Acharya Narendra Dev College
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
Govindpuri, Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019
Accredited 'A+' Grade by NAAC
DBT Star Status College
DBT Star Status College
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
Govindpuri, Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019
In order to promote research amongst various departments, the college has established distinct labs for undertaking research activities by faculty, UG, PG and Ph.D. students. The Research labs are established in the College premises under the direction of one or two faculty members. All the listed faculty members are registered supervisors of the University of Delhi.
| S.No | Research Lab | In charge of Research Lab | Department |
| 1. | Anti-mycobacterial Drug Discovery Laboratory | Prof. Urmi Bajpai | Biomedical Science |
| 2. | Chemical Biology Laboratory | Prof. Gagan Dhawan | Biomedical Science |
| 3. | Cancer and Thalassemia Screening Laboratory | Dr Sunita Jetly | Biomedical Science |
| 4. | Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Laboratory | Prof. Charu Gupta | Botany |
| 5. | Polymer Research Laboratory | Prof. Sunita Hooda | Chemistry |
| 6. | Computational Chemistry Laboratory | Prof. Pooja Bhagat | Chemistry |
| 7. | Computational and Synthetic Chemistry Laboratory | Prof. Shallu Sachdeva Prof. Rashmi Thukral Prof. Neeti Misra | Chemistry |
| 8. | Chemical Biology Research Laboratory | Prof. Seema Gupta Prof. Manisha Jain | Chemistry |
| 9. | Advance Chemical Research Laboratory | Prof. Geetu Gambhir Dr. Vikrant Kumar | Chemistry |
| 10. | Chemistry Research Laboratory | Prof. Neelu Dheer Prof. Dinesh Kumar Arya Prof. Pankaj Khanna | Chemistry |
| 11. | Material Science Laboratory | Prof. Amit Garg | Electronics |
| 12. | Device Modeling and Simulation Lab | Prof. Anju Agrawal Dr Ravneet Kaur | Electronics |
| 13. | Mathematics Research Centre Laboratory | Dr Chaman Singh and Prof. Sadanand Prasad | Mathematics |
| 14. | Sensing Materials and Devices Laboratory | Prof. Arijit Chowdhuri | Physics |
| 15. | Chandra Computational Physics Lab | Prof. Subhash Kumar | Physics |
| 16. | Insect Vector and Pests Laboratory | Prof. Sarita Kumar | Zoology |
| 17. | Microbial Technology Laboratory | Prof. Monisha Khanna | Zoology |
| 18. | Ciliate Biology Laboratory | Prof.Ravi Toteja and Prof. Seema Makhija | Zoology |
| 19. | Embedded System and Robotics laboratory | Prof. Amit Garg | Electronics |
| 20. | Zebra Fish Culture Facility | Dr Monica Misra | Zoology |
| 21. | Mushroom Research and Skill Development Centre | Dr Anupama Shukla, Dr Anita Narang and Dr Vineet Kumar Singh | Botany |
| 22. | Sericulture Research Centre | Prof. Seema Makhija, Mr Sanjay Vohra | Zoology |
| 23. | Th!nk Laboratory: CUBE Laboratory in collaboration with HBCSE, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai | Exclusive student-run laboratory Mentor: Prof. Sarita Kumar | _ |
This Lab is headed by Dr Urmi Bajpai
Research Interests:
In the ‘post-antibiotic era’, where high mortality rates are predicted due to multi-drug resistant (MDR) infections, urgent measures are required to be taken to manage the crisis. Several Mycobacterial spp. are leading pathogens associated with serious infectious diseases (tubercular and non- tubercular). The situation has worsened due to spread of MDR and extremely-drug resistant (XDR) strains, India having second highest MDR-TB burden in the world. Hence, there is pressing need to find alternate solutions and effective strategies to combat the menace of antimicrobial resistance.
