At the Christian Medical College

	At the Christian Medical College/Vellore
	The First CMC Winter Symposium Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine Picture Highlights (click on thumbnail to enlarge picture) [photogallery/photo31932/real.htm] A Summary by Dr. B. S. Ramakrishna The First CMC Winter Symposium on "Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine" took place on 30 and 31 January in the Scudder Auditorium at CMC Vellore. During the inauguration, the evolution of the concept of the CMC Winter Symposia was outlined by Dr. K. George Chandy (pictured right). The in-house inaugural ceremony was followed quickly by the scientific sessions. The first day was structured to focus on haematology and cancer, and the scientific sessions were kicked off to a good start by a talk from Vaskar Saha (Cancer Research UK, Batch of 1976) on the biology of acute leukemias. This was followed by presentations from the CMC Hematology Department, i.e. Mammen Chandy (Batch of 1967), Alok Srivastava (Batch of 1976 ) and R.V. Shaji (Ph.D. alumnus), who described the molecular characterization of haematological disorders and bone marrow transplantation in Vellore and the application of these techniques to clinical practice in India. The afternoon of the first day dealt with the cell cycle and its control, and Anindya Dutta provided an introduction that allowed the audience to understand the lectures that followed. Ashok Venkitaraman (Cambridge, Batch of 1977 ) talked about chromosomal instability in cancer, and showed how this might find clinical application in the management of breast cancer. Ron Laskey (FRS, Cambridge University) talked about control of DNA replication and its application to cancer diagnosis in a variety of cancers including colon cancer. Anindya Dutta (Harvard, Batch of 1975) spoke on the G1/S transition in the mammalian cell cycle. *The highpoint* of the day (and indeed the Symposium) was the lecture by Tim Hunt (Nobel laureate 2001, Cancer Research UK, pictured above and left) who also spoke about the cell cycle and its control. A large audience (Scudder auditorium capacity 999, with persons seated on the floor) listened raptly and gave a standing ovation at the end of the lecture. A poster presentation session that evening was followed by an entertainment in which Ajit Varki (UCSD, Batch of 1968) and Ron Laskey gave widely appreciated cameo performances. *The second day* had a more diverse agenda. The first session dealt with membranes and ion channels, and B.S. Ramakrishna (Gastrointestinal Sciences, Batch of 1969) talked about ion transporters in the intestine and their control, and its applicability to the management of diarrhoea. K. George Chandy (UCI, Batch of 1971) talked about potassium channels in cell membranes, highlighting molecular, structural and functional aspects, and gave a superb demonstration of their potential clinical application in neurological disease. This was followed by Satyajit Mayor (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore) who talked about lipid rafts in cell membranes and how they impacted function. *The next session* dealt with cellular and molecular pathophysiology. Vijay Yajnik (Harvard, substituting for Daniel Haber) described exciting work on genes involved in tumor progression. K.A. Balasubramanian (Gastrointestinal Sciences, Ph.D.alumnus) reviewed his work relating extra-intestinal manifestations of surgical stress to free radicals generated during handling of the intestine. Molly Jacob (Biochemistry, Batch of ) reviewed her work on genesis of small intestinal epithelial damage by non-steroidal analgesics. A. Surolia (Indian Institute of Science, Ph.D. alumnus ) described exciting work that could lead to the development of a new class of anti-malarial drugs. *The afternoon* session returned to hematology and immune systems and was titled molecular immunology and cancer. A broad overview of the immune system by Shiv Pillai (Harvard, Batch of 1969) set the stage for the lectures that followed. Ajit Varki gave an inspiring lecture on Siglecs, lectins that act as signaling molecules in the hematopoietic and immune systems. Shiv Pillai continued where he left off with a detailed description of elegant studies on lymphocyte development. The last two lectures of the afternoon (and of the Symposium) were delivered by Satyajit Rath (National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi) who talked about the role of Bruton's tyrosine kinase in myeloid cell development and Sudhir Krishna (NCBS, Bangalore) who spoke about Notch1 signaling in the genesis of cancer, using cancer of the cervix as the model. *In summary, the Symposium provided two days of intensive presentations of basic science, and in many cases the clinical applications (potential and realized) were well charted. The meetings were conducted with a minimum of fuss, and all the sessions ran to time. The audience of approximately 650 was comprised largely of students from CMC (about 100) as well as from other colleges. The World Council of Churches, Geneva, provided a substantial grant that allowed student registration fees to be subsidized. The registrants included significant numbers of CMC faculty and scientists and physicians from outside Vellore. Delegates came from as far afield as Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram. Each lecture was followed by a brisk session of questions from the audience and appropriate responses from the speaker. The high level of science and the business-like conduct of the proceedings were greatly appreciated by the audience. It appeared to the organizers that the Symposium provided a level of intellectual stimulation that is ordinarily lacking in the Indian environment, particularly at the student level, and this was the single most important factor leading to the success of this Symposium. The audience interacted with speakers at lunch time and during the refreshments, as well as after conclusion of the day's scientific sessions. A trade exhibition in the Scudder Hall, by companies involved in supplying research instruments and reagents, was moderately well patronized. The poster sessions generated over 40 posters and a lot of interest, and 3 posters were jointly awarded the prize for best poster. At the closing* on 31 January, the Organizing Secretary for the second Symposium, Dr. Chandran Gnanamuthu (Neurological Sciences, Batch of 1968) made a brief presentation of his plans for the next year. The second symposium will deal with Neurosciences and Psychiatry in 2004, and the third symposium in 2005 with Infectious Diseases. It was suggested that, commencing next year, bids be made each year for the symposium to come two years later, and that a committee make the selection from any bids that are available. Dr. B.S. Ramakrishna, CMC Staff, an organizer of the event
