For registration,

The conference, which is divided in six sessions, will be held from 4:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

Inaugural Session

Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Dr. Shahid Jameel

Diagnostics and Testing

Vaccines: Development & Delivery

Therapeutics: Leads from Viral and Host Protein Structures

Nutrition & Public Health

Closing Session

About Bennett University

NEW DELHI: The Biotechnology department of the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Bennett University , is organising its first-ever online conference "Combating COVID-19 : Biotech to the Rescue" on April 16, 2020.This will be the second online conference that Bennett University will be organising in less than a week. At a time when leading research labs, think tanks and universities are pooling their resources together to find the best possible way to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, this online conference will aim to explore the possibilities in biotechnology which could assist in combating the pandemic.The take-away from this conference would be as to how the impact of technological interventions can be accelerated to not only mitigate the spread of the pandemic but also to efficiently immunize the healthy individuals and cure the infected patients.The conference will bring together leading Indian and global scientists, industrialists, healthcare professionals and policymakers including the likes of Dr RS Chauhan; Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, GoI, Dr K Vijayraghavan FRS, Principal Scientific Adviser to GoI, Dr. Deepak Nair, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize awardee, Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute India Pvt. Ltd., Pune; Dr Varaprasad Reddy, Chairman, Sanofi Healthcare Private Limited; Dr Debojyoti Chakraborty, Senior Scientist, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology; Dr Sreekanth Ramachandran, Director - Medicinal Chemistry, Integral Biosciences; Prof. Robert Stroud, Professor, Departments of Biochemistry/Biophysics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco; Dr Neel Bhavesh, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and Dr Dale Fisher, Singapore-based chairman of the World Health Organisation's Global Outbreak Alert.The conference comprises six sessions on Diagnostics and Testing; Vaccines: Development and Delivery; Therapeutics: Leads from Viral and Host Protein Structures; and Nutrition and Public Health.Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, GoI, will deliver the keynote address in thechairperson and managing director of Biocon Limited and, Chief Executive Officer of Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliances will also be part of the inaugural session.The first session, titled, will explore the best means available to contain the virus using lockdowns, testing and quarantine, rapid tests in non-medico environments and the impact of un-equal testing on Covid-19 statistics.The second session, titled, will look at vaccine delivery methods as well as throw insights on the journey of Indian vaccine manufacturers through the pandemic, the current stage of clinical evaluation and if vaccine production platforms can meet global demands.The third session, titled, will try to answer the question of spike protein being the main culprit and target for developing antivirals. Leading experts in the field will discuss drug repurposing and feasibility and safety of plasma therapy.The fourth and last session, titled, will take a deep dive into nutrition and public health and will look at the possibility of using Vitamin C supplementation as safeguards, the challenge of public literacy on myths and the #MaskIndia movement Last but not the least, thewill see the participation of industry leaders KG Ananthakrishnan, Director General, OPPI (Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India) and Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute India Pvt. Ltd., Pune.The University was set up in 2016 by the Times of India Group, which is India's largest media conglomerate, to provide Ivy League quality education to undergraduate and postgraduate students and make them, 'life and career ready'. It is located in Greater Noida, which is part of the National Capital Region. Currently, the University has 2,500 students studying in four schools - School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Management, School of Law and Times School of Media. Website: www.bennett.edu.in