Biosciences Tag

Dr. B. E. Pradeep, leading the AMR Lab at Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL), is a driving force and the beacon of collaboration and innovation in the battle against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). His instrumental role in developing and globally validating AMRx^TM, a groundbreaking AI-enabled Digital Diagnostic tool in collaboration with SCIINV Biosciences, has been pivotal in addressing the urgent need for effective AMR containment.

At the recent AI for Pharma & Biotech workshop startup showcase, hosted by the Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) and Science Gurus (USA) at the University of Hyderabad, Dr. Pradeep and SCIINV’s collaboration garnered recognition.

Dr. Pradeep, on behalf of SCIINV Biosciences, received the second-best startup award from Dr. Manni Kantipudi, CEO of Aragen Life Sciences. This accolade underscores the importance of academic-industry partnerships in advancing healthcare innovation.

The partnership between Dr. Pradeep and SCIINV Biosciences has propelled the development of AMRx^TM, addressing critical global challenges posed by AMR with groundbreaking solutions.

The importance of Science and its contribution to Human development has been phenomenal over the last century.

In 1986, the Govt of India declared Feb 28 as National Science Day (NSD) to commemorate the discovery of the Raman Effect by prominent physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman who was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery in 1930. Since then, NSD has been celebrated across the country to highlight the significance and role of Science in everyday life, on February 28.

On this occasion, theme-based science communication activities are carried out all over India. Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) has been celebrating National Science Day every year on all its campuses. This year, SSSIHL is jointly organizing and celebrating National Science Day 2024 (NSD – 2024) in collaboration with Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School, Smt Eswaramma High School, Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vahini & Nexus Consulting.

As part of these celebrations, multiple competitions such as Essay, Painting, Science Quiz, and modeling competitions will be conducted inviting school students (Class 8 to Class 12) from across India to participate. The registrations for these different competitions will start on 10th November and close by 30th November 2023.

The finals for these competitions will be held In Person from February 27th – 28th, 2024 @ Prasanthi Nilayam (PSN) Campus, SSSIHL, A.P.

View Event Flyer

View Competition Rules & Regulations 

Click on the links below to Register by 30 November 2023:

• For Essay Competition (https://forms.gle/M2UMQcvNuFgXf3nFA )
• For Painting Competition (https://forms.gle/gu77ZqQxD7ZoCTpk9 )
• For Science Quiz Competition (https://forms.gle/GYxoM3yzedmjbxQt6 )
• For SSSIHL UG Students (https://forms.gle/NnCUF2TCMJJ11eZM7 )
• For SSSIHL PG Students (https://forms.gle/gKKDeeJykP4V7X4r9 )

For any Queries Contact:

Email: [email protected]  | Mobile: +91 7901286254

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) has been celebrating National Science Day for the last five years. This year, SSSIHL has jointly organized and celebrated National Science Day 2023 (NSD – 2023) in collaboration with Dr. K. V. Rao Scientific Society (KVRSS), Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organizations (SSSO), India, and Nexus Consulting, Bangalore at the Prasanthi Nilayam campus.

As part of NSD 2023 celebrations, different competitions were organized for both school and college students, namely Essay, Painting, and Quiz were organized for schools across India to participate.

The registrations for these three different competitions were held between January 16 -February 7, 2023. Each of these competitions witnessed over 300 registrations from over 19 States in India.

On National Science Day, 28 February 2023, the Finalists of all the competitions convened at the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, of SSSIHL and participated in the grand finale.

The winners were all felicitated during the Valedictory ceremony by the Honorable Chancellor, SSSIHL, Sri K Chakaravarthi, the Managing Trustee of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust Sri R J Ratnakar and the Vice-Chancellor (Acting) Prof B. Sai Giridhar. Further, the members and guests of Dr. K. Rao Scientific Society too were felicitated by the dignitaries.

A detailed report with photographs from the Finale event is enclosed here.

View Report

View Recording:

Quiz Finals: https://www.youtube.com/live/27LW-00-Yls?si=apSdirI4y0xYXXep

https://www.youtube.com/live/35b_ZbFmT7M?si=2zx0Y68Z-k8rq9y8

https://www.youtube.com/live/FWalNznu35Q?si=JVMUn8jv9pBXT6Fi

View Schedule

The “National Conference on Recent Trends in Mathematical Biology – Theory, Methods, and Applications” was organized by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (DMACS) of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL), A. P. India from July 20-22, 2023 at the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, and was supported by DST SERB, India.

The conference saw scientists, researchers, academicians, and students from over 70 institutions across India, from diverse disciplines, converge and exchange cutting-edge insights, advancements, and applications in the rapidly evolving field of mathematical biology. The conference emphasized interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of mathematical modeling with biological sciences to address real-world challenges in healthcare, environmental sustainability, and biological systems understanding. Attendees explored innovative theoretical frameworks and methodologies, fostering new research opportunities at the intersection of mathematics and biology.