	A Reaction to the Winter Symposium by Dr. Shiv Pallai The First Winter Symposium at CMC in late January 2003 had a broad focus on "Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine". It was a resounding success. As one senior faculty member at Vellore commented "I have been at Vellore for 35 years, and this has been the most exciting event I have witnessed here". The meeting was widely advertised in India, and the Scudder auditorium was packed for two full days. Attendees came from as far away as Chandigarh, Delhi, and Kolkata. The faculty included overseas alumni representing a number of leading institutions in the UK and US, other distinguished invited overseas participants from Cambridge, London, and Boston, invited speakers from elite institutions in India such as the National Center for Biological Sciences, the Indian Institute of Science, and the National Institute of Immunology, and some very distinguished speakers from Vellore. Tim Hunt, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 2001, gave the keynote address. His warmth and total lack of pretentiousness, as well as his willingness to be photographed with virtually every delegate will long be remembered in Vellore. Almost all the first and second year medical students at CMC attended the meeting. While some of the sessions could well have been replicas of sessions at leading scientific meetings anywhere in the world, a special effort (including specially designed overview talks) was made by the speakers to make the science accessible to all. In general the presentations were outstanding. While the overseas alumni initially made a special effort to initiate discussion, the audience got "into" it and there was a tremendous amount of discussion throughout the meeting. The poster sessions for attendees were very well attended and also instigated a great deal of scientific interchange. Ron Laskey from Cambridge (well known in the scientific world for his original satirical songs) and Ajit Varki , made significant contributions to the "entertainment" organized by the hosts. Overseas CMC alumni bought into the idea (first floated by K George Chandy over the internet), that such symposia could significantly contribute to fostering academic excellence at Vellore. A small group of overseas alumni (K. George Chandy and Shiv Pillai in the US, and Vaskar Saha and Ashok Venkitaraman in the UK) and their counterparts in Vellore (Mammen Chandy, B.S. Ramakrishna, and Alok Srivastava), interacted closely in planning the meeting. Other overseas alumni who spoke at the meeting included Ajit Varki and Anindya Dutta. The overseas alumni used their personal contacts to invite distinguished speakers from outside India, as well as from other institutions in India. The local organization of the meeting was superb, largely thanks to the efforts of BS Ramakrishna and colleagues. There was tremendous support from the institution - the new Director, George M Chandy, and Jayaprakash Muliyil, the incoming Principal, clearly made every effort to see that the symposium succeeded beyond all expectations. Overseas alumni met individually, as well as in an organized fashion, with students and faculty. The symposium on Thursday and Friday was followed on Saturday morning by a meetingin the Senate Hall on issues related to research in Vellore, with inputs being provided both by CMC faculty and overseas alumni. There were many obvious pluses. The meeting provided some very positive publicity for CMC in India. It provided an intellectual forum that many felt was lacking in Vellore and certainly provided accessible exposure to cutting-edge science. The presentations of overseas faculty excited many in Vellore, both young and old. Interestingly every "basic" presentation from overseas alumni had a strong clinical component, highlighting how new discoveries in cellular and molecular biology connect with medicine. The presentations from Mammen Chandy and Ramakrishna showcased the very best that Vellore has to offer in intellectual terms. The meeting allowed some terrific investigators from other institutions in India to get to know Vellore and vice versa. The NCBS and NII faculty raised the possibility of a partnership with Vellore to initiate an M.D./Ph.D program. The possibility that faculty from Bangalore and Delhi might involve themselves in teaching "mini-courses" in Vellore found enthusiastic support. A group of about 20 medical students met with some of the overseas alumni and were encouraged to start a student research society with the support of selected Vellore faculty and overseas alumni. It was extremely encouraging to see senior faculty members at CMC stand up during the post-symposium meeting on Saturday and ask young faculty members to "make a list" of what they needed to jumpstart their research. There is considerable enthusiasm about the continuation of these symposia, and optimism regarding their ability to enhance the academic atmosphere in Vellore. In innumerable ways, our colleagues in Vellore conveyed the impression that a new page has been turned in the history of our alma mater. Shiv Pillai Member, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Assoc. Prof. of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Home CMC