B4 (Boston
Bangalore Biosciences Beginnings) Program was held at IBAB (Institute of BioInformatics and
Applied Biotechnology) Bangalore centre in association with the Harvard
University (Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute).This year the theme of
the SAI-B4 program is based on Genomic
Applications in Healthcare & Translational Research.
The aim of this intensive
workshop is to introduce highly talented Indian students to
the emerging area of genomics and enable them to explore the power
and excitement of Next Generation Sequencing technologies
to address clinically relevant research questions. The
workshop will train the participants on both the experimental aspects
of genomic sequencing & computational analysis of sequencing data
through didactic research lectures and hands-on sessions. The workshop is sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of
India.
Themes:
· Cancer Genomics and
Translational Medicine
· Infectious and Rare
Disease Genomics
· Genomics of Non-Coding RNA
· Population Genomic
· Nutri Geniomic
· Epigenomics
This program is
open to:
· Pre-doctoral, doctoral and
postdoctoral researchers in Life Sciences / Biotechnology / Bioinformatics /
Computer Science
· Currently engaged in
relevant areas of research Students currently enrolled in MBBS / M.Pharm
programmes
· Exceptionally talented
undergraduate student
This year the applications
received from universities across India in the field of Life Sciences,
Biotechnology, Bioinformatics and Computer Science were around 218 and the
complete applications were 177. Out of which the shortlisted candidates were
25, who will be a part of a residential workshop for 2 weeks under the tutelage
of a distinguished panel of professors from the Harvard and various Indian and
American institutes in the field of Genomics and Medical Sciences.
Dr.Cynthia
Casson Morton spoke about SeQ-a-Boo, under which she spoke abouthistory of the process in the US to assess implement genomic sequencing
in to NBS and Next gen diagnostics and newborn screening for hearing loss.
Followed by discussion with Prof Cynthia Morton and Prof
Marc Lenburg, Prof. Yathindra (Director of IBAB) and Gaurav Gupta,
IAS, Principal Secretary at Govt of Karnataka, IT-BT department.
Dr. Cynthia Casson Morton - Director
of Cytogenetics at Brigham and Women's Hospital and is associate with
Brigham and Women's Hospital from the last 30 years. She is William
Lambert Richardson Professor of Ob/Gyn and Reproductive Biology and Professor
of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. As Director of Cytogenetics, Dr. Morton
has implemented the use of next-generation sequencing to provide nucleotide
resolution of balanced chromosomal rearrangements detected in the prenatal
setting. Her laboratory has been a major site for training laboratory
geneticists in clinical cytogenetics.
Also present was Marc
Lenburg (Boston University) - Professor of Medicine, Section of
Computational Biomedicine at Boston University School of Medicine, Professor of
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Boston University, School of Medicine,
Professor, Bioinformatics Program at Boston University, School of Medicine and
co-Director, Microarray Core Lab, at Boston University School of Medicine.
He is a scientist with
experience in computational analysis of large scale genomics data and
development of bioinformatics software. His lab is currently involved in
understanding lung disease through comprehensive genome-wide gene-expression
profiling (whether using microarray-based technology or now RNAseq) together
with rigorous computational data analysis methods to discover unexpected
distinctions between disease states that provide them not only with clues as to
how disease develops, but also sensitive tools for detecting disease.
Information
from a patient’s genome is increasingly useful for diagnosis and therapy as a
critical part of clinical care today.
Organizations
such as The Human Genome Project, ENCODE (Encyclopedia of Human Elements), the
Human Epigenome Consortium have advanced our understanding of the etiology of
disease and its progression. This has spurred a great deal of excitement in
personalized medicine, which uses genomic and epigeneomic information to
guide diagnosis and therapy. Gene panel-based diagnosis, genomic markers for
disease screening and newborn screening have created avenues for therapy and
early diagnosis.
Genomics
and Next-generation Sequencing technologies have influenced scientific research
and medicine significantly, which has made a striking impact on healthcare and
translational medicine over the last decade. The capability to sequence DNA at
higher speeds with precision and resolution unravels several dimensions of the
complex genome and enhances the applicability of genomic information in
personalized medicine.
The South Asia Initiative (SAI) continues the long tradition of collaboration
between Harvard and South Asia’s nations. Learning from South Asia, and
contributing to its development, has become vital given the salience of the
region in contemporary times. Harvard University became the first in the nation
to offer Sanskrit courses in 1872. Today, professors and students from across
Harvard conduct research on scientific, strategic, social, economic,
environmental, and political issues, in collaboration with colleagues in South
Asia and elsewhere, in service of the community-at-large. The purpose of SAI is
to be a nexus for interdisciplinary intellectual activities at the University,
with the shared aspiration to build the leading center of expertise on South
Asia. SAI seeks to expand knowledge of a vital region through faculty and
student engagement across disciplines. We do so in an environment of
compassion, tolerance, humility, and awareness, which qualifies us to become
informed decision-makers and change agents.