In this context, the bactericidal activity of the lytic bacteriophages and their endolysins (and ectolysins) as drugs of bacteriophage origin are gaining attention. This path can lead to discovery of new molecular mechanisms and interactions, which could further pave the way for development of novel therapeutics and also contribute to basic research in the area. Mycobacteriophages infect mycobacterial hosts including fast dividing non-pathogenic M. smegmatis and clinically important M. tuberculosis, M. abscesses among others and are considered as reliable allies against the drug resistant infections. Due to the complex lipid rich cell envelop in mycobacterial species, mycobacteriophages have two different types of endolysins: LysinA and LysinB. The LysinA proteins are highly diverse in sequence and modular in nature. On comparing with standard-of-care antibiotics that often kill bacteria indiscriminately, phage and their derived lysins are not only extremely specific and hence do not harm the normal commensal microflora and they are also potent and effective against drug-resistant strains of pathogens. In my lab in the college, we isolate and purify lytic mycobacteriophages from the local environment using M.smegmatis as the bacterial host. Their morphological, physiological and genomic characterization is carried out to understand their diversity and unique features. We purify phage-derived endolysin enzymes as recombinant proteins and assay them for their biochemical and antibacterial activity.
Drug Discovery: Considering that a multi-target therapy is less likely to be rendered ineffective due to drug resistance than a single target therapy, we are studying Mur ligase (C-F) enzymes from Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the potential multi-targets since they share key structural features and similar catalytic mechanisms. Through Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) project on Multi-Target therapy for Tuberculosis, we have developed a One-Pot assay for MurA-MurF enzymes which catalyze the cytoplasmic steps in the peptidoglycan biosynthetic pathway and involve the synthesis of UDP-n-acetylmuramyl pentapeptide, a key precursor molecule required for the formation of the peptidoglycan monomeric building blocks. Through optimization of successive coupled enzyme assays using UDP-n-acetylglucosamine as the initial sugar substrate, we have reconstructed the pathway in vitro. The assay is biochemically characterized for screening of molecules that could disrupt multiple Mur enzymes and has been validated using known furan-based monocarboxylic compounds. Now, using MurB & MurE as the target proteins, in silico screening of FDA approved drugs for Drug Repurposing and anti-tubercular compounds is being done, to be followed by in vitro screening using the assay.
This lab is headed by Dr Gagan Dhawan and Dr Seema Gupta
Research Interest:
Chemical Biology
Computational Biology
PhD Scholars:
Publications
Book Chapter(s)
Research Projects
Innovation Project for Colleges Scheme of University of Delhi
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cell, DST, Government of India
Dr Seema Gupta
Research Interest:
Chemical Biology
Publications
Book Chapter(s)
Research Projects
Innovation Projects for Colleges Scheme of University of Delhi
Projects Funded by Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Cell, DST, Government of India
This Lab is headed by Dr Charu Khosla Gupta
Research Interests:
It addresses the key environmental issues of pollution and biodiversity conservation (through reproductive biology) besides air-pollution which is a very serious current environmental issue afflicting society. Assessment of the environmental quality of an area at a certain time is done with the help of biomarkers like chlorophyll, phenol, proline etc. as common environmental stress like air pollution leads to a change in the synthesis of bioactive molecules to resist the effect of stress on the plant. Research at EMAL encompasses looking at the effect of air pollutants, on various biomarkers in diverse species of flora in and around Delhi. As one of its thrust areas, EMAL is directly involved in monitoring and assessment of ambient air pollution, through collection of real-time data for different parameters of air pollution including particulate matter, carbon-dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, VOCs etc. while offering proactive mitigation measures and suggesting ways and means that can effectively remove or reduce environmental pollution. Analysis of physico-chemical parameters of potable water samples in Delhi along with development of a low cost water purification system have also been undertaken. It is important for the society to be aware of the specific environmental problems at the local level and every responsible citizen has to adopt a way of life for sustainability which we promote by imparting Environment education to school and college students. Several undergraduate students have successfully completed short term research projects in the laboratory.
Today, Environmental pollution has become an issue of serious concern for biodiversity, as it affects growth and reproduction of both plants and animals. Most severe effects of pollution are on seed germination, seedling survival, pollination, pollen viability, pollen-pistil interaction, stigma receptivity. Also availability of pollinators is considered crucial for reproductive success of a species, which is drastically being affected by Climate change. We are looking at all the above mentioned aspects along with the decoupling of plant-pollinator relationship, breeding systems and pollination mechanisms in medicinally important plants as a means of Biodiversity conservation. Investigation of genetic diversity in terms of gene flow, pollen flow and population structure in ethnobotanical species is also being explored. The research work carried out in EMAL has been awarded best presentation at two International conferences and has also the ‘Teaching Excellence award for Innovation’ by University of Delhi. Dr. Charu has been a Visiting Fellow at Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, SLOVENIA in October 2019 under aegis of INSA Bilateral Exchange Programme-2019 and has also been recognised as an Independent guide for Ph.D. by University of Delhi. Since the inception of the laboratory, we have completed a total of 06 Extramural research projects and published several papers in both National and International Journals along with several presentations in both National and International Conferences
Contact: charukhoslagupta@andc.du.ac.in
This Lab is headed by Prof. Sunita Hooda
Research Interests:
Synthesis, characterization and applications of various synthetic and modified natural polymers are carried out under various projects. Nano materials are also synthesized with biopolymers and graphene-oxide. Functionalized nanocomposite characterized by various instrumental techniques act as a super adsorbent for various types of dyes and toxic metal ions so find useful application in waste water treatment. These nanomaterials showed a promising application in wastewater treatment.
