Academic Department University Of Calcutta

History

Year of Establishment : The M.Sc. Course in Genetics had started w.e.f academic session 2002-2003; Departmental status was obtained in 2008

History of the department : The M.Sc. Course in Genetics had started w.e.f academic session 2002-2003 at the Centre of Advanced Study for Cell and Chromosome Research, Department of Botany, Calcutta University which acted as a NODAL CENTRE for Post Graduate teaching in Genetics under the University of Calcutta. The Centre, internationally known for establishment of a new concept of speciation in plants, development of new techniques for the study of chemical and physical nature of chromosomes and dynamic role of chromosomes in differentiation, reproduction and evolution, has been receiving assistance from UGC under Special assistance programme since 1972 and under CAS since 1980. The M.Sc. Course in Genetics was elevated to the level of Department by the University of Calcutta in 2008. Prof. AK Sharma, FNA, Founder Co-ordinator, CAS, Botany, CU and Prof. Asis Dutta, FNA, NIPGR, New Delhi, served as the principal guiding forces for the initiation of the M.Sc. courses in Genetics under University of Calcutta. The M.Sc. Program was well received by academic houses all over India and after running successfully for 6 years, was upgraded in the form of Department of Genetics w.e.f 12th August, 2008.

Academic

Faculty Members
Name Designation Area of Specialization Email/Phone Number
Mainak Sengupta
[Profile]		 Assistant Professor Molecular and Human Genetics [email protected]
9874490242
Dipankar Chakraborti
[Profile]		 Associate Professor Plant Functional Genomics and Biotechnology [email protected]
[email protected]
9051322083
Arunava Mandal
[Profile]		 Assistant Professor & HoD Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology [email protected]
9432521228

The list of Guest and Honorary Teachers who take part in teaching in the Dept. of Genetics :

Prof. Debabrata Basu, Bose Institute, Kolkata
Prof. Srimonti Sarkar, Bose Institute, Kolkata
Prof. Saurabh Ghosh, ISI, Kolkata
Dr. Raghunath Chatterjee, ISI, Kolkata
Dr. Sandip Paul, CSIR-IICB, Kolkata
Dr. Dipanjana Dutta De, ATGC Diagnostics, Kolkata
Dr. Arunachal Chatterjee, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose College, Kolkata
Dr. Arkadeep Mitra, City College, Kolkata
Dr. Paramita Nandy, Sister Nibedita Government General Degree College for Girls,Kolkata
Dr. Pijush Paul, CRIJAF, Barrackpore
Dr. Soma Bandyopadhyay, IPGMER, Kolkata
Dr. Emili Banerjee Bhattacharjee,  Diverse Genomics, Kolkata
Dr. Abhrajyoti Ghosh, Bose Institute, Kolkata
Dr. Damayanti Das Ghosh, Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre and Research Institute,Thakurpukur
Prof. A. Chattopadhyay, Dept. of Statistics, CU
Prof. Sanjay Ghosh, Dept.of Biochemistry, C.U
Dr. Gopal Chakrabarti, Dept. of Biotechnology, CU
Dr. Sagarmoy Ghosh, Dept. of Microbiology, CU
Dr. Gaurangadeb Chattopadhyay, Dept. of Statistics, CU
Prof. Bhaswati Ganguly, Dept. of Statistics, CU
Prof. Urmi Chatterji, Dept. of Zoology, C.U.
Dr. Maumita Bandyopadhyay, Dept. of Botany, CU
Dr. Sudipta Ray, Dept. of Botany, CU
Dr. Arindam Bhattacharyya, Dept. of Zoology, CU
Dr. Sanghamitra Sengupta, Dept.of Biochemistry, C.U.
Dr. Gitanjali Sundaram, Dept. of Biochemistry, C.U.
Dr. Sreya Chattopadhyay, Dept. of Physiology, University of Calcutta   
Dr. Sujoy Ghosh, Dept. of Zoology, CU
Dr. Soumalee Basu, Dept. of Microbiology, CU
Dr. Sukhendu Mandal, Dept. of Microbiology, CU
Dr. Anindita Seal, Dept. of Biotechnology, CU
Dr. Pritha Ghosh Bhattacharyya, Dept. of Environmental Sciences, CU

Courses :

Programme Level of study Eligibility Intake capacity
M.Sc in Genetics Postgraduate B.Sc. Hons. in Anthropology, Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology, / Environmental Sciene / Physics or Physiology or its equiv.All the candidates should have Chemistry as one of the General subjects (except the candidates with Hons in Chemistry / Bio Chemistry/Genetics) at the under Graduate level. The candidates with M.B.B.S./B.Sc. (Ag) / BDS are also eligible. All the candidates should have At least 55% marks in B.Sc. (Hons.) and at least 60% marks on average in best three subjects in Science Group at (10+2) level. Presently 11
PhD (in Sc), specialization in Genetics Original dissertation research and defense of thesis As per criteria on Calcutta University website Variable as per annual student registration from various laboratories

