Bringing technology and health care closer

Updated on: Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Conventional branches of biology have given way to their modern offshoots of tremendous impact on diverse areas of human life. These new branches offer immense opportunities of research and innovative application in medicine, agriculture, veterinary science, environment, forestry, and so on.

IGIB

A premier institution in India that dwells on certain significant areas such as genomics, molecular medicine, biotechnology, bioinformatics, proteomics, structural biology, and environmental biology is the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Mall Road, Delhi-110 007; web site: www.igib.res.in.

IGIB works as a unit of CSIR. Apart from the main unit. It has two centres:

IGIB Extension Centre (Naraina), Delhi-110 037

GNR Centre for Genome Informatics, Okhla Industrial Area, New Delhi: 110020

IGIB aims at translating concepts developed in basic biological research to commercially viable technologies for health care. Further it offers opportunities for research leading to the Ph D degree to young scientists. There are five main areas of research in the institute.

Genomics and molecular medicine

Respiratory disease biology

Genome informatics and structural biology

Energy and environmental biotechnology

Chemical and systems biology

Let us look at these one by one, and try to find out the areas of research opportunities for prospective scientists and research aspirants.

Genomics and molecular medicine

Genomics refers to the branch of molecular biology concerned with the structure, function, evolution, and mapping of genomes. A genome is the complete set of genes or genetic material present in a cell or organism. The genome contains the complete genetic information (either DNA or, in some viruses, RNA) of an organism, typically expressed in number of base pairs. Molecular medicine is a wide field of medicine that deals with the influence of gene expression on disease processes and with gene based treatment. Physical, chemical, biological and medical techniques may be employed. The approach stresses cellular and molecular phenomena and interventions. IGIB carries out studies in the molecular basis of human diseases. It is also involved in large collaborative projects like the Indian Genome Variation Consortium project. Some of the areas focused are

Neuro-psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia

Cardiovascular diseases

Diabetes and other complex disorders

The institute has mapped genetic variation amongst the ethnically and linguistically diverse populations of India. Polymorphism in genes linked to complex disorders like diabetes, cardiovascular and neuro-psychiatric disorders are being studied. Further areas of research include genome analysis, naturally occurring small RNAs, identification of miRNAs that target HIV1 genes, insulin signalling genes, and design of artificial miRNAs.

Respiratory disease biology

The focus is on respiratory diseases using clinical, genetic, molecular, and drug development approaches to tackle this challenging area. The diseases studied include tuberculosis, asthma and allergy, and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder).

There are efforts to find solutions to complex problems associated with finding new therapies for tropical diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and leishmaniasis (a parasitic disease spread by the bit

Bringing technology and health care closer

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