Growing on international collaborations

A plethora of government sponsored projects allows students to gain rich and valuable hands on research experience

Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) is an autonomous national research institution under the DBT and affiliated to the University of Kerala. The admission for the PhD program is through various national level entrance exams conducted by CSIR, DBT, and ICMR. RGCB saw 34 students getting admitted over the last academic year. It remains to date as one of the very few institutions with experienced faculty, with 90 percent of its teaching staff possessing a PhD and have several decades of experience.

The research conducted at RGCB can be substantiated by the high number of papers published in international publications, which is 226. The institution has filed for 11 Indian patents and four international patents since 2008.

RGCB has two major public service facilities, a regional facility for DNA fingerprinting and molecular diagnostics. The institute is also planning to start a MSc course in molecular diagnostics. This initiative in the future can complement its existing molecular diagnostics lab.

Since June 2009, RGCB has had government sponsored projects worth 15 crore and industry sponsored projects worth 4 crore. In addition to the government sponsored research, faculty members also avail the intramural funding made available to them by the institution.

RGCB also houses an incubator in its campus, which is jointly run by HLL Lifecare for the development of better diagnostics for infectious diseases. The lab to student ratio is very high at RGCB with over 40 labs dedicated to biotech students with an occupancy of only ten students per lab.

The students after completing their PhD, pursue post-doctoral fellowship. RGCB has a host of joint programs with the George Washington University for a PhD program in cancer research. Another collaboration with Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is in place for the training of post-doctoral fellowships.

RGCB recently acquired 20 acres of land from the government for the expansion of its campus, which will later house an interdisciplinary innovation centre for the research and development of novel vaccines.

Fact file | Name of the Department: School of Biotechnology
Courses: PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
Director: Prof. M Radhakrishna Pillai
Website: www.rgcb.res.in

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"Our very strong disease biology program that focuses on animal, human as well as plant diseases is what differentiates us from other institutions"

Prof. M Radhakrishna Pillai director, school of biotechnology, Rajiv Gandhi centre for Biotechnology

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