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WORKSHOP

WORKSHOP

 WORKSHOP ON

“NON CODING RNA’

held on NOVEMBER 7, 2009

The workshop on “non coding RNA” was held in the auditorium of the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University as part of the UGC Resource Network program of the School. Non coding RNAs have changed the basic dogma of molecular biology in terms of giving newer ways by which regulation of gene expression is achieved. In last one decade it has become apparent that the regulatory mechanisms mediated through non coding RNAs are wide spread encompassing a large fraction of cellular and physiological processes and also involve different biological systems from bacteria to man. In this workshop we various aspects of the field starting with long non coding RNA of Drosophila (Prof. S.C. Lakhotia, BHU). He gave a brief overview of the field and then described identification and functional characterization of the RNA encoded the 93Dn locus. Dr. Sunil Mukherjee (ICGEB) described biology of miRNAs, one of the small non coding RNA and showed how many of the plant virus’s use this system to circumvent host defense mechanisms. Non coding RNAs are also encoded by repetitive regions of rodent genomes (Dr. Pramod Rath, JNU). Dr. Rath also covered different features of these RNAs and elaborated on the functions. Dr. Beena Pillai (IGIB, Delhi) showed how some of the non coding RNAs, such as miRNA may be involved in diseases and profiling of these RNAs can be used for diagnosis and prognosis of human diseases. Generally non coding RNAs have been described in higher eukaryotes. However, Dr. Pawan Malhotra (ICGEB, Delhi) showed that these molecules may also be present in protist parasites, such as Plasmodium and may have important regulatory roles.

There were a few short presentations from students and junior scientists. While Dr. Ritu Kulshreshtha showed the importance of some of the miRNAs in hypoxia and cancers, Candida Vaz described computational approaches for small RNA discovery. Rashmi Mishra elaborated on the characteristics of a rat repeat associated non coding RNA.

The workshop was attended by about 300 students and teachers from colleges. The participants came from all India Institutions, from Tamilnadu to North-east. There was considerable amount of discussions held under informal atmosphere.

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.