School of Life Sciences and School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad (UoH) have jointly organised an MHRD supported Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) course on the topic “Glycoconjugates: Role in Biology and Biomedical relevance”.
From L to R: Prof. Dr. K.von Figura, Prof. Appa Rao Podile and Prof. A. Surolia
Around 40 participants from different teaching and research institutes attended the course (13th to 21st November 2017) and were taught by a distinguished glycobiologist Prof. Dr. Kurt von Figura (Former President, University of Göttingen, Germany). The course covered basics of glycoconjugates as well as detailed studies concerning their specific roles in human health and disease followed by practicals in basic glycosciences. It also raised the enthusiasm of the participants for new and complex scientific topics by problem-oriented, interactive courses and encouraging them to formulate own questions. The awareness and interest of the participants for a career in basic and applied research have been raised during this course.
University of Hyderabad has a consortium of glycoscientists and at the conclusion of the course on 21st November, Prof A. Surolia from IISC, Bangalore delivered a special lecture “The long road from ‘ideas’ to ‘influence’ in lectins and glycobiology”. The successful completion of the GIAN course has opened up new directions for the faculty of the University of Hyderabad to further expand their teaching and research activities in the specialised subject of Glycosciences.
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Appa Rao Podile has duly acknowledged the support from MHRD under the GIAN program to UoH and appreciated the efforts of the speakers and co-ordinators, Prof N. Siva Kumar from school of Life Sciences and Prof. M. J. Swamy from School of Chemistry.