Research

Research Scholars :
Name Research Topic Name of the supervisor Date of registration
Kausik Ganguly Identifying the genetic and molecular basis of human pigmentation variation and related disorders Mainak Sengupta 11th May, 2015
Debmalya Sengupta Studies on the molecular genetic basis of lung cancer susceptibility progression and pathogenesis Mainak Sengupta 6th Aug, 2015
Tania Saha Contribution of mitochondrial genes and proteins in shaping human traits and diseases Mainak Sengupta 23rd December 2016
Mrinmay Dhauria Genetic polymorphisms in happiness and subjective well being – focus on serotonin system genes Late Krishnadas Nandagopal 28th June 2017
Tushar Pyne Study of polymorphic variants in the endocannabinoid system genes relevant to human happiness and subjective well-being Late Krishnadas Nandagopal 31st October 2018
Ph.D. Awardee :
Name of the PhD awardee Supervisor(s) Department and Institute Year of degree awarded
Dr. Saheli Sinha Prof. MK Maiti IIT-BREF Biotek, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 2009
Dr. Rajeswari Mukherjee Lt. Prof. SK Sen IIT-BREF Biotek, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 2010
Dr. Arindam Biswas Prof. Jharna Ray SN Pradhan Centre for Neuroscience, University of Calcutta 2011
Dr. Myo Ma Ma Than Prof. Sumita Jha and Prof. Amita Pal (Jt. Supervisor) Dept. of Botany, University of Calcutta 2011
Dr. Disha Banerjee Lt. Dr. K Nandagopal Manovikas Kendra, Kolkata 2011
Dr. Debarati Ghosh Lt. Dr. K Nandagopal Manovikas Kendra, Kolkata 2012
Dr. Nandini Bandyopadhyay Lt. Prof SK Sen IIT-BREF Biotek, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 2012
Dr. Subrata Kundu Prof. Amita Pal and Dr..Kalipada Das (Jt. Supervisor) Division of Plant Biology, Bose Institute, Kolkata 2012
Dr. Suparna Ghosh Prof. Amita Pal Division of Plant Biology, Bose Institute, Kolkata 2012
Dr. Tamal Sadhukhan Prof. Jharna Ray SN Pradhan Centre for Neuroscience, University of Calcutta 2013
Dr. Anirban Kundu Prof. Amita Pal Bose Institute, Kolkata 2013
Dr. Avisek Basu Prof. Anita Mukherjee Dept. of Botany, University of Calcutta 2014
Dr. Amrita Basu Prof. Sumita Jha and Dr. Binay Chaubey (Jt. Supervisor) Dept. of Botany, University of Calcutta 2015
Dr. Partha Sarathi Saha Prof. Sumita Jha, Dr. Biswajit Ghosh (Joint Supervisor) and Dr. Sudipta Ray (Associate Supervisor) Dept. of Botany, University of Calcutta 2016
Dr. Arunava Mandal Prof. Pallob Kundu Division of Plant Biology, Bose Institute 2016
Dr. Anusree Das Prof. Timir B Jha and Lt. Dr. K. Nandagopal (Jt. Supervisor) Dept. of Genetics, University of Calcutta 2016
Dr. Mansi Vishal Dr. Arijit Mukhopadhyay and Prof. Kunal Ray (Jt. Supervisor) CSIR-IICB, Kolkata 2017
Dr. Chandraditya Chakraborty Dr. Chinmay K Panda CNCRI, Kolkata 2017
Dr. Pijush Paul Prof. Sumita Jha and Prof. Binay Chaubey (Jt. Supervisor) Dept. of Botany, University of Calcutta 2018
Dr. Aranyak Goswami Prof. Chitra Dutta CSIR-IICB, Kolkata 2018
Dr. Subhajit Giri Prof. Jharna Ray SN Pradhan Centre for Neuroscience, University of Calcutta 2018
Dr. Anirban Mandal Prof. Binay Chaubey Dept. of Botany, University of Calcutta 2018
Dr. Eshita Chattopadhyay Prof. Bidyut Roy Human Genetics Unit, ISI, Kolkata 2018
Dr. Vivek Arora Dr. Gaurab Gangopadhyay Bose Institute, Kolkata 2018
Dr. Anju Patel Prof. Amita Pal and Dr. Subho Chaudhuri (Jt. Supervisor) Division of Plant Biology, Bose Institute, Kolkata 2019
Dr. Maniavannan J Prof. Anita Mukherjee Dept. of Botany, University of Calcutta 2021
Dr. Debmalya Sengupta Dr. Mainak Sengupta Dept. of Genetics, University of Calcutta 2021
Projects :
Project title Funding agency Principal investigator Duration Budget (in Rs)
In silico and functional assessment of FVIII mutations to identify the determinant(s) of Haemophilia A severity UGC Mainak Sengupta 2013-15 6 lakhs
Apoptotic cell death in Down syndrome UGC Late K Nandagopal 2013-15 6 lakhs
Elucidating the role of mitochondrial F1F0-ATPase in melanogenesis DST-SERB Mainak Sengupta 2014-17 25 lakhs
Expanding the knowledge of the genetic and molecular basis of Albinism in West Bengal: estimation of carrier frequency among ethnic populations WBSCST Mainak Sengupta 2016-2018 15 lakhs
UGC UPE II grant: Focus area 1. Modern Biology Group C1: Investigating mechanistic approaches for delineating proliferative diseases  UGC UPE M.Sengupta 2017-2019 3 lakhs
UGC UPE II grant: Focus Area 1. Modern Biology Group B: Environmental and Nutritional factors in non-communicative diseases UGC UPE Late K Nandagopal 2017-2019 3 lakhs
Thrust areas in teaching and research of the academic department / centre :
  • Thrust areas in teaching : Plant, Animal (non human), Microbial and Human Genetics and Genomics, Cell and Molecular Biology, Developmental Genetics, Quantitative and Statistical Genetics, Bioinfomatics, Recombinant DNA Technology
  • Thrust areas in Research : Human Genetics, Disease Genetics, Neurogenetics