We are grateful to all the guest speakers for making the conference a great success:

1. Prof. Arni S R Srinivasa Rao, Professor and Director of the Laboratory for Theory and Mathematical Modelling, Medical College of Georgia, USA
2. Prof. B V Ratish Kumar, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, IIT Kanpur
3. Dr. Prashant Kumar Srivastava, Associate Professor and Head, the Department of Mathematics, IIT Patna
4. Dr. Ritesh Kumar Dubey, Research Associate Professor Department of Mathematics, SRMIST, Chennai
5. Dr. S RV Prasad Bhuvanagiri, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, School of Advanced Sciences, VIT Vellore
6. Dr. Nitu Kumari, an Associate Professor of Applied Mathematics, IIT Mandi
7. Dr. Jai Prakash Tripathi, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, Central University of Rajasthan
8. Dr. Bapan Ghosh, Assistant Professor, IIT lndore
9. Dr. P. Muthu, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, NIT Warangal
10. Prof. Mini Ghosh, Professor at the School of Advanced Sciences at the Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai Campus
11. Prof. Sandip Banerjee, Professor, Department of Mathematics, IIT Roorkee
12. Dr. Mohit Kumar Jolly, Assistant Professor from Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE), IISc Bangalore

Best Research Paper Awards: The conference also saw several participants presenting their research papers. The selection was based on the problem’s relevance in the current world scenario, delivery efficiency of the person, clarity of thoughts on their topic, presentation skills, and overall audience appeal. The jury consisted of Dr. P Muthu (NIT Warangal), Dr. B S R V Prasad (VIT Vellore), and Dr. BVK Bhardwaj (SSSIHL). The following were the winners of this competition:

• 1^st prize -Mr. Ritwik Chandra Pandey, SSSIHL
• 2^nd prize- Mr. Viney Kumar, Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence
• 3^rd prize – Ms. Priyanka N C, NIT, Tiruchirappalli

The event helped harness the power of mathematics and its applications in biology, furthering our understanding of living systems and opening new horizons for addressing critical societal challenges.

View Detailed Report.

View Photos.

View Book of Abstracts: https://www.sssihl.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NCRTMBTMA-Book-of-Abstracts.pdf

View Schedule https://www.sssihl.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NCRTMBTMA-Schedule-Final.pdf

View Recording:

Day 1- Morning: https://www.youtube.com/live/aAgZCY-mzk0?si=YS4NuADP-jR4wqvc

Day 1- Afternoon: https://www.youtube.com/live/T4b7qpd2HV4?si=mLZgTHptkkPYfmtd

Day 2- Morning: https://www.youtube.com/live/C31Q2di3G5w?si=8Mx3xoGM71k_iSte

Day 2- Afternoon: https://www.youtube.com/live/WKAIM9JXi1c?si=4hX1dgG6HP9oUIq4

Day 3: https://www.youtube.com/live/fuwXPX8k7BE?si=gDPpW7WKJaFO7xLe

Identifying the Issue

COVID-19 is the largest global pandemic currently and it has emerged as the deadliest infection of the century. It’s still critical to find novel compounds that can inhibit viral replication, in turn reducing the pace of infection.

Objective of the Research

• To design and synthesise benzoxazole-thiazolidinone hybrids (B-T hybrids) using a facile synthetic route.
• To analyse the inhibitory potential of designed B-T hybrids against the SARS-CoV-2 proteases using an in-silico approach.

Who should read this?

COVID-19 Researchers, Medicinal Chemists and Pharmaceutical Industry.

Solution

Hybrid molecules represent a relatively recent area in drug research with promising results.

The two scaffolds (benzoxazole and thiazolidinone) exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities and showed antiviral efficacy (both in vitro and in vivo) against a variety of viruses.

The hybrids derived from these two scaffolds share a similarity (structurally) with some of the active compounds screened in vitro against SARS-CoV-2.

This motivated us to screen the benzoxazole–thiazolidinone hybrids as SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitors. In order to achieve this, a combination of docking, dynamics, and free energy studies were employed in this study.

Key Features and Benefits

• Established the key interactions between the B-T hybrids and SARS-CoV-2 proteases.
• A simple four-step synthetic procedure was developed to synthesise the B-T hybrids.
• Identifying a novel compound (MBT9) that could act as an allosteric inhibitor of PLp, thus inhibits viral replication, in turn reducing the pace of infection.

Impact

• This study is related to the COVID-19 research and contributes to the understanding of SARS-CoV-2.
• The in-vivo and in-vitro studies could be carried out to further evaluate the therapeutic potential of the proposed ligands.
• The potential of the B-T hybrids as covalent binders to 3CLp can also be explored, as the conjugate amide group present in the thiazolidinone scaffold of the molecule can serve as a Michael acceptor.

