BiOZEEN VISIT

a monthly newsletter of Biocon Academy

COVER STORY: BIOZEEN

VISIT ……1

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: DR

SUMAN KAPUR, BITS

PILANI…..2

IN CONVERSATION WITH

SUBJECT MATTER

EXPERT:……3

ISSUE 1 | VOL 2 | 2019

To widen the scope of hands-on training for its

students, Biocon Academy has collaborated with

Bengaluru-based biopharmaceutical services

company BiOZEEN.

As a part of their 18-weeks training program,

students of Biocon KGI Biosciences program

received one-week hands-on training in BiOZEEN

on Pilot Scale Fermentation, Clean-in-Place (CIP),

Sterilization-in-Place (SIP), Downstream Processing

operations like Tangential Flow Filtration (TFF), Ion

Exchange, Affinity & Gel Filtration Chromatography

and the students of BITS Biocon Microbiology

Program received a 5 days training on basic and

applied techniques in Microbiology.

The training to Batch 13 Students of Biocon KGI

Program in Biosciences was given by two highly

experienced BiOZEEN trainers; Elizabeth Eldo and

Julie Mathew, and the training to Batch 4 students

of BITS Biocon Program in Applied Industrial

Microbiology was conducted by Dr. Nelliah and

Team.

During the 5-day exclusive ‘hands on training’ the AIM batch went through the basic

and applied techniques in microbiology which includes, serial dilution, plating

methods for enumeration and characterization of microorganisms, storage-

preservation and retrieving microbial cultures, microbial growth curve, analysis of

air and water for microbiological attributes, monitoring the microbiological

attributes of personal and specific staining methods flora microorganisms.

Similarly, the Biosciences students went through a 6-day program where they learnt

the ‘scale-up’ process from a 5L seed fermenter to that of a 40L pilot scale

fermenter. The students also had training on drawing of the P&ID (Piping and

Insulation Diagram), Sterilization of FSIP (Full-Vessel) and ESIP ( Empty Vessel) and

also CIP (Clean-in-place) over the entire week long session.

Learning happens when we are eager to delve into the subject. The hands-on

experience at BiOZEEN helped the students get a comprehensive overview about

the engineering behind the sophisticated Bioreactors or Microbial cultured plates.

It was indeed an enriching experience for the students.

THE COVER STORY

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Suman Kapur

Dr. Suman Kapur teaches FSSAI & BIS

standards and regulations to students of BITS

Biocon Certificate program in Applied

Industrial Microbiology.

She is a Senior Professor and Dean at BITS

Pilani, Hyderabad Campus.

Dr Kapur has been awarded the Photon

Research Award, for her work on

antimicrobials in 2015. She is among the 100

Women Achievers honoured by GOI and the

recipient of Marico Innovation Award and

Best Technology Startup award by TDB, GOI.

Her research interests are genetic markers for

vulnerability to chronic human diseases,

screening strategies for low-cost settings,

medical devices for field deployment in low

resource settings and disease prevention

through herbal/natural products.

Message from Academic Director, Biocon Academy: Salavadi Easwaran

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all

students, faculty and industry stakeholders

who extended their whole hearted

appreciation and support to the first issue of

BioZesta, an exclusive e-Newsletter of Biocon

Academy. Indian Biotechnology industry is at its

inflection point and this is the most exciting

period where we are witnessing both upscaling

of existing capacities as well as opening up of

new unconventional opportunities.

A variety of these opportunities for the

students with biosciences background both in

life sciences and engineering streams are

emerging where there is a convergence of

domain knowledge and interdisciplinary

knowledge like computer sciences,

computational skills, intellectual property

rights etc. are happening.

These are favourable times for the tech savvy

generation to make their dream a reality in the

Biosciences industry!

Moreover, students with an entrepreneurial

streak can pursue their passion and make a

mark in the industry independently as job

creaters and not job seekers.

SS. Easwaran Academic Director Biocon

Academy

The Government has created a very strong start-

up ecosystem in the form of incubators that offer

the required resources including space,

centralized high end instrumentation support and

financial grants to bring the ideas of the

incumbents to a reality with a commercially viable

model.

Over the last 5 years, Biocon Academy has

provided the most optimum model for life

sciences students aspiring to make a career in

pharma & biopharma industry. We have leveraged

rich industry experience of Biocon and subject

matter expertise of its education partners to

deliver industry-oriented training programs to

biotech students. The programs offered by the

Academy aim to empower the biotechnology and

engineering graduates with advanced learning and

industrial proficiency through job-skills

development essential to build a promising career

in the Biotech industry.

