Indian Immunology Society hosts symposium at DU

New Delhi: To commemorate the World Immunology Day recently,  the Indian Immunology Society (IIS) and Department of Zoology, University of Delhi jointly organized a one-day symposium. This symposium was held in Department of Zoology, the University of Delhi on 2nd of May 2018. Many IIS life-members, eminent scientists, postdoctoral researchers, and budding PhD students participated in this lecture series.

The symposium held a sequence of lectures by professors and scientists. It was an exclusive opportunity to increase cognizance about the immunology and the significance of human body’s immunity to combat major diseases. The total of 70 participants took part in the event, among which 50 PhD students joined for this lecture-series and rest were postdoctoral fellows, and faculties.

The theme of the symposium was ‘Nurturing Immunobiology….and Beyond’. Prof. Yogendra Singh, J C Bose Fellow welcomed the audience with his inaugural speech. He spoke about the importance of immunology in infectious diseases. He mentioned about India’s current situation, challenges, and overview to control tuberculosis. He is very much enthusiastic about his current discoveries where he has found the role of the microbiome to combat tuberculosis. His speech was very motivating for budding students.

Dr Anju Shrivastava, Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Delhi gave the key-note lecture in this symposium. She talked about how life-style diseases causes chronic inflammation which could lead to cancer. She is very much excited with her recent discoveries where some purified plant compounds showed anti-cancer properties.

Followed by, 9 PhD students presented their work. Students were very delighted and excited as they could present their own work in front of their own colleagues. Among students, one student presented about bacterial innate and adaptive immunity which augmented the worth of symposium further.
The session was chaired by Prof. Shibnath Mazumder, Prof. Mallikarun Sakhrad, and Prof. Rajagopal Raman. Mentor Talk was given by Prof. Alok C Bharati who encouraged the students by his fascinating talk.

Talking about the outcome of the seminar, Dr Tanmay Majumdar, Organizing Secretary mentioned that participants found the celebration of the World Immunology Day as a great opportunity in creating awareness about the importance of immunobiology. “The science which led up to develop this subject has created challenges to keep living organism healthy. This symposium also educated the translational part of immunology which is the actual goal of IIS. The students were highly inspired and are determined to promote immunology and as well as Indian Immunology Society in course of time.” he said.

As per Dr Majumdar, it was remarkable that almost all students present at the seminar agreed to be a member of this prestigious society. “Certificate of appreciation was presented to all attendants,” he added.