Conference on ‘Recent Innovation in Nanomedicine & Drug Delivery held at St Aloysius
Mangaluru: The DDU Kaushal Kendra of St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangaluru in association with its Applied Science Departments organized a one-day National Conference on ‘Recent Innovations in Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery’ sponsored by ‘Star College Scheme’ of DBT Govt of India on 3rd September, 2018 at 9.00 a.m. at the LF Rasquinha Hall, LCRI Block. The conference aimed at providing a common platform to students, teachers and researchers to exchange and share their experience on applications of nanomedicine.
The programme began with a prayer, followed by welcome address by Ms Shameena KA-Lecturer in Biochemistry. Chief guest Dr V Rajendran, Principal, Dr NGP Arts and Science College (Autonomous) Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu inaugurated the conference by lighting the lamp, -along with guest of honor, namely-Dr M Vijaya Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Yenepoya University; president of the function Fr Dionysius Vas-Rector, St Aloysius Institutions, and other dignitaries on the dais- Fr Praveen Martis SJ, Principal of St Aloysius College; Dr Adarsha Gowda- Convener; and Dr Ronald Nazareth- Star College Scheme Coordinator.
Addressing the audience Chief guest Dr V Rajendran said, “Nanomedicine is a branch of medicine that applies the knowledge and tools of nanotechnology to the prevention and treatment of disease. Nanomedicine involves the use of nanoscale materials, such as biocompatible nanoparticles and nanorobots, for diagnosis, delivery, sensing or actuation purposes in a living organism. Nanomedicine is a key science of the 21st century. Although the production and use of nanosized particles had taken place in several ways in ancient times and hundreds of years ago, nanomedicine as a modern interdisciplinary science was first established in the nineties of the last century only. The basis of this new science derives from the development of an array of ultramicroscopic devices and the studies of cellular, molecular and finally atom sized structures in biology, chemistry and physics in the 20th century.
From the beginning nanomedicine developed rapidly, driven by tremendous progress in techniques. Its historical evolvement and diversification into a wide range of medical applications (e.g. tissue engineering) and its increasing relevance for a large bunch of disease categories are outlined. Future directions remain multi-fold, the most important ones defined as drug delivery, theranostics, tissue engineering, and magnetofection. Some novel developments (regarding cancer treatment and stent angioplasty) are presented. Regenerative medicine and gene therapy are of rising importance. Today’s conference will [provide you a premiere interdisciplinary forum for researchers, practitioners, and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns, practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted in the field of Nanomedicine. So make the best use of this conference, where eminent speakers will give you more in-depth details”added Dr Rajendran.
Dr V Vijayakumar also speaking said, “I am not a genius on the nanomedicine subject but I am a user. As a person who has dealt with cancer patients I want to say something about the role of the oncologist, who manages a patient’s care throughout the course of the disease. This starts with the diagnosis. His or her role includes: Explaining the cancer diagnosis and stage, Talking about all treatment options and his or her preferred choice, Delivering quality and compassionate care, Helping a patient manage the symptoms and side effects of cancer and cancer treatment. Different types of doctors often work together to create a patient’s overall treatment plan that combines different types of treatments. For instance, a patient may need treatment with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. This is called a multidisciplinary team.
“The team may also involve doctors from other areas of medicine. For instance, a dermatologist who specializes in skin problems may also help treat skin cancer. Sometimes a person’s cancer diagnosis is complex. In this case, the patient’s oncologist may ask a tumor board to review the case. This involves medical experts from all areas of cancer care who come together to decide on the best treatment plan. And regarding this conference it would be very beneficial to the young scientists and researchers, in which the conference covers a wide variety of topics relevant to nanomedicine in drug delivery, applications of Nanomedicine in disease treatments and so on. And the Vice Chancellor of Yenepoya University I cordially invite you all the use our state-of-the-art laboratory and learn more, since we have a MoU signed up with St Aloysius College” added Dr Vijayakumar.
Fr Praveen Martis SJ speaking said, “The life expectancy of a child born in 2014 will be around 67 plus, and this is because of the advance in medicine. And now since we are dealing with nanomedicine and nanotechnology, there will be many more advances in the field of medicine and healthcare. You all being the budding scientists should make the best use of this conference, thereby learn more. We are in a century of collaboration, and through collaboration we can bridge the gap which was left wide open. Wish you all the best in the conference”.
Fr Dionysius Vas SJ said, “Quoting Confucius where he said, “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. “You need to develop curiosity and show interest in experimenting with things. This college has beautiful and modern labs, and you should make the best use of them, in learning and innovating new things through experiments. When doing a research, you should ask yourself, how the research will benefit others. Today’s conference/research is an important research since it deals with medicine. During research we need to learn from others also. We need to look for justice for all, and peace in the world”.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr Adarsha Gowda, and Ms Nidhi Hegde- an M Sc in Biochemistry compered the formal function. During the conference, Dr Rajkumar Banerjee, Principal Scientist, Applied Biology Division, CSIR Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad will deliver a lecture on ‘Nanodrug against Cancer’. Dr Ashwini Sharma, Department of Chemistry and Biology, IISER, Tirupati will address on ‘Oligonucleotides from detection to therapeutics’.
Dr Vathsala P.G, Principal Research Scientist, IISc Bangalore, will speak on ‘combination therapy for malaria’ and Dr Geetha Balakrishna, Director CNMS, Jain University, Bangalore will address on ‘Quantum dot- bioprobes for pathogen detection’’.
Over 500 participants from various Colleges and Universities have registered for the conference. Dr Ambarish C.N and Ms Shameena K.A of Department of Biochemistry are the organizing secretaries of the Conference.