WORKSHOP ON UNDERSTANDING INSECTS: MODERN SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES

Lucknow: A two-day faculty training workshop  on Understanding Insects: Modern Scientific approaches was organized by Prof. Geetanjali Mishra, Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow and Dr. Praveen C Verma, Senior Principal Scientist, NBRI was held. This workshop was a part of the Scientific Social Responsibility of a research project sanctioned by DST SERB on Limb regeneration in ladybird beetles.

This collaborative project uses traditional as well as involved the latest techniques to understand why and how limbs regenerate in insects, specifically ladybird beetles, which are small insects that help in biological control of agricultural pests.

The event was organized at the Institute for Development of Advanced Computing ONGC-CAS Building, University of Lucknow as a collaborative effort between Ladybird Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, and CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute.

The workshop was focussed at training 25 college faculty from associated colleges in some basic and advanced techniques for understanding organisms. Workshop included lectures delivered by 10 eminent experts on pest management, regeneration, proteomics, metabolomics, genomics, etc. Every day, after lectures the faculty were given hands on training in using new analytical techniques to improve their data output such as image analysis and primer designing.

A common thread of the workshop across lectures was on the importance of insects to our environment. Insects are inevitable in our ecosystem and not paying attention to them will lead to the collapse of our ecosystem since they are its most abundant component, said, Prof. Geetanjali Mishra, coordinator of the program. She also emphasized how insects are largely beneficial and the negative perception needs to be changed.

Dr. Praveen C Verma, Senior Principal Scientist, NBRI, coordinator of the workshop, emphasized on the role of modern scientific approaches to understanding the complexities of the insect world. He said this is essential, because if we don’t pay attention, much knowledge will be lost because insects will start going extinct.

The selected 25 faculty were delighted with the new information, scientific approaches and the personalized training provided to them.