Neuroscience in India

(part of a series of Young Investigators’ Meetings, see www.indiabioscience.org/yim)
A Satellite Event at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Chicago

Date: Monday, October 19th 2009

Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

Location: McCormick Place Campus
Room: S403AB

***Snacks will be served***

This event is aimed at candidates considering faculty positions or postdoctoral fellowships in Neuroscience in India. Bioscience research prospects in India are set to expand enormously - a commitment by the Department of Biotechnology (Govt. of India) that is backed by plans for infrastructure and funding opportunities. The job opportunities in Neuroscience in India are increasingly attractive, but until now not well publicized. We will showcase Neuroscientists who have successfully set up labs in India over the past decade. The program will present a broad perspective of Neuroscience in India by Prof. Vijayalakhsmi Ravindranath, who was the Director of the National Brain Research Center for 10 years from 1999 to 2009, and is now heading a new Center for Neuroscience at IISc. This will be followed by a perspective by Prof. Shubha Tole (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research), who started her lab as an Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow in 1999. Tole will discuss the trials and triumphs of setting up the first vertebrate lab at her Institute, leading to recent publications in leading international journals. Dr. Anuradha Lohia will also showcase Neuroscientists at Institutes all over India who started their careers funded by the Wellcome Trust.

The panel discussion will present an overall picture that the stage is set for a huge influx of neuroscientists who can build upon what has already been started.

We hope for a strong participation from the Indian community and friends of Indian Neuroscience. Many, if not most, of the attendees will have left India at a time when Neuroscience research was barely a presence, except as Neurology or Neuropharmacology in a very limited set of Institutions. Indeed, aspiring Neuroscientists had to leave the country to get trained in this field. Furthermore, neuroscience as a subject was missing from most undergraduate and post-graduate syllabi across the country, which meant that interest or expertise in subsequent generations of students would be hard to cultivate. The proposed program seeks to change this impression of the Indian Neuroscience training at the student level. The DBT has sponsored MSc-Neuroscience courses at several Institutions. Over the past decade, several Neuroscience graduates have emerged and have applied to graduate programs all over the country. It is no longer difficult for a new PI to find students interested in this exciting field- in fact, it is now being regarded as one of the "happening" areas of research, as well it should be. the Department of Science and Technology has sponsored workshops in Neuroscience to build interest and train new generations of students. Significantly, the first IBRO workshop in Neuroscience was hosted by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 2006, which entailed experimental training and lectures with a panel of Indian and Asia-Pacific faculty members. The number of Institutions with Neuroscience faculty is growing- IISER Pune, TIFR, NCBS, NBRC, IITK, and now, IISC have joined the oldest- NIMHANS. Therefore, it will not only be much easier for new faculty to set up labs in india, but the manpower to run these research programs- PhD students- will be available in increasing numbers. The Wellcome-DBT early career awards will bring in an important component that has been thus far lacking- post-doctoral researchers who will add invaluable experience and expertise to labs fortunate enough to attract them.

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of Neuroscience opportunities in India is the impact even single individual PIs can make in their respective Departments and Institutions (new courses, new ideas for training students, contributing to nationwide training workshops- all extremely rewarding opportunities). The entire breadth of Neuroscience is yet to be represented in India, but the prospects look excellent in terms of opportunities and funding. We critically need to change the mental picture of Indian Neuroscience within the community of Indians who left the country years ago- so that they may encourage colleagues and students to return, or consider doing so themselves. This satellite event will hopefully motivate a wide spectrum of Neuroscience applicants at various levels- the very best of which will be candidates for prestigious fellowships and awards- but ALL of whom will be in a position to make a contribution to the teaching or research effort in Neuroscience in India.

Program:

1) Introduction: Genesis of the Young Investigator’s Meeting series (5 mins)

Prof. Shubha Tole (co-organizer of YIM-2010, Feb 8^th-13^th)

2) Neuroscience in India- A Nationwide Perspective (15 mins)

Prof. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, Director, Center for Neurosciences,

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore

3) Setting up Vertebrate Neuroscience at TIFR- a 10 year journey (15 mins)

Prof. Shubha Tole, Department of Biological Sciences,

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai

4) The Wellcome-DBT India Alliance: showcasing success stories (10 mins)

Dr. Anuradha Lohia, CEO, WT-DBT India Alliance

Drs. Arun Sripati and Vastala Tirumalai (recent WT-DBT fellowship awardees) ( 5 mins)

5) Panel discussion

Prof. Prasun Roy (National Brain Research Center- NBRC) (5 mins)

Prof. Shankaranarayana Rao (5 mins)

(National Institute for Mental Health and Neurosciences- NIMHANS)

Prof. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, (IISc)

Prof. Shubha Tole (TIFR)

Dr. Anuradha Lohia (WT-DBT India Alliance)

Dr. Martin Reed (HFSP) (5 mins)

Prof. Mriganka Sur (MIT) (5 mins)

6) Question session (45 mins)