Archive for category: Himachal Pradesh

Chandigarh August 13, 2021

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Dr. Rohit Sharma, Head, Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Panjab University and BioNEST-PU has recently been granted patents for two of his team’s innovations in two consecutive days. The patent entitled, “Nitrile hydrolyzing microbes for industrial use” was granted on 10^th August 2021 while another patent for the novel anti-carcinogenic extracts was granted on the following day.

Dr. Sharma shared that with the changes in conventional academic culture, the researchers and innovators are now inclined towards protecting and commercializing their intellectual property.

Dr. Sharma and his team is well-versed with extremophilic enzymes ie., the enzymes from microbial sources which are capable of functioning in extreme environmental conditions and thus have a wide range of industrial and biotechnological applications. One such enzyme is the nitrile-hydrolizing enzyme, the nitrilase which has a major application in biodegradation of toxic and recalcitrant industrial wastes and is also a key player in the synthesis of multiple carboxylic acid-based compounds. The enzyme is also known to mediate the synthesis of multiple high-value commercials, mainly pharmaceuticals and also sells globally as a bulk enzyme. In their quest for nitrile hydrolyzing microbes for industrial use, Dr. Sharma’s team included two students of PU who are now placed in MNCs and are living overseas, along with a startup company which collaborated with them to further this technology to the market.

Another team including three faculty members from the Panjab University- Dr. Rohit Sharma from the Department of Microbial Biotechnology, PU, Prof. Jasdeep Kaur and Dr. Monika Sharma from the Department of Biotechnology, PU had been working on the anti-cancer properties of plant extracts, mainly from a wild plant commonly known as ‘Jangli jalebi’ (Pithecellobium dulce). The team had successfully prepared plant extracts with anti-carcinogenic properties back in 2011 and a patent was thus filed for protection of the IP. Summarizing the importance of such extracts, Dr. Sharma explained how bio-active compounds from various natural sources, mainly plants are being researched upon. He emphasized that the medical world today is looking for alternative cancer treatments and the need to replace or at least reduce the use of chemical compounds is the need of the hour. The targeted cancer for this technology has been the breast cancer, of which more than 1 million cases are reported every year in India alone.

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Dr. Rohit Sharma along with Dr. Monika Sharma had also received the Pfizer- IIT Delhi Innovation and IP Program (PIIP) for the patent of these anti-carcinogenic extracts in 2020. Additionally Dr. Sharma stated that such awards and recognitions not only bring credit for the research and innovation, but also help the university go up a few miles on annual rankings’ charts. The team is now looking forward to the examination of certain other patents in-line for the patent grant procedure.

For further information please contact:

                      Rohit-9914461545

Chandigarh August 12, 2021

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The Centre for Human Rights and Duties in collaboration with National Cadet Corps, Panjab University, Chandigarh organised  today, a one day workshop for BSF (Women) Personnel on “Stress and Its Impact on Mental Health” at University Institute of Emerging Areas  in Social Sciences (UIEASS), Panjab University.

Ms. Deepika Lamba, Clinical psychologist, Department of Psychiatry, GMCH Sector-32, Chandigarh gave a presentation on the topic “Stress And Its Effects On Mental Health”. She said that stress not only affects our physical health but also mental health and well being. Stress has detrimental effects on our physiological, emotional, behavioral and psychological well being. Stress lead to various problems such as heart disease, cancer, lung diseases, accidents, depression, suicide etc. She stated that about 43% of adult health problems are the result of stress.Therefore, identification and dealing with the causes of stress is important.  She gave practical tips to manage stress.

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Dr Manreet Kaur, Department of Psychiatry, GMCH Sector-32, Chandigarh gave a presentation on the topic “Stress Management: Practical Ways to Prevent and Relieve Stress”. She explained that stress management is basically a set of techniques and programs intended to help people deal more effectively with stress in their lives by analyzing the specific stressors and taking positive actions to minimize their effects. She shared the 7 tips that are adapted from the American Psychological Association (2018) to support individuals for Stress Management. These basically include: 1. Understanding stress 2. Identifying stress sources 3. Learning to recognize stress signals 4. Recognizing stress strategies 5. Implementing healthy stress management strategies 6. Making self-care a priority and 7. Asking for support when needed. She also talked about the 4 A’s of Stress Management i.e. avoid, alter, accept, adapt. Stress management can be achieved by being proactive with your life, taking charge of your surroundings, avoiding individuals that cause you unnecessary stress. She also shared some of the coping strategies to relieve stress for eg. diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), meditation, guided imagery, walk and exercise, thought monitoring, assertive communication, managing time, balanced schedule, adequate Sleep, balanced diet, positive self-talk habit, express Gratitude etc.

Dr. Kuldeep Singh, Coordinator NCC, PU,  Dr. Namita Gupta, Chairperson, Centre for Human Rights and Duties  and Prof. Monika Munjial, Incharge of NCC Girls Wing, in their address introduced the theme, shared the objective and introduced the resource person. They shared that the workshop has been organised to help BSF women personnel to cope with stress and other associated psychological problems. 

40 women personnel from the BSF participated in the workshop.