Session on opportunities for research in regenerative medicine 

Chandigarh: Dean International Students (DIS) and Dean Alumni Relations in collaboration with Centre for Systems Biology and Bioinformatics and CIL organized an interactive session on “Opportunities for Research in Regenerative Medicine by Dr. Sanjiv Dhingra, from the Dept. of Physiology and Pathophysiology at the University of Manitoba at Panjab University, here today. 

The event is one of the numerous programmes held under the National Workshop on Analytical Instrumentation organised from February 9th to  February 18th, especially for Kashmiri students to empower the researchers from remote areas of India. SAIF is pioneering in conducting training programmes in technical skills for the benefit of scientific community from different institutions.

Prof Dhingra informed the participants that his research is in the area of Cardiac regeneration and myocardial tissue engineering using stem cell-based and biomaterials-based approaches to restore function following a cardiac injury. 
Basic mechanisms of immune-rejection of transplanted allogeneic (unrelated donor) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), embryonic stem (ES) cells, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in the heart in order to develop strategies to enhance the survival of these cells and successfully repair damaged myocardium.

He is also interested in developing clinically relevant biomaterials for myocardial tissue engineering techniques. His laboratory has techniques as well as tools to isolate and culture different stem cell populations and transplant these cells to the infarct area after inducing myocardial infarction in various animal models; combining stem cell biology and molecular biology techniques to accomplish research goals.

Dr Dhingra shared with the audience his journey from Panjab University to the best research labs in Canada and spoke about the values and skills which he had acquired in his Alma mater and how those helped him in making his place and adjusting with the foreign environment. He also talked about developing scientific temperament, passion for learning and value of hard work. 
Prof. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University while inaugurating the seminar, appreciated the efforts of the organisers in bringing together different offices under one roof. He praised the women students who participated in the program and wished them success for their future. 

Prof. O.P. Katare from the Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, shared his thoughts on the potential one possess to achieve success. His sentiment was shared by Dr. G.S. Kainth, retd. Prof. IIT Kanpur and alumnus of Panjab University. 
Dr.Sanjiv Dhingra, an alumnus of Panjab University, is also the Principal Investigator at the Cardiac Regeneration & Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences. He has received several awards for his contribution to cardiovascular research. His area of study is Cardiac regeneration and myocardial tissue engineering using stem cell-based and biomaterials-based approaches to restore function following a cardiac injury. 

Those present were Prof. Nandita Singh, Dean International Relations, Prof. Deepti Gupta Dean, Alumni Relations, Prof. G.R. Chaudhary, Director, SAIF/CIL/USIC/UCIM, Dr. G.S. Kainth, retd. Prof. IIT Kanpur and alumnus of Panjab University, Prof. Ramesh K Sharma, Convener, faculty, researchers, students of Department of Chemistry, Bioinformatics, System Biology, Microbial Biotechnology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry and 40 students from the Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir.