View this email in the browser 10 Oct 2024
From the IndiaBioscience desk

Dear reader,

Welcome to the October edition of our monthly newsletter!

With immense gratitude, we're elated to announce that we closed the YIM 2025 registrations, with an overwhelming response. The 17th Young Investigators' Meeting (YIM 2025), will be held in Agra, Uttar Pradesh from 3-7 March 2025, supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India in partnership with Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence.

While YIM 2025 applications have closed, applications are open for the forthcoming Regional Young Investigators’ Meeting in Bengaluru, which will be held from 28 to 30 November 2024. You can register for the meeting here. While on RYIMs, we wrapped up our first Regional Young Investigators’ Meeting (RYIM) for 2024-2025 in the port city of Visakhapatnam held from 18-20 September 2024.

In the digital space, we also successfully hosted a five-day PhD café, a one-of-a-kind virtual seminar series for PhD researchers in the life sciences across India, supported by the Company of Biologists. The sessions showcased advanced science from ~50 PhD researchers across India! If you missed it, you can tune into the research talks here.

Our podcast platform, IndiaBiospeaks, released a new episode of the ‘Jugalbandi - A science duet’ series, and IndiaBioreads is back with two new e-compendia: Vividh: Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Accessibility in science in India, and Getting past the Ph(D)inish line: Challenges with, and interventions to better support PhD experiences in life sciences in India. We also bring to you the last two articles from the specially-curated series: Journey of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2024. JOYI 2024 featured nine Young Investigators (YIs) who attended YIM 2024, sharing their journeys of doing science in India.

We're eager to continue this journey with you and share the stories, experiences, and opportunities that lie ahead. To stay connected and informed, make sure to follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube) and subscribe to our mailing list.

If you have an inspiring story to share, an insightful article to contribute, or a collaborative event idea, we invite you to reach out to us at hello[at]indiabioscience[dot]org. Your active participation contributes immensely to our shared journey.

So grab a good cup of coffee (or tea) and read on! Stay Engaged and Enable Change!

Networking and Mentorship
17th Young Investigators’ Meeting (YIM 2025), Agra: Applications Closed!

We express our gratitude for the tremendous response to the 17th Young Investigators' Meeting (YIM 2025). Registrations have now been closed. YIM 2025 will be held in Agra, Uttar Pradesh from 3-7 March 2025 in partnership with Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE). Shortlisted participants will be intimated by the end of October. If your institute or university wants to engage with YIM 2025, please get in touch with us at yim2025[at]indiabioscience[dot]org.

For all YIM 2025 updates, please keep visiting the YIM 2025 webpage.

RYIM Bengaluru 2024

We are excited to announce the second Regional Young Investigators’ Meeting in Bengaluru. The event will be held from 28 to 30 November 2024 at Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine, MAHE and St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences.

With the theme ‘Accelerating Indian science through private investments’, this 3-day meeting will bring together a series of scientific talks, presentations & professional development discussions. IndiaBioscience will lead a Crafting Your Career (CYC) workshop on 28 November 2024.

You can find more details about the meeting here. The last day to register is 31 October 2024. So, apply soon. We look forward to seeing you in Namma Bengaluru!

IndiaBioscience talk at RYIM Visakhapatnam 2024

We wrapped up the first Regional Young Investigators’ Meeting (RYIM) for 2024-2025 on 18 to 20 September 2024 in Visakhapatnam. RYIM Visakhapatnam was organised at GITAM (deemed to be University) and Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone Limited (AMTZ), Visakhapatnam. We are grateful to EMBO for childcare grants for the RYIMs 2024-2025.

The inaugural talk on IndiaBioscience, themed 'Engaging Change, Enabling Communities,' was presented by Arushi Batra, Program Manager - Digital Initiatives. Setting the tone for the event, the discussion revolved around IndiaBioscience's mission to support the life science community nationwide, acting as a central hub for networking, mentorship, skill building, policy dialogues, and science communication.

COMMUNITY BUILDING
On the Road to Excellence - Funding Opportunities for Life Science Researchers in India

We are excited to bring you Edition II of our grant compendium: "On the Road to Excellence – Funding Opportunities for Life Science Researchers in India." This updated edition features the latest information on newly launched grants, along with insightful anecdotes and comprehensive details on national and international funding for travel, collaboration, science outreach, and more.

What’s inside? A carefully curated list of resources, including grants, awards, and fellowships. You can read or download this booklet from here.

5th IndiaBioscience Outreach Grants awards address biodiversity, mental health, and education

In its 5th edition, the IndiaBioscience Outreach Grants (IOG) has been awarded to grassroot ideas addressing niche problems. Five teams have been awarded the grant for the first time and one team has received an extension grant. Read the article to know more about the 5th IOG awardees’ projects. You can read the entire article here.

Digital Initiatives
PhD Café: A virtual seminar series for PhD researchers in India

We successfully hosted a five-day 'PhD café', a one-of-a-kind online seminar series for PhD researchers in life sciences across India. The series hosted ~50 pre-selected PhD researchers who presented their work to experts and the wider community in various fields of experimental biology.

Held from 23–27 September 2024, and supported by the Company of Biologists, the series showcased experimental biology research being done by PhD researchers in India. The science-packed week flew by with numerous research talks, professional development networking sessions, and an e-compendium giveaway. If you missed the talks, don’t worry—you can catch them all here.

Taylor & Francis webinar: Peer Review 101 (IndiaBiostreams)

Despite ongoing discussions about new models for content validation, peer review remains a cornerstone of academic publishing. While issues like bias and delays exist, it continues to ensure research quality and integrity. With this in mind, we organised ‘Peer Review 101’ in collaboration with the Taylor & Francis Group for early-career and senior researchers from the Global South.

Sharon Salt, Executive Editor at Taylor & Francis, shared valuable tips on how to become a reviewer, while Arushi Batra, Program Manager for Digital Initiatives at IndiaBioscience, provided insights into the peer review process from an editor’s perspective. She also offered practical advice tailored to early-career researchers. You can watch the full recording here.

Jugalbandi - A science duet (IndiaBiospeaks)

We’re thrilled to announce the release of new episodes from our latest podcast series, ‘Jugalbandi - A Science Duet’. This series presents diverse perspectives and insights through engaging conversations between experts from various scientific fields.

The fourth episode delves into the intersection of clinical medicine and public health with Gagandeep Kang and Devi Shetty. You can listen to the entire episode here.

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

We bring to you the last two articles from the specially-curated series: Journey of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2024. JOYI 2024 featured nine Young Investigators (YIs) who attended YIM 2024, and their journey of doing science in India. Scroll down to read them!

Journey of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2024 (IndiaBioreads)
Building my own multidisciplinary research nest
Indumathi Sathisaran

Indumathi Sathisaran is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioscience and Engineering at National Institute of Technology Calicut. In this final article of the Journey Of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2024 series, she shares her journey of doing science in India and her inclination towards multidisciplinary research.

I studied computer science and became a neuroscientist
Shyam Kumar Sudhakar

Shyam Kumar Sudhakar is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at the Krea University, Andhra Pradesh. In this eighth article of the Journey Of Young Investigator (JOYI) 2024 series, he shares his career transition from computer science to neuroscience and the importance of interdisciplinary and computational skills in life sciences.

In our science communication vertical, we published several columns and news articles last month.

Scroll down to get a glimpse of these articles below!

COLUMNS
In conversation with K VijayRaghavan: The making of the Lodha Genius Programme
Debraj Manna

The Lodha Genius Programme at Ashoka University, Haryana, started in May 2023 with the vision for nurturing bright students during their high school years. In this article, K VijayRaghavan, former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and the Chair of the Science Advisory Council at Ashoka University, discusses the programme in a conversation with Debraj Manna.

Engaging youth to fight against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
Harshita Agarwal, Shaheen Hasan, Bhumika Pippal & Neha Jain

In rural Rajasthan, this outreach initiative addressed the issue of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) through 14 interactive workshops facilitated by the third IndiaBioscience Outreach Grants (IOG 3). Neha Jain, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Jodhpur, and her team educated students on microbiology and responsible antibiotic use, empowering young minds and fostering sustainable solutions to combat AMR.

NEWS
A bioengineered human model to detect drug induced liver injury
Akshita Puri Bajaj

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, have developed the Human Physiomimetic Liver Acinus Model (HPLAM), a 3D-printed liver model that mimics human liver functions to better predict drug-induced liver injuries. This advanced model aims to address the limitations of animal testing in drug toxicity evaluation, offering a more accurate and human-relevant alternative.

Can native grasses revolutionise carbon sequestration in dry regions of India?
Mohit Nikalje

A recent study by researchers at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), in collaboration with the Maharashtra Forest Department, shows that ecological restoration through planting native grasses can increase soil organic carbon by up to 50% in three years. The researchers employed an innovative space-for-time substitution approach for the study.

A 3D-printed device for personalised screening of drug combinations in oral cancer patients
Manjeera Gowravaram

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) have developed a device that can be 3D-printed and can be used to screen drug combinations in oral cancer patients. The design relies on patient-specific stem-like spheroids cultured on a chip. This innovation could help examine how individual patients respond to drugs before treatment begins.

SKILL BUILDING
Crafting your Career (CYC) workshop at RYIM Visakhapatnam 2024

Arushi Batra, Program Manager - Digital Initiatives, and Avijit Banik, GITAM University, co-conducted a Crafting Your Career (CYC) workshop for Masters’ students, PhD and postdoctoral researchers on 18 September 2024. We are grateful to Taylor and Francis for supporting the book prizes for our CYCs at RYIMs across India.

The CYC program was started at IndiaBioscience in 2019, with a goal to raise awareness among life science students and postdoctoral researchers about the different science careers in India and to help them develop skills to navigate career paths. Starting 2024, IndiaBioscience is open to requests for CYC workshops in online and in-person modes, with a suite of modules and formats that can be found in our recently revamped Crafting Your Career (CYC) webpage. Our newly-launched online format is customised for virtual engagement across a 3-hour module, making it an excellent option for senior PhD researchers and postdocs in an institute.

Do you want us to conduct the CYC workshop (virtual and in-person) at your institute? Write to us hello[at]indiabioscience[dot]org. We look forward to hosting a workshop for you!

International Grants Awareness Program (iGAP) Dispatches VII: Open calls ending soon!

We recently released our next set of iGAP Dispatches, with information on open international grant calls till the end of the year. We hope you find them useful! Check our curated resources here.

Voices from the community

Have you been awarded an international grant? Have you mentored a colleague for their international grant application? We invite stories/anecdotes from Indian life science researchers who have recently or previously been awarded international grants. Your stories could inspire other researchers seeking international funding opportunities. If you are interested in sharing your story or mentorship inputs, please let us know through this form.

Scroll down to read the recent 'Voice from the community' article.

My story of a successful Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) Young Investigator Grant
Dhananjay Huilgol

Dhananjay Huilgol, a Senior Research Associate at Duke University, United States of America (USA), studied the progenitor basis of neuronal diversification in the mammalian brain during his postdoctoral training. In this article, he shares his story of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) Young Investigator Grant.

EDUCATION
Designing a science communication course for science and non-science majors
Ananya Mukherjee & Rukma Prince

Ananya Mukherjee, who teaches Biology, and Rukma Prince, who teaches English Literature to undergraduates at Azim Premji University, have co-created a Science Communication course for science and non-science majors, which will be offered in August 2024. In this article, they share what prompted them to create this course and the kind of educational issues that the course aims to address.

#EducatorsMonday

On the last Monday of every month, we post a question for educators on all our social media handles. We invite you to post your answers, see responses by others, and enjoy the threads of conversation.

Our question for September was: If undergraduate laboratory (practical) exams were to be conducted in an open-ended mode instead of a prescribed mode, how would it benefit students’ learning? You can post your response on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

IndiaBioreads
Vividh: Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Accessibility in science in India

Vividh’ is a compilation of inspiring and thought-provoking stories, interviews and insights on DEIA in life science research and education in India. Featuring opinions, first-person accounts, and perspectives from allies and advocates, Vividh discusses DEIA in science across a range of situations and experiences.

The e-compendium also features a compelling foreword and collection of relevant resources for the community. The full e-compendium can be found here.

Getting past the Ph(D)inish line: Challenges with, and interventions to better support PhD experiences in life sciences in India

The e-book, "Getting past the Ph(D)inish line: Challenges with, and interventions to better support PhD experiences in life sciences in India," aims to address challenges that PhD researchers in the life sciences in India face, and it does so by offering a clear look at the difficulties they encounter during their academic journeys. While doing so, it shares real experiences and practical advice to help researchers overcome obstacles and make the PhD experience more rewarding.

You can read or download this booklet from here.

IndiaBioscience writes for Nature India

“There can be career pauses and career breaks, and also career 'pit stops'”. Karishma Kaushik, Executive Director at IndiaBioscience, writes in Nature India on how a pit-stop can refuel your next big career step. Read the article here.

More at IndiaBioscience
Interns at IndiaBioscience

We have had several new interns join us at IndiaBioscience making it a full house! We are excited about the work and ideas they bring to the table, and if you haven't noticed, it is an all-women's team that continues to make everything happen!

Jobs, Events, Grants and Fellowships

Are you following our dedicated thread (#ScienceJobsTuesdays) for jobs, grants and events on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn? And are you subscribed to our monthly Jobs and Internships monthly newsletter? You can subscribe to it here. Let us help you in your search!

Apply for Jobs, Events, Grants and Fellowships
Stay in touch with IndiaBioscience

We are always looking for ways to engage with you! If you are an institute, university, company, private enterprise, incubation park or a science collective, get in touch with us with your ideas!

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