In addition to this, different types of novel molecular probes are also synthesized using various heterocyclic compounds through covalent linkage. The structures of these probes are characterized by UV-Vis, Fluorescence, SEM, XRD and other related spectroscopic techniques. The molecular probes are then screened over assorted metal ion and selectivity observed towards different metal ions through the change of color in aqueous medium confirmed by UV or fluorescence signal and also supported by SEM and XRD results. The quenching in fluorescence spectrum is also observed with selective metal ions having high LOD, due to the loss of energy. This work produced a novel, simple and facile re-usable paper based chemical sensors, which can be used for naked eye evaluation of various metal ions.
This Lab is headed by Dr. Vikrant Kumar
Research interest:
RLIC, a home of advanced and undergraduate research, aims to generate new concepts, methodologies, new materials and new reactions that drive the further evolution of chemistry.
RLIC is highly dedicated to combine synthetic chemistry with biomedical research, so as to improve bio-distribution, specificity and biological recognition for cancer chemotherapy as well as the development of “Catalysts for Water Oxidation” addressing the challenge “Energy, especially renewable energy”.
Contributions of RLIC are found in the areas:
This Lab is headed by Prof. Amit Garg
Research interest:
It is one of the research laboratories of the college which has the state of the art facilities to do contemporary research in tailoring of carbon based compounds and also synthesize hybrid combinations with other matching materials using nano techniques to create new materials with distinctive properties. The laboratory has a rich collection of basic equipments to carry out the synthesis of these materials through chemical route, facilities for thin film deposition using thermal evaporation as well as spinner, automated electrical characterization, high temperature annealing in ambient environment, clean room ambience through glove box, water purification membrane fabrication and gas sensing applications. Some of the key areas of research are briefly described as under-
Graphene oxide(GO) is a form of heavily oxidized graphite and is synthesized by chemical exfoliation of graphite. It contains a number of functional groups of oxygen like epoxy (C-O-C), carboxyl (COOH), hydroxyl (OH) and carbonyl (C=O) species that are arranged on the basal planes and edges of the graphene oxide layers. We are engaged in tailoring the interlayer spacing of GO for their use in fabrication of water purification and desalination membranes. We are also carrying out systematic study exploring the gas sensing mechanism of GO films with different hybrids/nanocomposites for different gases like SO2, H2 etc. This study assumes importance since gas sensing properties of GO are critically influenced by the nature and abundance of edge sites wherein their concentration may be quite high in comparison to basal plane sites. The role of semiconducting metal oxide ZnO primarily as catalyst with GO films is being investigated in detail.
Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is one of the most promising and potential material known for its photocatalytic activity. It is the most stable allotrope of carbon nitride at ambient temperature. Due to the increase in population and industrialization, we are currently facing the global energy shortage and environmental problems. Our future energy needs require an abundant, renewable and green source of energy. This can be best met through solar energy which is renewable, free, abundant and clean fuel on earth. Thus huge attention has been focused to harness solar energy efficiently. The absorption edge of g-C3N4photocatalyst having a bandgap of 2.7 eV is around 460 nm which means it can absorb a part of visible sunlight. This makes it useful in various photocatalytic applications and fabrication of solar cells. Contemporary research works are focusing in this area of solar-energy conversion for increasing the harnessing efficiency of the solar energy. Photocatalysis is one such solution to our problem which is drawing worldwide attention. Photocatalysis utilizes solar energy to accelerate chemical reactions. It mainly includes water splitting for H2 production, reduction of CO2 for solar energy generation, degradation of pollutant and organic synthesis. As g-C3N4 is an excellent photocatalytic material due to its rich surface properties due to the presence of basic active surface sites, it exhibits high potential for solar energy conversion. We have recently initiated our research work focusing on the synthesis and appropriate doping of g-C3N4 for its enhanced photocatalytic activities. The material science research lab is adequately equipped to carry out their synthesis.
