The international
biological engineering
meeting (iBEM) was
organized by Prof Pawan
K Dhar and Prof Shailja
Singh from Jawaharlal
Nehru University with
the help of Prof V
Ravichandiran, Director
NIPER Kolkata and
several leading biotech
and pharma industries.
This event saw 30
speakers from India,
USA and Singapore
sharing their cutting-edge
science with over 200
participants across India.
The theme of the
meeting was design and
construction of genes,
proteins, networks and
cells, for applications in
health sector. The event
started with a plenary
talk by Professor S.
Chandrasegaran of Johns
Hopkins University. His
lab has been involved in a
path breaking science of
chemically constructing
the yeast chromosome
from scratch. His
work has led to global
coverage and widespread
appreciation for showing a
new way to do biology. His
talk set the stage of the
event and was followed
by a session to showcase
latest technological
breakthroughs to
make cell factory for
producing chemicals,
drugs and so on.
The meeting also
saw convergence of
engineers, biologists,
computer scientists,
mathematicians and
science administrators
for discussing latest
scientific developments
and providing funding
avenues for the emerging
community in India.
Two panel discussions
involving audience opened
up several interesting
leads and information
avenues for the students
and scientists.
This event was in direct
alignment with the
Make in India initiative
launched by Prime
Minister in September
2014 to transform India
into a global design and
manufacturing hub. The
concept of engineering
in biology supports idea
Prof Pawan K Dhar and Prof Shailja Singh expressed
deepest gratitude to the Vice Chancellor and the entire JNU
Administration for their strong support in organizing India’s
first international conference on biological engineering. The
Rector II of JNU, Prof. S.C. Garkoti and Director Research, Prof.
R. Chaturvedi expressed JNU’s strong commitment towards
science and technology and offered their help and guidance
in strengthening academia - industry collaboration for the best
benefit of students, scientists and the society.
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