Thursday, March 26, 2009

A resume of the proceedings of the International SFRR –Satellite Symposium 2009 at AMU Aligarh


A resume of the proceedings of the International SFRR –Satellite Symposium, 2009 held in the Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Life Sciences, A.M.U., Aligarh on 17-18, March, 2009

Highlights of 17.03.09

The introductory remarks came from none other than the organizing secretary of the satellite symposium Prof. Masood Ahmad who introduced the Department of Biochemistry; the host organization of the event. Prof. Ahmad traced the association of this department with the mission with which the Aligarh Muslim University was founded i.e. academic excellence. He informed the gathering about the achievements of this department in achieving great heights in terms of academics and research which was supported by the fact that more than 50% alumni of this department are placed in North America and various parts of Europe. He also mentioned that graduate students of this department find excellent opportunities in various premier institutes of the country like NII, CDFD, IISc, etc. After this mementoes were presented to the chief guest the Vice Chancellor Prof. Abdul Azis, Guest of Honors and other guests by the Chairman of the department Prof S.M. Hadi. The Dean faculty of life sciences, Prof. Absar M. Khan was particular in drawing the attention of the gathering about the importance of the department of biochemistry as the backbone of the faculty of life sciences. Dr. Adhikari (Mumbai) the secretary of SFRR India and Dr. Devasagyam (Mumbai) Vice President SFRR India introduced the society of free radical research, stating its mission and goals of exploring the roles of free radicals as causative agents of various disorders and designing various treatment strategies for the same. Both these office bearer of SFRR India expressed their satisfaction and thankfulness to the organizing committee for organizing a very attractive meeting. The guest of honor, Prof. H.S. Sharma, The Netherlands spoke about his association with this department as a student. He also thanked his colleagues from Netherlands and USA for accompanying him and contributing towards the success of this event. The presidential address was delivered by the Vice Chancellor Prof. P.K. Abdul Azis who was happy to learn about the presence of the international experts in the meet and hoped that the opportunity will be used by the young students of the University for developing their ideas and shaping their future. Further he also emphasized about the need to reposition the department of biochemistry with the state of the art facilities. The inaugural talk was delivered by Prof. Elizabeth Deindle, Munich University, Germany. She focused on the major determinants in patho-physiology in blood vessels in various heart diseases. She also expressed her enthusiasm for getting an opportunity to visit the Aligarh Muslim University. The vote of thanks was delivered by Chairman Prof. S.M.Hadi and the inaguaral session ended with university tarana and National Anthem.

Scientific session started with the keynote lecture by Prof. P. Devsagayam from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Mumbai who emphasized on the role of dietary antioxidants from vegetables and fruits in prevention of cancer and diabetes in which free radical play a important role. Another keynote speaker was Dr. Michael Moorhouse, Erasmus University Medical Centre, The Netherlands who spoke about the use of bioinformatic tools in the discovery of therapeutic targets in various diseases. He focused on the potential of DNA as a genetic blueprint that does not change with time and its use in various techniques like microarray technology for diagnostic purposes.

Session I was based on the theme free radical in heart diseases. It included the talk of Prof. Kuppasamay, Ohio State University, USA, on the stem cell therapy in the treatment of cardiac infarction and non-invasive diagnostic techniques like echo-cardiography and vector-cardiography. Second talk was delivered by Prof. M. Fahim of V.P. Patel Chest Institute, New Delhi. His talk was centered on the correlation of disorders like hypertension and other cardio vascular diseases due to impaired signaling of peripheral sensors-receptor reflex. The last talk was given by the invited speaker from USA Prof. S.C. Tyagi, University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA, on the chemo preventive role of sodium thiosulphate in cardiovascular diseases.

Session II, which started after the lunch break, was based on the theme-mechanism and therapy of vascular diseases. First talk of the session was given by Prof. Shyam Sharma NIPER, Punjab, on the targeting of oxidative stress pathways to avoid functional abnormalities in heart tissues. Second talk was by Prof. H.S. Sharma, Vrei University Medical Center, Netherlands, which focused on the molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis in heart and lungs. The last talk of the session was from Prof. B.S. Srivastava CDRI, Lucknow, who talked about the pathogenesis of tuberculosis a common disease in India.

Session III was based on the role of free radicals and antioxidants in common diseases. Prof. Tariq M. Haqqi from university of South Carolina, USA presented his views about the usefulness of dietary antioxidants of herbal origin in arthritis a common inflammatory disease of the joints. Dr. Devendra Parmar from IITR Lucknow presented his work on the useful biomarkers of alcohols induced diseases. The last talk of the session was delivered by Prof. Akhtar Mahmood from Punjab University, Chandigarh, who talked about the role of free radical mediated peroxidation processes in intestinal tissues.

The poster session included posters displayed by the participants from all across the country presenting their research work to the gathering of national and international delegates.

The last session of the day included oral presentations on various aspects of free radical induced health problems and remedies by various young scientists.

Highlights of 18.03.09

On the second day of the symposium, the scientific session started with the talk delivered by the secretary of SFRR-India Dr. S. Adhikari, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Mumbai). He evaluated various spectroscopic techniques for the measurement of the antioxidant capacity of bioactive compounds present in herbs. Dr. Adhikari also informed the gathering about various state of the art facilities at BARC which could be availed by the researchers. Dr. SK Goel from Indian Institute of Toxicology, Lucknow, presented his work on the metal-induced oxidative stress as potential hazard leading to various diseases. He also emphasized on the urgent need of preventing environmental pollution as a mean to reduce health risks associated with them. Prof. Qamar Rahman from Integral University, Lucknow, gave the last talk of the session on ROS mediated toxicity of asbestos. She also focused on the toxicity of nanoparticles, which are increasingly being used in various cosmetic products, household items and biomedical research.

The poster Session-II showcased presentations from research students who displayed their work and shared their ideas with the experts and delegates.

The symposium came to an end with the valedictory session adding a new chapter in the field of free radical research.


Prof. Masood Ahmad

Organising Secretary

The International SFRR –Satellite Symposium, 2009,

AMU Aligarh



Athar Habib Siddiqui, Ph.D.
Houston Texas, US
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AMU MBA Student (Faraz) awarded by TCS

Dear Aligs ASAK

It is a matter for pride for all of us that Mr. Faraz, MBA FIRST YEAR, has bagged the TCS SMART MANAGER AWARD along with a cash prize of Rs. 25,000 and one year subscription. TCS had advertised a case contest. It was on a retail organization facing terrorist attack. Faraz had send an analysis a month back and has been awarded now.


Prof. Javaid Akhter
Dean, F/O Management Studies and Research
Chairman Dept of Business Administration
AMU Aligarh 202 002 (India)


AMU Network's messages may be forwarded to other newsgroups and e-mailed to others, provided that they are not edited, and author name, and URL http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AMUNetwork/ are included.