Carbon nano-dots (or C-dots) are novel category of carbon materials having sizes in nm range around 5-10nm range. They are so called because of their zero dimension (0-D). C-dots have become a rising material because of their potential applications such as bio-imaging, optoelectronics, sensors, photocatalysts, water purification membranes etc. Carbon dots can also be used as a tool for sensitive ion detection. Carbon nano dots also have interesting antifouling, antimicrobial and surface chemistry properties which make them key material for their characteristic application in membrane formation and separation. The material science research lab is equipped to synthesize carbon nanodots through chemical route and decorate GO membranes with them to enhance their water purification and desalination abilities.
This Lab is headed by Dr Chaman Singh and Dr Sadanand Prasad
Research Interests of Dr Chaman Singh:
Dr. Chaman Singh is an Assistant Professor in Department of Mathematics, Acharya Narendra Dev College (University of Delhi). He is a distinguished researcher and has published many research papers in journals of International and National repute. His prime work is in the field of Optimization, Inventory Control and Supply Chain Management. He has authored/co-authored many books. He has also been the editor of many E-books. Dr. Singh also holds the post of Vice-presidentship of Meerut Chapter of Operational Research Society of India as well as of the Association for Advancement in Combinatorial Sciences. Dr. Singh also worked as an expert for the updation of Glossary of Mathematics coordinated by Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology. Dr. Singh had been a fellow in Mathematics at Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi since November 2012 to January 2015, wherein he coordinated development of e-lessons for undergraduate students. He had also worked as Co-PI in Mathematics under NME-ICT a major project granted by MHRD. Presently, Dr. Singh is also an elected Member of Academic Council, University of Delhi since February 2017.
Research Interest of Dr. Sada Nand Prasad:
I have been doing research in Applied Mathematics and my field of specialization/interest is Dynamical Systems. I have worked on chaos theory and most of my research is on measuring chaos of different kinds of discrete maps/ models through Lyapunov Characterstic Exponent, Topological Entropy and Correlation dimension after getting the bifurcation diagrams leading to chaos. I have also used indicators of chaos like FLI, SALI, DLI etc. in some of my research papers. Apart from this I have also worked on Non Linear Dynamics and Space dynamics and few papers on restricted three body problem have been published in reputed journals. Currently I am working on generalised circular three body problem and on motion properties of the variable mass planetoid in the elliptical Sitnikov problem.
This Lab is headed by Prof. Arijit Chowdhuri
Research Interests:
Smart Materials and Devices Laboratory (SMDL) is established at Acharya Narendra Dev College (University of Delhi), Govindpuri, Kalkaji, New Delhi – 110 019, INDIA. It comprises of an active and dedicated research group headed by Prof. Arijit Chowdhuri, faculty in Department of Physics. Focussed towards processing of novel functional materials, SMDL is actively engaged towards development of smart materials having general, strategic and commercial applications. At SMDL the primary areas of research are concentrated towards the development of novel sensor materials and device prototypes using a variety of inputs for diverse applications including gas sensing, environmental and safety monitoring, diagnostics, point-of-care devices and wearable electronics. Some of the thrust areas of research at SMDL include - Electronic Nose for artificial olfaction, Integrated semiconductor gas/chemical sensors, Catalyst free sensors, Quartz Crystal Microbalance sensors, Surface Plasmon Resonance based gas/biosensing, Ambient air pollution detection and mitigation, water purification etc. Research collaborations at International and National level are actively promoted at SMDL and some of the recent collaborations include with scientists based in Australia, Norway, USA and Slovenia. In India SMDL has strong research collaborations and exchange programmes with National Physical Laboratory, Solid State Physics Laboratory besides EMDL at Department of Physics, University of Delhi. So far as at SMDL, 07 (seven) extra-mural research projects with an aggregate funding of Rs. 50 lakhs (approx.) from agencies including Department of Science & Technology and University of Delhi have been completed. Out of this one has been a bilateral project with Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Since 2014 students have undertaken summer research projects at SMDL and 30 publications (02 - International Journals, 03 - National Journals, 10 - International conference presentations and 15 - National conference presentations) have resulted. As a result of introduction to cutting-edge areas of scientific research, focussed training on advanced equipments and acquisition of advanced hands-on skills at SMDL, since 2014 many students have been successful in garnering positions in reputed laboratories abroad on full scholarships to pursue higher education – Germany (5), France (1), Czech Republic (1), Italy (1), Taiwan (1), Netherlands (1). Research work carried out at SMDL has also been duly recognized and awarded – a) Best Innovative Idea award for DU Innovation project in 2015 and b) Recognition for Teaching Excellence and Innovation by University of Delhi.
