Welcome to Department of Life Science
ABOUT DEPARTMENT
The Department of Life Sciences was established in 1977 and with the sincere efforts of the teaching staff, non teaching staff and students; in 2012 it received the ‘Highly Rated Department’ under the College of Excellence, 2012. This was followed with another honor of the Star status in 2014 by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.
The department has contemporary syllabi and the infrastructure includes: Gel documentation system, PCR thermocycler, fluorescence microscope, inverted microscope, trinocular microscope, binocular microscopes, UV spectrophotometer, lyophiliser and many more. Along with an excellent infrastructure we also have a well equipped laboratory as well as a well stocked library. Our department has a highly qualified and illustrious teaching staff and an extremely cooperative, skilled and well trained support staff. The teachers are involved in the Career guidance cell as well as the National Service Scheme (NSS).
The department has three Doctoral Research Guides and the areas of specialization include molecular biology, biodiversity, biochemistry and microbiology. The University of Mumbai has awarded the PhD degree to four our students till date. The research and industrial collaboration was a project from Reliance Industries for three years on “Characterization of algae as an alternative source of fuel.” The teachers have guided UGC and Mumbai University research projects. The total number of publications done by the faculty of the department is 20 and counting.
Some students are involved as assistants to projects under United Nations Development Program (UNDP), National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH), etc. The department students have also attended training programs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Harrisburg University.
We conduct biodiversity field studies to Ranthambore, Nainital, Gir Forest, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mahim Nature Park, and many more. The National Environmental Awareness campaign for tree plantation was done under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), India. Every year our department organizes a departmental festival “Synapse” to showcase the student’s creativity and innovation.
COURSE INTRODUCTION
Life Science involves the study of the following: A comparative study of plant physiology, animal physiology, developmental biology, human anatomy and physiology, genetics, neuroscience, biochemistry, biotechnology, molecular biology, genetic engineering, tissue culture, biodiversity, environmental sciences, biostatistics, evolutionary biology, bioinformatics.
DEPARTMENT FEATURES
- College of Excellence, 2012
- DBT Star status, 2014
- Reliance industry collaborative project, 2012-2015
- University Minor Research Grant projects, 2011-2012
- UGC Minor Research Grant projects, 2015-2017
PROGRAMMES OFFERED
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SR. NO.
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PROGRAMME NAME
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DEGREE / DIPLOMA / CERTIFICATE
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AIDED / SELF- FINANCED
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YEAR OF STARTING
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INTAKE
|
|
1
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BSc Life Science
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BSc Degree
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Aided
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1977
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FY 80, SY 50, TY 30
|
|
2
|
MSc Life Science
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MSc Degree
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Aided
|
1977
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MSc I- 12, MSc II- 12
|
|
3
|
PhD Life Science
|
PhD Reseach
|
Aided
|
2009
|
06
|
FACULTY DETAILS
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SR. NO.
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FACULTY NAME
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DESIGNATION
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QUALIFICATIONS
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SUBJECT EXPERTISE
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|
1
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Dr. Seema Shinde
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Associate Professor and Head
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MSc Life Science, PhD Botany, DHE (Diploma of Higher Education)
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Life Science – Neurobiology, Environmental Science, Developmental Biology
|
|
2
|
Dr Nilima Gajbhiye
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Associate Professor
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MSc, PhD Life Science
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Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular biology, Environmental science
|
|
3
|
Mr. Bhupendra Madavi
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Assistant Professor
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MSc Biotechnology
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Biotechnology, Fermentation technology
|
|
4
|
Dr Kanchan Chitnis
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Assistant Professor
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MSc, PhD Biochemistry
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Biochemistry, Bio-analytical Science, Food and Nutrition
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|
5
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Dr Kruti Dave
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Assistant Professor
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MSc, PhD Life Science
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Mycology, Genetic engineering, molecular biology
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|
6
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Ms. Simone Vaz
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Assistant Professor
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MSc Life Science, NET, SET
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Plant tissue culture, evolutionary biology
|
|
7
|
Ms. Shreya Junnarkar
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Assistant Professor
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MSc Life Science
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Animal Physiology
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SUPPORT STAFF
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SR. NO.
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STAFF NAME
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DESIGNATION
|
|
1
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Shri. Prakash R. Pawar
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Lab Assistant
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2
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Shri. Badiram Y. Adbal
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Lab Attendant
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3
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Shri. Mahendra M. Pednekar
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Lab Attendant
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|
4
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Shri. Mangesh Sonawane
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Lab Attendant
|
|
5
|
Shri. Santosh B. Daval
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Lab Attendant
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DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES
Guest Lectures
- Dr. Vijay Menon
- Dr. Khot, Bombay natural history society (BNHS)
- Ms. Pooja Sagvekar, National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (NIRRH)
Seminars Organized
- Fluorescence Microscopy seminar
- National Seminar on “Sustainable crop productivity through physiological intervention” in collaboration with Indian Society for Plant Physiology (ISPP), New Delhi
- Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), Mumbai chapter
Workshops Organized
- Certificate course on Citizen Science
- Three day workshop on Affinity chromatography in collaboration with Central Dogma Pvt. Ltd and Department of Bio Analytical Science.
- Seven days Ruia- IUP workshop in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology.
Educational Visits
- Field Visit to Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli – Regional Agricultural Research station – Karjat.
- Workshop on Perkin Elmer-DBT-ICT explorer G3 Project, an Advanced High- throughput Screening Facility at DBT- ICT Center for Energy Biosciences, Institute of Chemical Technology
- Open day visit to ACTREC
- Visit to NFB- National Facility of Biotechnology, Khalsa College.
- Visit to TIFR- Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Colaba
- Visit to Sula Vineyards, Nashik
- Visit to a GMP compliant pharmaceutical industry, Murli Krishna Pharma Pvt Ltd (MKPPL),Pune
STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENTS
Most of our students pursue their Master’s and Doctorate Degrees from foreign universities like University of Alberta (Canada), University of Bonn (Germany), University of Drexel (USA), University College of London (UK), Virginia Commonwealth University (USA), University of Leeds (UK) and many more.
STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENTS
M.Sc.
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ACADEMIC YEAR
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STUDENT NAME
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COMPANIES
|
|
2015-2017
|
Prachita Mhatre
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Tata Consultancy Services
|
|
2015-2017
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Suvidha Rumde
|
Episource ltd
|
|
2011-2013
|
Jay Pathare
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Cipla
|
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2011-2013
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Akshay Chawande
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Reliance Industries
|
|
2006-2008
|
Nilesh Ruke
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Chembond Chemicals Ltd.
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P.hD.
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ACADEMIC YEAR
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STUDENT NAME
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COMPANIES
|
|
2015-2016
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Dr. Yogesh Pawar
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Reliance Industries
|
|
2015-2016
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Dr. Yash Gupte
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Reliance Industries
|
ILLUSTRIOUS ALUMNI's
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PASSING
YEAR
|
PROMINENT ALUMNI’S
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DESIGNATION
|
ORGANIZATION
|
| |
Ms. Pankaja Munde
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Minister
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Women and Child Development
|
|
1998
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Dr. Bipin Kulkarni
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Research Scientist
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National Institute of Immunohaematology (ICMR), KEM
|
|
2002
|
Dr. Vijay Menon
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Research Scientist
|
Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, Virginia, USA
|
|
2012
|
Ms. Pooja Bhalerao
|
Manager
|
Lab India
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