Palampur varsity empowers students with cutting-edge DNA tech training

Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, successfully concluded a two-day workshop on Molecular Biology and Recombinant DNA Technology at the Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. The training, funded by ICAR’s All India Network Project on Challenging and Emerging Diseases, offered undergraduate students from various constituent colleges hands-on experience with modern genetic tools.

In his message, Vice-Chancellor Dr Ashok Kumar Panda congratulated the organisers and participants, noting, “Such scientific trainings equip our students to meet the challenges of tomorrow and strengthen our commitment to innovation and quality education.”

The valedictory session was presided over by Dr Vinod Sharma, Director of Extension Education, as chief guest. He emphasised the importance of introducing students to advanced recombinant DNA technologies early in their academic journey, observing that such initiatives expand scientific understanding and open pathways to emerging biotechnology careers.

Dr Adarsh, Professor and Head of the Department, acknowledged the efforts of workshop coordinator Dr Subhash Verma for bringing students from multiple colleges onto a common platform and fostering an environment conducive to modern scientific learning. Presenting an overview of the modules, Dr Verma explained that trainees were introduced to nucleic acid extraction, DNA quality assessment, PCR, gel electrophoresis, amplicon purification, restriction digestion, molecular cloning, preparation of competent cells and transformation. These foundational techniques, he noted, form the basis of advanced recombinant DNA applications in diagnostics, therapeutics and research.

Resource persons from diverse specialisations contributed to the practical sessions, making the programme comprehensive and practice-oriented. Participants described the workshop as an “exciting and enriching experience,” expressing interest in longer-duration training in this rapidly advancing field. The valedictory proceedings were conducted by Dr Monika Bhardwaj and the event was attended by department heads and faculty members, reflecting strong institutional support for building student capacity in advanced molecular techniques.