Contact Email: arijitchowdhuri@andc.du.ac.in
This Lab is headed by Prof. Subhash Kumar
Research Interests:
It’s evident now that Sceintific investigation, apart from its theoretical and experimental methods has now acquired its third dimension- computational methods. Computational methods utilises data to discern the underlying patterns for making predictions or develop a scientifically cogent model. It has become one of the greatest tool for innovation and discoveries in the modern times. The Chandra Computational Physics Lab(CCPL) named after one of the greatest Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate Subramanyam Chandrasekhar was established in the college to take this method of scientific discovery forward and acquaint the students and teachers into this dimension of scientific research. The Lab has a high speed workstation acquired from the funds of DU Innovation Project. While the core research emphasis of this lab uptil now has been Astronomy and Astrophysical Plasma, students have also completed research projects and dissertation which have been trans- disciplinary in nature. The lab remains open for all students and teachers to carry out research with students, requiring computational methods. The lab aims to make itself a hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.
This Lab is headed by Dr. Sarita Kumar
Research Interests:
The Insect Pest and Vector laboratory was established in 2009 by Dr. Sarita Kumar. The laboratory is registered under Department of Zoology, University of Delhi for conducting research at doctoral and Post-doctoral level. The laboratory is primarily dedicated to explore different measures to control disease vectors (Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, Anopheles stephensi) and Crop pests (Helicoverpa armigera, Dysdercus koenigii). The students have worked diligently and consciously to develop broad-based ‘Learning Innovative Research Environment’. The laboratory is not limited to ‘Paper Presentation’ or ‘Lab Experiments’ but to “Develop alternate Eco-Safe Strategies for Mosquito/Insect Pest Control”.
The laboratory has conducted quality research work. To-date, it has produced 42 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, 03 papers in e-books and more than 70 conference publications/presentations. Four students have already completed their Ph.D. from the laboratory. Currently, the laboratory has 06 scholars registered under University of Delhi for doctoral degree, 01 CSIR-Research Associate and 01 UGC-PDF.
The laboratory also trains undergraduate students under the aegis of DST-IEDC, DBT Star Scheme, DU Innovation Project Scheme and ELITE Scheme of the college. Several UG students work through the year under the CUBE program of HBCSE, TIFR, Mumbai. Various projects have been completed and a few are ongoing.
Completed Projects:
03 DBT-Star Projects and 22 ELITE Projects
(a) International:
(b) National
Ongoing Project:
DST Women Scientist Scheme-B Project: ‘Developing and documenting innovative practices for learning physics and biology through experimentation for children and young adults’. May, 2018-April 2021
Sanctioned Project:
ICMR-MERA Project: Attractive Toxic Sugar Bait (ATSB) methods to control mosquitoes in different regions of Delhi and NCR.