Teaching support :

Sl. No. Teaching method
1. Semester system (4 semester course MSc Genetics); One semester course work for PhD program
2. Continuous assessment system during practical classes; Tutorials; Assignments – Online & Classroom based (slides and white-board), classes are also conducted outside the physical confines of the class room. Apart from directive teaching we follow animation and movie based teaching (including practical), case study development and analysis, students’ teaching, model building, relational and inferential mapping of datasets to understand the subject to be taught
3. Summer Project work in institutions of National repute
4. Submission of Project Report, Seminar and Review paper in Genetics
5. Departmental Seminars
6. Grand Viva

Research support :

Name of the equipment Brief description Funding agency
PCR machine Made: eppendorf DST-PURSE
Ultrasonic bath Made: Telsonic; Model: TPC-25H DST-SERB
ELISA plate reader Made: ROBONIK DST-SERB
Vertical gel unit with electro-blotting system (Western transfer apparatus-Wet transfer) Made: SCIE-PLAS; Model: TV100YK-EBSYS DST-SERB
Compound Light Microscope with attached Computer Made: Dewinter UGC
Compound Light Microscopes with LED light source Made: Olympus DST-PURSE
CO2 incubator Made: eppendorf; Model: Galaxy170R DST-PURSE
Inverted Microscope Made: Dewinter; Model: VICTORY PLUS LED Special Grant from University of Calcutta
The Department also harbours Vortex, Centrifufe machines including cold centrifuge, gel running apparatus and associated powerpacks, UV spectrophotometer, balance, pH meter, distillation apparatus, Cell culture hood, microbial vulture hood, Ovens, shaker-incubators for research and practical purposes
Major activities:
  • In-house (departmental) project on “survey of happiness among rural and urban population of West Bengal, India” conducted by students (especially M.Sc II year), scholars and faculties of the Department.
  • Annual symposium on different facets of Biological Research where eminent scientists across India as well as Departmental ex-students, now engaged in active research, are invited for deliberation
  • Visits by students, scholars and faculties to wildlife reserves like Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary and Simlipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha for outside curriculum exposure to field and nature study; visit by students and faculties to Plant Biology Field Station of Bose Institute in Falta, 24 Parganas (South), West Bengal
  • Departmental sports and in house competitions for football and badminton
  • The MSc students contribute to and maintain a wall magazine that deals with topical issues pertaining to Genetics and also provides a platform for creative interactions. The Departmental faculties and research scholars participate in outreach programs involving students from schools and colleges of Kolkata like South Point High School and Gurudas College.
  • To ensure that programme objectives are constantly met and learning outcomes are monitored, the Departmental faculty periodically meet during semesters and after publication of examination results to discuss student performance as it relates to teaching–learning objectives.  The faculty also pro-actively solicit assistance and expert advice from members of the Post-Graduate Board of Studies in Genetics, C.U. Student-teacher meetings are held periodically throughout the semesters to address their concerns regarding teaching learning and scope for improved learning outcomes.

Additional information :

  • The Department provides opportunity for internship by students from different universities/institutes across India all through the year
  • The Departmental Library records and documents all question papers, review and project work submitted by the students, and the previous years’ syllabus, which are provisionally accessible to the students.
  • Jagannath Mondal cash prize is awarded to the first rank holder of the M.Sc Genetics course every year.
  • Atul Chandra Bose Memorial cash prize is awarded on need cum merit basis for research in Genetics under CU

Contact

Campus :Taraknath Palit Siksha Prangan (Ballygange Campus)

Address for communication : Department of Genetics, University of Calcutta, 7th Floor, 35, Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata - 700019, West Bengal, India