Team

Vijay Sai Krishna Cheerala, Research Scholar, Department of Chemistry, Brindavan Campus, SSSIHL

Prasanth Ghanta, Research Scholar, Department of Biosciences, Prasanthi Nilayam Campus, SSSIHL

Prof. C N Sundaresan, Professor (Hon.), Department of Chemistry, Brindavan Campus, SSSIHL

Paper Published in: RSC Advances (Royal Society of Chemistry)

Title: Design, synthesis and in silico screening of benzoxazole–thiazolidinone hybrids as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 proteases

Read Paper Here: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/ra/d1ra07504g

Identifying the Issue

• EPDS is a validated screening tool used in the assessment of perinatal depression (PND)
• Responders answer EPDS questions differently due to PND associated stigma depending on the mode of administration
• This study evaluates the differences in EPDS scores used for assessment of PND over a span of 9 months

Objective of the Research

• Assessment of the difference in the EPDS scores between self and interviewer mode of administration
• Investigation of the baseline clinical and psychosocial characteristics of the study subjects associated with the difference between the two modes of administration
• Evaluation of the differences in antenatal depression, postnatal depression and PND rates using the two modes of EPDS administration

Who should read this?

This article is an outcome of study parameters based on socio-psychological assessments and is recommended for psychiatrists, mental health clinicians, physicians, students of mental health and obstetrics & gynaecology practitioners.

Solution

EPDS is a self-administered screening tool for assessing PND. However, the EPDS usage in the Indian population is predominantly interviewer-administered. It is extremely necessary to address the limitations involved in the assessment of PND in rural settings. The present longitudinal observational study was intended to evaluate the differences in EPDS administration between the self-administered and interviewer-administered modes to understand and improve the test score interpretations.

Key Features and Benefits

• The study helps in bridging the knowledge gap in PND assessment and health care catering to pregnant women and new mothers in the rural South-Indian population
• The study includes data related to preclinical, clinical and socio-demographics relevant to psychiatry and details the socio-cultural diversity of the region as it relates to mental health

Impact

• This study has a direct societal relevance, particularly in rural settings, with respect to healthcare administration for perinatal women
• The current research work sheds light on the possibility of systematic bias involved in administering EPDS questionnaires in the Indian population that needs to be still understood
• This study increases the awareness on the impact of the mode of EPDS administration, especially in non-English speaking, culturally diverse and low or middle-income countries such as India

Team

Pradeep Kumar Badiya, Sasidhar Siddabattuni, Venkatesh Srinivasan and Sai Sathish Ramamurthy
STAR Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam, 515134, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India

Debarshi Dey
Independent Researcher, Biostatistician, Munich, 82152, Germany.

Akkamahadevi C. Hiremath
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital, Whitefield, Bangalore, 560066, India.

Raj Lakshmi Nalam
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital, Prasanthi Nilayam, 515134, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Sridhar Vaitheswaran and Aarthi Ganesh
Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai 600101, Tamil Nadu, India

Yendluri Prabhakar
Department of Psychiatry, Government medical college/Government General Hospital, Anantapur, 515001, Andhra Pradesh, India

Paper Published in: Asian Journal of Psychiatry

Title: Effect of mode of administration on Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in the South Indian population: A comparative study on self-administered and interviewer-administered scores

Read Paper Here: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1d~HG6gcL74Lx8

The workshop brought together distinguished professors and scientists in the areas of Biosciences and Medicine.

Talks and discussions cantered on various topics: The importance of translational research and its applications, Green Chemistry: Plants as a Source of Bioactive Metabolites, Stem Cells: Their scope in Regenerative Research, How do we tackle resurgent drug-resistant Tuberculosis, Pharmaceuticals to Nutraceuticals – Why This Paradigm Shift, Oxylipid signaling in Health and Disease in plants and animals, and Hybridoma Technology in Health Care.

External experts and guests from: North Maharashtra University, National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Institute of Science, Central Food Technological Research Institute, University of Hyderabad, Defence Food Research Laboratory, DRDO

Prof. Arun Sreekumar, Charles C Bell Jr. Endowed Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas and Visiting Faculty, Dept. of Biosciences, SSSIHL, an expert on Cancer Biology delivered a keynote lecture on Re-wired Metabolism Drives Breast Cancer at SSSIHL on 22 Jan 2020.

The talk focused on how breast cancer modifies its metabolism to escape host immune response and become aggressive (metastatic). The mechanism underpinnings that drive this immune escape was determined. The potential translation of these findings to develop treatment strategies for patients was discussed.

#SSSIHL #SSSIHLResearch #SSSIHLChemistry #cancerbiology#breastcancerresearch.