This Lab is headed by Dr Monisha Khanna Kapur
Research Interests:
In this laboratory the research work is going on these two aspects:
(1.) Characterization of bioactive compounds and detection of PKS and NRPS gene clusters from actinomycetes
Actinomycetes are major producers of important biomolecules, accounting for 70-80% of secondary metabolites available commercially. Its various genera are known for the production of different classes of antibiotics. Microbial pathogens, however, are developing resistance to existing antibiotics. There is an urgent need to discover and develop new therapeutic compounds with unique modes of action. Structural analysis of biologically active secondary metabolites from actinomycetes leads to the discovery of new antibiotic compounds. GC-MS, LC-MS and 1H NMR are the widely used techniques for the structure elucidation of compounds. Extraction, purification and characterization of bioactive compounds from actinomycetes can fulfil the demand of the pharmaceutical industry. Polyketide synthase (PKS) and Non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) are gene clusters which encode multimodular enzyme complexes responsible for the production of diverse bioactive compounds in actinomycetes. The presence of these gene clusters in actinomycetes indicates their biosynthetic potential for production of bioactive compounds. In our investigation we have characterized the bioactive compounds produced by Streptomyces sp. strains RI.24, RI.30, 196, 51, S.43 and SL.4 using GC-MS, LC-MS and NMR techniques. These strains were also screened for the presence of PKS and NRPS gene clusters using conserved domain-specific degenerate primers. Based on the bioactive compound profile and gene screening results, Streptomyces sp. strain 196 was selected as a potent candidate for further studies. Apart from antibacterial and antifungal activities, the compounds produced by strain 196 were also found to contain anticancer activity. In vitro studies were performed to analyse its anticancer potential, in obtained results it showed cytotoxicity against human lung cancer cell line (A549). Furthermore, whole-genome sequencing and genome mining of strain 196 genome was performed. In the genome of strain 196, complete PKS and NRPS gene clusters were predicted and characterized using bioinformatics tools. In future studies, the introduction of genetic modifications in the backbone of these gene clusters using domain swapping, deletion and insertion of domains, point mutations and cloning into suitable expression vector can produce novel bioactive compounds which may acts efficiently against resistant pathogens as well as infectious diseases.
(2.) Identification of extracellular enzyme producing genes from Streptomyces spp. and their potential applications in various industries
Streptomyces spp. secrete various types of extracellular enzymes that have numerous applications in industry and agriculture practices. The advancement of molecular strategies in place of the traditional microbiological approach has improved the production of enzymes on a large scale. Functional genomics, proteomics and other genetic techniques such as metabolic engineering and combinatorial biosynthesis have contributed to developing effective and stable enzymes to improve metabolic processes. Xylanase, chitinase, and cellulase are the major extracellular enzymes from Streptomyces spp. which play a huge role in various industries. Consortia of these enzyme-producing actinomycetes also showed an effective role in biodegradation and waste management. Cellulase and xylanase from actinomycetes are well known for converting lignocellulosic plant biomass into biofuels. In our study, we have done the whole genome sequencing and genome mining of Streptomyces sp. strain 130. In the genome of Streptomyces sp. strain 130, chitinase, xylanase and cellulase producing genes were found. In our current work, chitinases are being used as an antifungal agent to control the spoilage of food. Which may be very helpful to replace the use of chemical preservatives in food industry. Chemical additives and preservatives used in food industry directly harm the human health, so there is an urgent requirement to replace such chemical additives with effective extracellular enzymes.
This Lab is headed by Dr Ravi Toteja (Officiating Principal) and Prof. Seema Makhija
Research Interests:
Heavy metal induced oxidative stress response in spirotrich ciliates
Heavy metal pollution of water is of major concern these days especially in developing countries like India. Anthropogenic sources, mainly mining and industrial activities, have contributed to substantial increase in heavy metal content in air and in many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. About 85 percent of the water pollution is caused by domestic and industrial sources. A wide range of contaminants are continuously introduced into the water and among these contaminants, heavy metals due to their toxicity, accumulation and non-degradable nature, constitute one of the most dangerous groups. Prolonged exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium, copper, lead and zinc disturb normal biological function and evoke cellular stress response. The research interest of our group is to examine how spirotrich ciliates respond to metal stress and to see the expression of heat shock proteins, metallothioneins and glutathione peroxidase gene under heavy metal stress. Moreover, the transcriptional activity of these genes are studied following heavy metals stress. The change in transcriptional activity can be used as a biomarker for monitoring the pollution level. Cellular response to heavy metals may also leads to generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which can be used as a tool in using whole cell ciliate as biosensor.
Biodiversity of spirotrich ciliates
We are also focusing on taxonomic description of freshwater ciliates by using morphological and molecular markers. We isolate and identify the ciliates from freshwater source in and around Delhi by studying its morphology, morphogenetic stages and using molecular markers like 18S rRNA gene, ITS1 and 2, histone gene etc.
Extremophilic ciliates have been catalogued from a wide variety of regions such as hot water springs, caves, high altitudes etc. Ciliate communities have also been described from Biodiversity Hotspots such as Silent Valley Bioreserve and Eastern Himalayas. These have paid rich dividends in terms of endemism and distribution patterns.
Fresh Water ciliate communities as bio-indicators of water pollution
One of the present assignments deals with physic-chemical analyses of water and correlation with ciliate communities in water sources around the National Capital region.