In this short span, Biocon Academy has

meaningfully impacted the industry by offering

500 high quality well trained biotech students

through its various programs. We will continue to

deliver on our promise of addressing the skill

defecit training and developing industry ready

talent for the Biopharma sector to enable global

competitiveness.

She is an expert member on several panels

related to stem cells therapeutics,

functional foods & nutraceuticals (FSSAI),

standards for food and water requirements

during disaster management (NDMA) and

jury for several award committees viz. BM

Birla, Ranbaxy Research and King Faisal

Science Awards.

Dr. Kapur holds several patents, has

published 200+ peer-reviewed papers,

delivered 150+ invited/keynote lectures

and has organized several scientific

meetings, workshops and trainings.

Dr. Suman Kapur

Faculty, BITS Biocon Certificate

Program in Applied Industrial

Microbiology.

Students Corner Aman Kumar Naik, Batch 13, Biocon KGI Certificate

Program in Biosciences has made a mark with his

maiden research publication in Springer, an

international publication on Science, Technology &

Medicine dedicated to provide the best possible service

to the whole research community. The paper

publication is in the Probiotics and Antimicrobial

Proteins category.

In his study, he explained how infections remain the

major cause of death and antibiotics therapy is the most

widely used practice. Antibiotic consumption enforces

selective evolution of microorganisms and causes

disease like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Recent research in the microbiome and immune

modulation has shown that probiotics can be used to

treat and prevent various bacterial infection.

In his study, he has compared the effects of probiotics;

Lactobacillus Acidophilus (LA) and Bacillus Clausii (BC)

on salmonella mediated intestinal dysbiosis and

inflammation in Th1- and Th2-biased mice.

Jingel All The Way:

Christmas Celebrations

LA treatment was shown to be effective for

Salmonella infection, in Th1 (C57BL/6) and Th2

(BALB/c)-biased mouse but BC was able to

ameliorate Salmonella infection in Th2 but not in

Th1-biased mouse. He studied how probiotics

alter the gut microbiota diversity and which in

turn modulate the immune system. Host

transcriptomics was performed to identify

different pathways associated with the immune

modulation. Both Th1 and Th2 host microbiota

and immune response were compared. The

current report established the potential of LA to

be used in the clinical intervention of infectious

diseases.

Christmas, they say, is the festival of joy, peace and enthusiasm, and

of course, gifts! And Biocon Academy was no exception.

The entire academy was decked up in hues of red, green and white.

The tinsel and the baubles that adorned the place added a touch of

festivity thrill in the air. A thrilling week long Secret Santa game was

played among the students and faculty of the Academy. Gifts were

exchanged that brought much excitement and joy among students

and faculty alike.

On 21st December 2018, to celebrate the festivity, a cultural program

was arranged by the faculty members. The students were excited to

perform in the event in singing, dancing, fun ramp walk etc. Christmas

here, brought with itself, gaiety, gifts and new friends, all of which will

be treasured for a lifetime among the students!

Aman Kumar Naik Batch 13 Biocon KGI Certificate

Program in Biosciences

Springer link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-018-9436-5

PRO-SCHOLAR TIPS: How to nail a presentation?

PRO-SCHOLAR TIPS: How to be a good Team Player?

For suggestions and feedback please write to us at: educonnect@bioconacademy.com Know more about us: www.bioconacademy.com

Keep up with Biocon Academy:

In Conversation with: Daya Thota (Manager – Quality, Biocon)

Daya Thota

Manager – Quality Biocon

This month we are introducing a new column ‘In Conversation With’. In this column, we will bring

you interesting fire side chats with Industry Experts, Subject Matter Experts, Academic leaders and

so on.

This week we chatted with Daya Thota , Manager, Quality, Biocon and a Subject Matter

Expert (SME) for Biocon KGI Program in Biosciences. SME is a person with a deep understanding of

a Subject particularly a process, function, technology, machine, documents, material or type of

equipment. To make the Students get a sound practical knowledge and understanding about the

Industry, we need to create training materials and SMEs. Students during their Functional Visits at

various Biocon Facilities engage with SMEs to hone their knowledge.

Mr. Daya Thota, leads a team of Quality Assurance. He shares his views related to what it takes to

be a good QA/QC professional and has interesting advice for the students seeking career in QA and

how QA has played a major role in shaping his life. To read his full interview: Click Here

SHEROES has acquired women’s health app MAYA. Actively used by women in over 20 countries, Maya has been a game-changer in health tech, offering diagnostic tests, online doctor consultations, fertility predictions and pregnancy tracking. Read: https://bit.ly/2DDAagh

Oncology researchers have long believed that “dormant” breast cancer cells are unresponsive to chemotherapy. Yet those inactive cancer cells can wake up at any time and cause life-threatening metastasis. Read: https://bit.ly/2T9ezBK