Outreach 

IITJ-BIOBLITZ
Thar-DESIGNS from IIT Jodhpur initiated a citizen science program ‘IITJ-BIOBLITZ’ under the guidance of Prof. Mitali Mukerji, Head, Department of Bioscience & Bioengineering, IIT Jodhpur. The inaugural walks were organised on the 25th and 26th June 2022. Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Director, IITJ and Prof. Sampat Vadera, Deputy Director, IITJ, inaugurated the program and participated in the walk, motivating all the participants. Around 43 citizens of IITJ, including students, faculties and their family members from varied age groups participated in the walk led by a few volunteers with an experienced ecologist Dr Manasi Mukherjee. Participants were guided to spot, identify and learn about the vivid local flora and fauna including the birds, reptiles, rodents, mammals, native vegetation and their interactions, ecology and behaviors. The project aims to connect and aggregate local ecological information through a crowdsourced approach and at the same time inculcate a spirit of curiosity, appreciation, ownership and responsibility for health of the ecosystem. An app “Prakriti” developed by an IITJ team led by Dr. Suchetana Chakraborty, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Jodhpur, was introduced to the participants for acquiring the crowdsourced ecological data for scientific use.

IMsc Outreach

We are witnessing a paradigm shift from reactive to a more proactive, holistic and precision approach in health management. This approach is in Ayurveda practice for thousands of years and is practiced in one form or the other in many Indian households. However, the decision to avail Ayurveda as a/an additional medical option is primarily made by the patient with limited understanding and evidence. This is because there is a limited crosstalk between the practitioners of Ayurveda and modern medicine. A scenario where the practitioners from the two diverse streams sit across a table, seamlessly converse, exchange notes and cross-refer to co- evolve a health management regime is the need of the hour. My talk would highlight how the science of Ayurgenomics has made the beginnings of a molecular conversation between the streams. This has a potential for providing objectivity and evidence based solutions in integrative medicine settings.

https://www.imsc.res.in/outreach/events/science-at-the-sabha/2023.html