AreportonAcademicInstitutionVisit

toNationalAgri-FoodBiotechnologyInstitute

KnowledgeCity,Sector81,Mohali

on6thFeb2018byStudentsofB.Tech(Bioinformatics)

OrganizedbyDepartmentofBiotechnologyandBioinformaticsJaypeeUniversityofInformationTechnology

Waknaghat,HP

AnacademicvisitwascarriedouttoNationalAgri-FoodBiotechnologyInstitute(NABI),Sector

81,Mohalion6thFeb2018forsecondandthirdyearbioinformaticsstudents.Thepurposeof

the visitwas to expose students to various research activities undertaken in the premier

research institution in government sector, and to give students a chance to interactwith

scientists and students working on cutting-edge biotechnology research. It was also an

opportunityforthestudentstoseethelatestinfrastructureusedinthebiotechnologysector.

National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute is the very first food biotechnology institute

establishedbyDepartmentofBiotechnology,GovernmentofIndia.Theinstitute’smandate

is to carry out research in agri–food sector and improving nutritional quality through

biotechnology research. It’s established to become a center of excellence to provide

leadershipinagri-foodresearch.

I,DrNarendraKumarandMsSonikaGuptaalongwith18studentsvisitedNABIlocatedat

Sector81,Mohali.On reaching the institute,wewere receivedbyDr.KaushikMajumdar;

wherewebriefedhimabouttheBiotechnologyandBioinformaticsprogramoftheJUIT.

Dr. Kaushik Majumdar addressed the students and explained major research themes

undertakenby the institutewhich included agricultural biotechnology, food andnutrition

biology, development of high yield crops, genomics and computational biology, and

nutraceuticalforbetterhealth.

AfterDr.Majumdar’saddress,thestudentsweretakentotheinstrumentationfacilitybyMr.

Jagdeep Singh, where he showed the students various equipment used in biotechnology

research at NABI. Students were shown gas chromatography and liquid chromatography

systems and their functionswere explained to them.Mr Jagdeep Singh also showed and

explainedtheequipmentforhighperformancethinlayerchromatographyandparticlesize

separator.Studentswerethentakenforatourtohighperformancetissueculturefacility.

Theywere shownandexplained thepurposeof cleanair areas fittedwithhighefficiency

particulateair(HEPA)filtersandairshowers.

Wealsovisitedthehigh-performancecomputing(HPC)facilityinthecomputationalbiology

laboratoryheadedbyDr.SrikantMantri.Hisstaffshowedthecomputerclusterandexplained

varioussoftwarerunningonthemachineforthegenomicsandtranscriptomicsanalysis.The

whole tour took some two and half hours and students got a feel for biotechnology and

bioinformaticsresearchattheinstitute.Studentsbenefitedfromgettinganopportunityto

relatetheirtheoreticalknowledgetopracticalimplications.

TheBTandBIdepartmentextendsourgratitudetotheDirector,NABIforhispermissionand

supporttomakethisvisitpossibleandachievingourobjectivesforthestudents.Wethank

managementofJUITandIndustryRelationOfficer(Dr.AbhishekChoudhary)ofDepartment

ofBT&BIforarrangingthevisitforourstudents.

Thanks,andRegards,

NarendraKumar,PhD

DepartmentofBiotechnologyandBioinformatics,JUIT

Coordinator:NABIVISIT