Assessment of soil quality by using ciliates as bio-indicators
In our laboratory, presently ten undergraduate students are also working under DU-innovation project (AND-303). They are studying physico-chemical and biological analysis of soil samples collected from various regions in Delhi to assess the soil quality of these areas. Physico-chemical analysis of soil involves determination of soil texture, water holding capacity, pH, conductivity, nitrogen content, carbon content etc. and biological analysis involves identification of soil ciliates by live cell observations and staining techniques. The objective of this investigation is to correlate physic-chemical properties of the soil with the community structure of the ciliates.
Advisor: Prof. Amit Garg
Research Interest:
College established Embedded System and Robotics laboratory in 2012 to train students in this area. The training the students got under this laboratory has made them gain significant technical skill in this area. Three teams of Students were selected the National Level Robotics competition eYRC (e- Yantra Robotics Competition), 2014, a project sponsored by MHRD through the National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT) organized by IIT, Bombay. One of the teams made it to the finals out of the 3107 teams competing at the National level with 12428 students across the country. This initiative led to the establishment of InnoV8, the students’ Robotics Club that organizes workshops for the students to get training in Robotics. The uniqueness of this club is that already skilled students conduct workshops for their peers. They impart hands-on training to the students of Acharya Narendra Dev College to gain knowledge of robotics and sensors. They have organized several series of introductory workshop on Arduino to train the students and understand the basics of Arduino and simulate basic Arduino programs. The students have also developed their own version of the classic game Pacman, called Robo-Pacman, which was showcased during the departmental fest of Electronics department. It is part of E-YANTRA Lab initiative by IIT, Bombay. It has a rich treasure of Firebird robotics kits with wide range of sensors, wireless TX/RX zigbee, servo motors etc. It supports the skill enhancement paper on Robotics. Recently, two teams were selected in E-Yantra Robotics Competition 2019-20 organized by IIT Bombay. A total of 350 teams participated in this national competition. One of the teams consisting of Aman Tyagi ,Yash Varshney ,Anurag Saxena and Abhishek (Team Leader), all from B.Sc.(H) Electronics 2nd Year were amongst the 36 teams selected at national level based on the tasks given to them at each stage. The theme allotted to this team was “Survey and Rescue”.
In addition, three more faculty members from Department of Computer Science are pursuing their research in the college. The area of their specialization is as follows:
| S.No | Faculty Name | Research Area |
| 1. | Prof. Sharanjit Kaur | Data mining, stream clustering, graph mining and social network analysis. |
| 2. | Prof. Vibha Gaur | Requirement Engineering, Quality Requirements, Users Trust, Software Development Models, Intuitionistic Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps. |
| 3. | Dr Chandrakant Samal | Sensor networks, computer networks, opportunistic networks, Underwater Sensor Networks and Image Processing. |
Research Activities of Prof. Sharanjit Kaur
My research area include data mining, stream clustering, graph mining, social network analysis. Data mining is used to extract useful information/knowledge from the data using supervised and unsupervised techniques, where data is characterized by the features e.g. email data, iris data, friendship data etc. However fixed data has limited applications. With advancement in technology, it is feasible to capture data on-line e.g. weather data, stock data, sensor data etc. In other words, data continuously stream-in and thereby, keeps on changing or evolving with time. Need is to extract change in patterns, evolution etc. to have up-to-date knowledge about the prevailing trend, for which stream mining is used. However, in both cases, interaction among elements is not captured. There comes the role of graph mining where data is represented as network of nodes (entities) and links are simply interactions between them. Examples of network systems include metabolic pathways, proteinprotein interactions, food webs, the Internet, the World Wide Web, social interactions, and co-authorship, scientific collaboration and many more. Complex networks have attracted attention because of their ability to model a vareity of associations among entities in these networks. Analysis of networks is useful in understanding the structural features of the system. Applications of network analytics include identifying communities, detecting central nodes, monitoring influence propagation and many more. As size of social network is very large thereby making these analysis compute intensive. Recently, hierarchical graph decomposition is explored for effective and scalable network analysis. Currently, multi-layered networks (MLN) are also being studied for analysing data from multiple perspectives to infer meaningful knowledge. E.g. in scientific networks, the need is to identify scientists who are not only working on same discipline and co-authoring articles but are affilated to different organizations or may have presented papers/talks at same places. Other examples of MLN include genes correlated networks, social (friendship) networks etc.
