All Management Events

Prof C Durga Rao (Principal Investigator), Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, and Associate Dean, Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh has received a total outlay of Rs. 1,10,52,941/- from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, to work on the project titled “Understanding the molecular basis for the extreme differential level of expression of genes from human and animal rotaviruses in gene-transfected cells: Implications for improving the growth of human vaccine strains”. Using the grant, the professor will be spawning the appropriate facilities to perform cell culture and virus-related research at SRM University-AP.

Understanding how a virus overpowers the host resistance mechanisms and seizes the host cellular processes for its own growth is very challenging and is essential for the development of not only efficient viral vaccines but also for antiviral therapeutic strategies. Prof Durga Rao informs, “Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe and acute dehydrating diarrhoea in infants and children below 5 years of age. Efforts by us and Dr Bhan, former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, led to the discovery and development of the first made in India rotavirus vaccine, produced by Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad.”

In the earlier project, the professor Rao observed that while some human rotaviral proteins could be expressed at high levels when the cloned genes were introduced into mammalian cells, other proteins could not be expressed at detectable levels. However, the virus expresses copious amounts of all its proteins when it infects the cells. Prof Durga Rao further shares, “Within a few hours of infection, each virus employs several ploys in the infected cell to subvert the cellular defence and regulatory mechanisms and captures the host for its own progeny production.”

Based on the earlier observations, this project will advance to unravel the tricks employed by the virus, and viral transactions in the infected cells. The outcome of the project will have implications for genetically engineering the poorly growing human vaccine strains for their efficient growth in cell culture, leading to reduced cost of not only rotavirus vaccines, but also other viral vaccines.

How many of you thought, “It’s just the beginning of the semester, there’s a lot of time to catch up with studies,” and then struggled with the syllabus before the exams? How many of you were frustrated with assignment submissions just because you did not start it on time? How many sleepless nights have you spent before taking the exams because the revision was due? We are sure that you all have experienced some kind of trouble because you put the work on hold. Admittedly, we all have a procrastinator within ourselves. We all love to postpone things a bit, allowing us some free time to enjoy ourselves. However, we often forget that all the work that is being piled up due to our procrastination will come back to us with a bitter consequence.

A student’s life is a time to learn the essential skills that are going to support them in their future professional and personal growth. Doing tasks on time has its own substantial benefits that are not only going to help you in your academic career but also in every sphere of life. Do you find it to be too difficult to learn?

Dr Smita Sharma is the ideal person who can enlighten you on how procrastination affects our thinking and behaviour. She will further guide you with the techniques to defeat it. Dr Smita, as you know, is your counsellor at SRM University-AP, and she will be available in an Interactive session with you on “Overcoming Procrastination!-Doing Vs Delay”. Join the session on March 27, 2021, at 4 pm.

In the next chapter of Departmental Seminars Series, Department of Mathematics, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh welcomes Dr Chittaranjan Mishra, Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, to deliver a lecture on “Fast pricing of multi-asset American options under jump-diffusion models” on March 24, 2021, at 3 pm.

Multi-asset American options are interesting in many ways, e.g., they give the holder the flexibility to exercise at any time up to maturity, allow for risk diversification and for us, these contracts are mathematically challenging to price due to the non-availability of a closed-form formula. When jumps are introduced to model underlying assets, one will be required to solve a partial integro-differential complementary problem (PIDCP) for pricing these contracts. In these cases, we find that computing sufficiently accurate option prices in real-time is extremely difficult. That is because the in hand PIDCP involves a multi-dimensional partial integro-differential equation with a non-local double integral term. Solving these multi-dimensional PIDCP by advanced numerical techniques, such as a customized finite difference method, is very time-consuming, as the corresponding discretization matrices are huge in size. More importantly, the integral approximation matrix is also dense, posing a serious challenge to handle storage memory. Many efficient techniques are proposed primarily to handle the double integral term. However, the required solving time is still not practicable for practitioners.

In our research, we exploit the amazing parallel architecture of modern graphics processing units (GPUs) to solve computationally expensive scientific problems. Nevertheless, resolving the problem at hand by employing a GPU is not straightforward. It requires one to overcome many bottlenecks, such as in. In this work, we have investigated these issues in order to achieve substantial speed-ups compared to a sequential FD implementation.

Mathematics enthusiasts are requested to avail this opportunity to listen to our distinguished speaker on March 24th, at 3 pm.

The e-Cell of Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA), SRM University-AP is back with another exciting chapter. ‘Unleash Mind’ is a programme that unlocks the mind’s untapped potential through some of the ancient and proven scientific techniques.

Albert Einstein once said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”. This is the simplest indication of the various levels and frequencies of our mind.

We all must have experienced that when we need a solution, we start thinking. When we start thinking, we go into the depths of our minds. Sometimes, the tranquillity feels like a dream or bliss or a peaceful state mingled with creativity and a flow of thoughts that eventually aids you to come up with a solution.

Everything begins with some simple understanding of the fundamentals of life, based on some laws of this universe. If one can master one’s thinking ability, he/she will be able to expand and enhance his/her capabilities. Controlling your mind empowers you with the potentiality of controlling your life.

Ms Swathi and Ms Varshini have come up with a very special edition of the Unleash Mind Community – Super focus at Exams with Theta Waves. A very special guest Shri Girish Jha, an International Coach of Spirituality, will be among us to share his personal experience in the-“mind over matter.”

Join the exciting event Theta Waves: 10x Focus @ Exams, organised by Unleash Mind Community – SRM ECell, on March 25, 2021, at 7 pm.

Join the leadership community and be a part of our dynamic e-cell at www.tiny.cc/srmapecell

The Department of Psychology, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh have organized a Panel Discussion on “Youth Mental Health: Current Challenges and Ways Forward”. Convened by Dr Salome Divya Joseph, Dr Janhavi Devdutt, and Ms Ayesha Parveen Haroon, the discussion will be held on March 24, 2021, at 2 PM. Prof V S Rao, Vice-Chancellor, will initiate the pertinent conversation and welcome the invited guests to the panel.

Prof Manoj K Sharma, Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences(NIMHANS), Bangalore, will alarm the participants on “Pathways of Technology Addiction”. A kind of behavioural addiction, Technology Addiction frequently impacts the teens and youth by impeding their regular tasks, and social life. Thus, recognizing the consequences of their addiction becomes necessary.

Advancing with the Panel Discussion, Ms Ashwini N V, Founder- Director, Muktha Foundation, Bangalore, will speak on “Interpersonal Violence & Mental Health”. Exposure to violence make adolescents vulnerable to mental health problems. Promoting psychological well-being, Ms Ashwini will elaborately talk about the ways of protecting the teens from such risks.

The grim issue of “Self-harm Behaviours in Youth” will be addressed by Dr Nupur Singhal, Chief Clinical Psychologist, The Grey Circle, Noida. Underlying concerns including anxiety, tension, loneliness, and self-hatred often compels young individuals to harm themselves. Children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities are also at risk. Dr Nupur will alert the audience to protect the young adults from falling prey to this condition.

Further, Prof Poonam Devdutt, Director, Centre for Psychology and Human Behaviour, Shobit University, Meerut, will touch upon the significance of “Life Skill Education for Promoting Mental Health”. She will be stating the significance of imparting life skills education to the students with the intention of focusing on the needs of young individuals, motivating them, and enhancing their social and self-management skills.

Concluding the discussion, Prof A Kalam, Dean, School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (SLASS), SRM University-AP will express gratitude to the guests as well as the audience for addressing the stigmatic concerns pertaining to the mental health of the otherwise vibrant youth.