University of Calcutta

History

Year of Establishment : 1956

History of the department :  Department of Biochemistry in Calcutta University was established in 1956 by a renowned visionary Prof Biresh Chandra Guha and have just completed a journey of 6 decades in 2016. This Department was first ever in India to introduce a course in Biochemistry and is blessed by having several ‘Great Teachers’ throughout. Prof Jagat Jiban Ghosh’s dynamic teaching skills, accompanied with his wit, brilliance, and humor has engazed and inspired thousands of students in the department for 4 decades. The research environment in the department was brought in by the dedicated efforts of Prof Indu Bhusan Chatterjee and Prof Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhay. By staying relentlessly positive in the face of entrenched bureaucracy their untiring efforts could bring support in the from of COSIST, DSA/CAS and FIST programs for the department to set up research facilities. With their founding initiative and encouragement the department has grown up now to have a thriving teaching/research program. Following the tradition a great emphasis is given on understanding intermediary metabolism and metabolic disorders in our curriculum,. To expose our students with latest concepts and understandings in cellular biochemistry the Syllabus is upgraded/modified almost every two years. We teach Systems Biology that allow students to appreciate the complexity of the biological systems as a whole. The secret of success of this department lies in the academic environment and close ties between teachers and students. While one enjoys such flexibility, a rigid discipline is maintained as far as the classes and projects are undertaken. This makes the department efficient as a research institute minus the official rigidity therein. That’s where the academic atmosphere of our department stands out and makes it an enjoyable Teaching/Learning experience. Research on fundamental problems in the biology and chemistry of life is the driving force of this department. Historically some well cited work was done on Antibiotics action and the antioxidant effect of Vitamin C. Presently, research on Neurobiochemistry, Nanotechnology, Nutrition, Lifestyle diseases, Stress Biochemistry, Microbial ecology, Plant microbe interactions, and Molecular genetics dominate the intense research environment in the Department. We relish our ambitious efforts to understand the molecular basis of life. To explore the present research interests of our faculty go to the Faculty web page. Department sincerely acknowledges the support by Cosist program (1988-1992), DSA Phase I-II-III (1992-2006), DST FIST Phase I-II (2002-2014). CAS Phase I-II (2006 -2017), DBT Builder program (2010-2017) and the support of all well wishers and Visionaries who have assisted in developing our department.

Special award/ recognition from UGC or related statutory body :