Research Activities of Dr Chandra Kanta Samal
Dr. Chandra Kanta Samal received the M. Tech. and Ph.D. Degrees in Computer Sciences from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, School of Computer and Systems Sciences, New Delhi, India and M.C.A from the Utkal University, Department of Computer Science and Application, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar, Odisa, India. He is presently working as Assistant Professor Department of Computer Science, Acharya Narendra Dev College (ANDC), University of Delhi, India. He has published 25 research papers International Journals and Conferences, attended many International conferences and Session Chaired, paper reviewer of three international journals and many conferences. His current research interests include wireless ad-hoc networks, sensor networks, computer networks, opportunistic networks Underwater Sensor Networks and Image Processing.
Nature observational studies and monitoring of biodiversity
In addition, the Green stretch of ANDC campus allows nature observational studies and monitoring of biodiversity in the college. This initiative is taken by one of our faculty member from the Department of Biomedical Science, Dr Rajesh Choudhary. He is well supported by one of his lab member, Mr Vinesh Kumar The college is located in the midst of a densely urbanized area of Delhi. However, numerous herbs and trees which the campus harbours provide suitable habitat for breeding and halt for several species of arthropods and birds. This provides an opportunity to monitor movement of animals in and out of the campus and perform several observational ecological studies. Results of preliminary studies performed on birds and butterflies are encouraging. In this regard, the college has also dedicated a patch of vegetation which is rich in biodiversity.
Brochure_Butterflies
Nature Observational Studies in News
The laboratory is headed by Prof. Pankaj Khanna
Research Interest:
The lab has also been used for carrying out research under ELITE projects for Undergraduate students.
Coordinator: Prof. Sarita Kumar (Department of Zoology)
Th!nk Lab is an autonomous lab of the students, which works without any supervision of teachers in collaboration with CUBE (Collaborative Understanding Biology Education) network, an initiative of Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR, Mumbai. Students are encouraged to ask and address state-of-the-art scientific questions collaboratively by using simple, cost-effective model systems. Under the network, students are connected with students, teachers and research scientists across the country and abroad to discuss and seek answers to various research questions. They are engaged with activities, experiments, field work, meetings, presentations, online discussions etc. to inculcate science as a culture, an ongoing close-to-life practice.
This year, students set up innovative Home Labs because of the pandemic situation and worked on various model systems. Because of the six years of networking with CUBE and promoting the student-centric collaborative culture, the college was conferred ‘CUBE Regional Resource Centre Award’ in the National meet organized by HBCSE-TIFR during November 6-8, 2020. During the meet, three students, Ms. Garima Kalakoti, Ms. Komal and Mr. Pulkit Singh were conferred ‘K S Krishnan Student Mentor Award’, while Dr. Sarita Kumar, Department of Zoology, was conferred ‘Anil Sadgopal Award – 2020’for her continued efforts, involvement, popularization of science and contribution to science outreach.
Dr Anupama Shukla, Dr Anita Narang, Dr Vineet Kumar Singh and Dr SumitSahni (Departmrnt of Botany)
Mushroom Research and Skill Development Centre (MRSDC) at Department of Botany, Acharya Narendra Dev College is set up under the aegis of DBT-STAR status scheme. There are two labs in the centre, one is Microbial Culture Facilty (MCF) and other one is Mushroom Production Unit (MPU). The centre is established as a research and development facility in the field of Microbiology (especially mushrooms) as well as to enhance the skill of mushroom cultivation amongst the students. The centre has state of the art facility for the production of various types of mushrooms along with the culture facility for other microbes as well. Microbial Culture Facility has Biosafety Level-II cabinet, an incubator shaker, humidity chamber and rotavapor. Mushroom production unit (MPU) has mushroom racks, humidifier and autoclave unit. The centre is also developing the library of various economically important mushroom species and other microbial cultures. Till now, the centre has cultures of 10 species of mushrooms.
Dr Monica Misra (Department of Zoology)
Zebrafish Culture facility under aegis of DBT Star Scheme was established at Acharya Narendra Dev College in January 2022 with the aim to encourage scientific minds towards research, to gain hands on experience of lab work, to indulge in fascinating world of live animal research and to gain more empathetic attitude towards our environment and animals. We are the second College in University of Delhi that has ventured into establishing the Lab on Zebra Fish. The facility is currently being actively run by second year undergraduate students pursuing their research projects.
