CUPB Microbiology Dept. celebrated Int. Day of Immunology by organizing an Online Event “Know Covid-19 to Combat Covid-19”
Bathinda: With the objective to increase global awareness about importance of immunology in the fight against infection, Central University of Punjab’s Dept. of Microbiology under the patronage of honorable Vice-Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari and in collaboration with Indian Immunology Society commemorated International Day of Immunology by conducting an Online Event “Know COVID-19 to Combat COVID-19”. The Chief Guest of this programme was Prof V S Chauhan, Former Director, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi This online event comprised with talks from eminent experts and presentations from students
The virtual event that included two sessions, started with Session-I with sub-theme “Hearing from Covid-19 researchers and public health experts”. During this session, Dr. Subhash C. Verma, University of Nevada, USA, talked on the topic “SARS-CoV-2 Variants Surveillance and Cases of Re-infection” where he gave an overview of genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 its mutants and their significance in disease severity and re-infection. After this, Dr. Sivanantham Krishnamoorthi, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bathinda, briefed the participants about “Current Evidence of Covid-19 Related Immunological Markers in Clinical Diagnosis and Prognosis”. He described various clinical diagnostic methods such as RT-PCR, antigen based test, antibody and radiology based test to detect Covid-19 infection, their specificity, their advantages/disadvantages and timeline. Towards the end of this session, Prof. P. Ramarao Former Dean Academic Affairs and Professor, Central University of Punjab, spoke on the topic “SARS-CoV-2: Drugs and Vaccine Development”. He highlighted mechanisms of action and possible role of various drugs as immune-modulators which are being used to treat Covid-19 infection.
The Chief Guest of the programme Prof. Chauhan in his lecture delineated the overall background of the SARS virus, its characteristics, types, virulence factors, variants and vaccine development. He stressed upon the fact that the need of hour is to develop vaccines with more diverse immune response and high efficacy.
In the presidential address Vice Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari thanked the esteemed speakers and guests for their thought provoking lectures. He appreciated the efforts of the organisers and empathised that these kinds of activities surely inspire the younger generation to work in the fields of microbiology, immunology, infection biology and biomedical research.
In the second session more than 50 students from different educational institutions representing different states showcased their frugal innovation to fight against Covid-19″ and presented their videos on Covid-19 Awareness “Know Covid for No Covid”. The winners of the oral presentation were Mubashira, Sukhchain and Akshay Chaudhary whereas the winners of videos (put on a show) were Vaishali Khatri, Shafeekali/Deepshikha and Ayushi Pareek. The competitions were judged by Dr Kiran K Singh, Dr Sabysachi Senapati and Dr Pramod Kushawaha.
The programme commenced with the Welcome address by Prof. R.K. Wusirika, Dean, In-charge Academics. The sessions were moderated by Dr Somesh Baranwal, Dr Pramod Kushawaha and Dr Nasir Salam. Prof. Monisha Dhiman proposed a formal vote of thanks.