IISc: In pursuit of excellence

BANGALORE, popularly known as the garden city or the silicon valley of India, is incomplete without the mention of the premiere institution Indian Institute of Science (IISc), which has proved its prowess the powerhouse of biological and chemical research. One of India’s oldest and finest research institution, IISc spread over a sprawling 450 acres of land, was started in 1909 through the pioneering vision of J N Tata.

With research in almost all frontier areas of science and technology, IISc is an institute of higher learning and is constantly in pursuit of excellence. This is also the first Institute in the country to introduce innovative integrated Ph D programmes in biological, chemical and physical sciences for science graduates.

Hub for pharma research

Today, the Institute is becoming a hub for pharmaceutical research. Oflate it has attracted many pharmaceutical companies. Behind the Institute’s strengths in contributing to the pharma research is the Division of Biological Sciences which is engaged in frontline research at the frontiers of modern biology. It encompasses five major departments: Department of Biochemistry, Dept of Microbiology & Cell Biology, Dept of Molecular Biophysics Unit, Dept

of Molecular Reproduction, Development & Genetics and the Centre for Ecological Sciences. The scientists in the Division deal with almost all aspects of modern biology: molecular biology, structural biology, immunology, enzymology, reproductive and developmental biology, ecological and environmental studies and so on.

Prof P Balaram, who adorns the position of chairman of the division since two and a half years, says, ‘‘Through these efforts, the scientists in the Division are committed to continue to carry out excellent biological research and also address real life problems such as those involving tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and disorders of various kinds.’’ The Biological Sciences Division at the Institute has been known for decades as an internationally recognized centre for fundamental modern biological research mainly in the areas of infectious diseases, drug and molecular design, gene targeting, genetic disorders and genetic diversity.

Biotechnology, DNA vaccines, reproductive biology, molecular epidemiology, recombinant vaccines, genomics and proteomics, diagnostics, research virology, structure and conformation of biological molecules-peptides, peptide antibiotics, primate biology anti-fertility drugs, regulation of gene expression in bacteria and yeast, molecular biology of mycobacteria, gene regulation, molecular virology of HIV are some of the areas of research that are actively being pursued under all the five departments of the Division.

Joint projects

Moreover, the Society for Innovation and Development a business arm of the institute, facilitates joint institute industry projects. Currently two pharma majors Cadila and Unichem have set up their labs in the premises of the Institute. Sir Dorabji Tata Centre for Research in Tropical Disease is focussing on research laboratories, stimulating collaborations between faculty members and medical researchers. IISc has achieved significant success in DNA vaccines for malaria and rabies, rota viral vaccines for diarrhoea and in deriving drug leads and vaccine candidates. The Institute has been constantly interacting with industry majors like Shantha Biotech, Bharat Biotech and Dr Reddy’s Research Foundation. The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research with organic links with the Institute has been functioning in the campus of IISc.

According to Prof Balaram, ‘‘National laboratories like IISc in the country have been playing a very vital role in the growth of drug discovery and development. Our leads may be successful in bringing out a product or it may fail sometimes.’’