful integrating subjects such as Biotechnology, Statistics, Bio programming, Physics, Laws of quantum mechanics, Quantum chemistry, organic chemistry etc. The ultimate goal of bioinformatics is to uncover the wealth of biological information hidden in the enormous amount of sequence, structure, systems biology, literature and other biological data to obtain a clear understanding into fundamental biology of organisms and to use this information to enhance the standard of life for mankind.

It's importance is unlimited in the post genomic era. The hereditary information of an organism is encoded in the DNA. Genomics, the study of an organisms entire genome is developed to understand the basic molecule of life which is known as the code of life. DNA directly controls the biological makeup of humans or any living organism. Studying the structure of DNA has made amazing success over many genetically transferring diseases. It is variations and errors in the genomic DNA which ultimately define the likelihood of developing diseases or resistance to the same disorders.

Bioinformatics could have profound impact in fields as varied as human health, agriculture, the environment, energy and biotechnology to advance biomedical research and development. It is being used now in the areas of molecular medicine to help produce better and more customized medicines to prevent or cure diseases, it has environmental benefits in identifying waste cleanup bacteria and in agriculture it can be used for producing high yield low maintenance crops. These are just a few of the many benefits bioinformatics can offer.

The career prospects in the field have been steadily increasing with more and more use of information technology in the field of molecular biology. Job prospects are in all sectors of biotechnology, pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences, in research institutions, hospital and industry. Some of the specific career areas that fall within the scope of bioinformatics include Sequence assembly, Database design and maintenance, Sequence analysis, Proteomics (the study of protein, particularly their structures and functions), Pharmacogenomics, Pharmacology, Clinical pharmacologist, Informatics developer, Computational chemist, Bio-analytics and Analytics etc.

Some of the specific career areas that fall within the scope of bioinformatics include Sequence assembly, Database design and maintenance, Sequence analysis, Proteomics (study of protein, particularly their structures and functions), Pharmacogenomics, Pharma-cology, Clinical pharmacologist, Informatics developer; Computational chemist, Bio-analytics and Analytics etc.

The work involved in the specific career areas are Drug design utilising 3-D structure modelling and computational chemistry (Cheminformatics), Comparing genetic data between and within species (Genomics), Genomic analysis in an attempt to find drug targets (Pharmacogenomics), Characterisation of proteins and their interactions (Proteomics), Prediction of the function of genes and proteins based on sequence and structural data etc.

One can find work in Pharmaceutical and Biotech Companies where bioinformatics technologies are applied throughout the drug discovery process. One can also take up teaching jobs in public institutions if you have a skill in teaching. Indian companies like Satyam, Wipro, TCS, IBM, Reliance etc and companies such as VLife Sciences, Accelrys, Strand Genomics, Dr.Reddy’s, Tata Life Sciences, IBM Life Sciences, Molecular Connections, Bangalore, Ocimum Biosolutions, Hyderabad, Novo Nordisk, Zydus Cadilla, Piramal Life Sciences, Mumbai, Glenmark, Sun Phamaceuticals etc. are recruiting bioinformatics candidates.

Cheminformatics

In the past few decades, the drug design field has extensively used computational tools to accelerate the development of new and improved therapeutics. Researchers have recognized the urgent need to establish relationships between chemical structures and their properties. Quantitative Structure Property Relationships (QSPR) along with Linear Gibbs Free Energy Relationships (LFER) and Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSAR) have been established for a wide variety of chemical molecules.

Cheminformatics analysis tools are gaining in sophistication, and are earning increasing respect as tools crucial for the rapid development of new therapeutics. One factor driving the need for effective chemical data analysis is the tremendous growth of molecular databases as a result of automated combinatorial synthesis techniques and high through put assay systems. Cheminformatics techniques facilitate the analysis and interpretation of the chemical information contained within these sets of complex and high-dimensional molecular data.

IT-proficient scientists and chemists are now able to generate, retrieve and analyse scientific information that is more accurate and useful by making use of specialised software for analysis of their vast data. It is difficult to imagine a chemical research laboratory or company without the application of computers in the development and testing of drugs, storage or analysis of data.

Cheminformatics is a fast growing field and there is a lack of qualified scientific professionals who can use computers and databases for chemical compounds or drug development. Realising its immense potential, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are now going in for qualified and trained staff in cheminformatics. New career avenues have also opened up for IT as well as computer-proficient science graduates for acquiring, managing, or utilising chemical information with the help of computer software or hardware. These professionals are essential to develop and maintain programs for specific scientific applications.

With the exponentially growing and highly competitive drug and pharmaceutical market, cheminformatics professionals thus have immense importance in the drug development process as they implement IT tools to replace traditional processes. The demand for such IT – chemical professionals is also growing substantially. These professionals are expected to contribute in bringing new products to the market quickly and economically. In the years to come cheminformatics shall play a vital role in new drug discovery programs and candidates with professional experience are bound to have a good job market.

1. Courses Being Offered At The Center for Drug Design and Molecular Simulation lab:
   • Certified Practical Training Program in Drug Design and Molecular Simulation.
   • Practical Training Program in Bioinformatics.
   • Advanced Diploma in Bioinformatics
   • Practical Training Program in Perl
   • Short Term Training in Instrumentation and QA/QC.
2. Summer Research Projects and Training program in Life Sciences:

   The programme is aimed at updating practical applicability of technology among students pursuing B.Sc / B.Tech /M. Sc / M.Tech both freshers and experienced equally, to pursue careers in research in Biotechnology field. The program being a partial fulfillment for their academic degree (as per their academic norms), helps to choose their fascinating area of research in which the candidate can excel themselves.

3. BioSpace@Malkolak:

   BioSpace@Malkolak is one of its kind multidisciplinary program that offers

   1. hands-on training to students pursuing careers in Life Sciences that suits the demands of industry and Research laboratories.
   2. Meet the demand of the Bio-Industry and Research institutes by nurturing Quality professionals interested in bringing about breakthrough innovations.
   enables the aspirants to open several Gateway avenues of the Bio World.

   Modules Include-

   • Molecular Bio & Immune-techniques
   • Real Time Diagnostic Analysis
   • Environmental Sciences
   • Clinical Research
   • Agricultural Biotechnology
   • Communication Skills & Research Aptitude

   Apart from the above, Malkolak Knowledge Centre offers following Industrial Training modules for Life Science Graduates and post graduates under in collaboration with Industry.