Thiruvananthapuram: Satyajit Mayor, former Director of Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and DBT-InStem, on Friday said that in the modern age, study of biological science should be seen more as a study of how interdisciplinary work can address a particular problem in an exciting manner.
“Not that you need to be a particular biologist who does one thing. If you can bring people who look at phenomena at different disciplines, it becomes much more exciting to address problems,” Mayor said while delivering a lecture on ‘The Edge of A Cell: A Living Fabric Where Physics Meets Biology’ at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), in connection with the Foundation Day of the institution, which falls on November 18.
He said that it is an exciting meeting of physics and biology when we witness the nature of the relationship between concepts that we borrow in one area and realise how we can apply them in biology.
RGCB Director Prof Chandrabhas Narayana, in his welcome address, briefly recalled the emergence of RGCB as a premier biotechnology research institution in India since its inception in 1990.
He said that while the foundation stone for the new building of RGCB was laid on November 18, 1995 by the then Prime Minister P.V Narasimha Rao at Thiruvananthapuram, the institution was dedicated to the nation by the then President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on November 18, 2002.
According to him, RGCB has continuously upheld its dedication to research and knowledge sharing, and by publishing excellent research articles, it has further enhanced the scientific content within each of its six thematic scientific domains.
He mentioned that RGCB has introduced a number of cutting-edge pieces of equipment this year and that, as part of the first phase of development at its Akkulam campus in the capital city, an incubation hub comprising of an advanced instrumentation center and a state-of-the-art animal research facility will be built to support RGCB’s research.
