Five-day program on Advances in Neurodegenerative Disorders Therapeutics commences at Amity
New Delhi: Amity Institute of Neuropsychology and Neurosciences (AINN) is organizing a 5-Day International Program on ‘Advances in Neurodegenerative Disorders and Therapeutics’ sponsored by International Brain Research Organization Asian Pacific Regional Committee (IBRO-APRC).
During the program, neuroscientists from Indian academic organizations e.g. NIMHANS, NBRC, IISER, NIPERs, BHU, NCBS, AIIMS, IGIB, ICMR, JNU, DBT-institutes, CSIR-institutes and abroad e.g. USA, Germany, Malaysia, and Nepal, experts in the fields of neurodegenerative disorders, optogenetics, stem cells, regenerative medicine, drug designing, drug discovery and delivery, brain stimulation and neuroethics, and allied fields will deliver lectures to selected 20 Students, Research Scholars, Ph.D Fellows and Postdoctoral Fellows from India and Asia Pacific countries participants viz. Malaysia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Iran.
Inaugurating the virtual programme, Chief Guest Prof. Ishan Kumar Patro, President, Indian Academy of Neurosciences, and former Vice-Chancellor, Ravenshaw University, Odisha congratulated Amity on introducing B.Sc and M.Sc in neurosciences in the university and said that India will create a different category of students who will “dedicate their brains in understanding the brains”.
Sharing his ideas on, these programs, he said there is a need to promote critical and integrated thinking in the mind of students, analyse behavioral consequences of actions through our brains, develop skills of critical thinking, develop the ability to articulate inter-disciplinary approaches between subjects such as life sciences, molecular biology, etc. while designing the program. Outlining the challenges for students while perusing the specialized program, he said there is a need to promote competency in quantitative reasoning skills, using computers for computational analysis, and urged teachers to become examples for students in their struggles and happiness.
He called upon universities to provide students opportunities to present their work in conferences, extend grants and scholarships, conduct faculty interaction programs, and create student-teacher mentorship, only then researches and innovations can be promoted amongst students.
Prof. Pike See Cheah, IBRO-APRC Chair, Malaysia, welcomed the participants and said this platform will create more opportunities for research between organization, working in the area of Neurosciences. Delivering her presentation on “Neuroscience Funding Opportunities from International Brain Research Organization, she said the objective of this program is to gain new ideas and an inspiration to explore the researches in the neurosciences area in the Asia- Pacific region. She also called upon institutions to explore funding, partnership, education, training, and research opportunities to build neurosciences Asia Pacific Community and work globally.
Dr. Ashok Chauhan, Founder President, Amity Education Group said the involvement of 20 selected students in this program in understanding the nuisances of neurosciences will not only help mankind but also be remarkable learning for the students from the experts in the area. Today mental health is affecting people’s lives and there is a need to find remedies to help these persons. He announced the funding of Rs. 10 crores in establishing neuroscience centers in Amity Universities and encouraged students to do research and focus on niche areas to work more on the preventative side of diseases.
Prof. Prahlad Kishore Seth, Representative for IBRO and FAONS, Convenor IAN-IBRO Global Advocacy Program, NASI Senior Scientist, and Former CEO, Biotech Park congratulated Dr. Chauhan on his vision to establish a Neurosciences center in Amity which are helpful in capacity building. Sharing his views on Neurosciences in India; Some Historical aspects, he said earlier also neurosciences diseases was treated through Ayurveda and teaching wherein vital points of various nerves was identified to treat brain disorders. Now, with increasing mental conditions and brain-related disorders, there is a need to carry out researches by generating trained manpower to understand brain functioning.
Dr. W. Selvamurthy, President, ASTIF & DG, ADSI, AUUP, Noida & Chancellor, Amity University Chhattisgarh called the neurosciences area “still a black box” and called upon scientists to work at the molecular/ cellular/ neuron level. Incidences of neuro degenerated disorders are increasing globally therefore, there is a need to do more researches non-invasively by integrating modern medicine with traditional knowledge said Dr. Selvamurthy.
This program was inaugurated in the presence of Prof. (Dr.) Bhudev Chandra Das, Chairman, and Chair Professor, AIMMSCR, Dean – Health & Allied Sciences, ; Prof. (Dr.) Birendra Nath Mallick, Director, and Head, AINN, Dr. Jitendra Kumar Sinha, Assistant Professor (III) & Senior Research Coordinator, AINN and faculties from several institutions of Amity.
The five-day program, will deliberate on various topics including Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine: The Traditional Research; Dark Side of the Light: Disruptive effects on Cognitive Performance and Associated Brain Areas in Diurnal Birds; Microtubule-associated proteins and neuronal diseases; Cerebral organoids as a tool in neuroscience research; Alzheimer’s disease: Lessons from animal models; Challenges and opportunities for PD Therapeutics: Experimental Perspectives; How functional homeostasis is regulated at the synapse?; Decoding the neural circuits of consciousness; Project planning and successful grant writing, Curing monogenic neurological diseases: Wonders of Gene Therapy and amongst many others.
