DEPARTMENT OF BIOSCIENCES

Year of Establishment : 1969

Head of the Department : Prof. S. P. Singh

The approval of the Centre of Advanced Study (CAS) by the UGC in July 2012 to The Department of Biosciences is the highest distinction that reflects the academic and research capabilities of the Department. This is a turning point in the history of the Department and certainly greatest step towards future. The Department of Biosciences was established in 1969 with the initiation of an Integrated Post Graduate programme in Biology by the founder Head of the Department, Prof. S.C. Pandya. Later on, keeping Integrated Biology as the theme, specialized courses in Botany, Zoology and Microbiology were started. In 2004, M.Sc. Programme in Biotechnology was started in the Institute of Biotechnology. Currently, the Department offers M.Sc., M.Phil. and Ph.D. courses in Botany, Zoology, Microbiology and Biotechnology.

The areas of research in the Department are diversified and include Plant Physiology & Molecular Biology, Herbal Technology & Medicinal Plants, Marine & Coastal Biodiversity, Ornithology, Wildlife Biology, Fisheries Biology, Insect Biology, Extremophiles, Environmental Microbiology, Bioinformatics and Biotechnology.

In early 1980’s, UGC-SAP Programme on Desertification was approved followed by the sanction of DSA Phase 2 and 3 by the UGC. In 2001, the major infrastructural assistance programme, COSIST was also approved by the UGC followed by the award of the FIST Programme by DST, New Delhi in 2007.

During the last 10 years, the Department has received research grant worth more that Rupees 7 Crores from the Central Government (UGC, DBT, DST), Govt. of Gujarat and Industries. Currently, several projects worth Rupees 6.5 Crores are running. The Department has range of sophisticated equipments for advanced research and teaching. During the last 10 years, more than 45 Research Fellowships have been awarded to Ph.D. scholars by UGC, CSIR, DBT and Gujarat Government. The Department has published more than 300 Research Papers and 25 Books & Book Chapters and 350 research papers presented in the conferences.