Monday, September 23, 2013


 Developed by Dr G P S Raghava group

 OSDDLinux  is an open source operating system for drug discovery (customize linux) that integrate most of open source or freely available computational tools required for drud discovery.In simple words, it is an in silico platform for providing enviroment for computer-aided drug design.Due to its open source nature anybody can contribute towards drug discovery using OSDDlinux, particularly those who cannot pay for commercial software (like students, researcher, academicains from developing world). Initially this operating system developed at Ubuntu platform, now we are extending it to other linux platforms.

 Challenges in Drug Discovery

 Despite major breakthroughs and tremendous progress in the field of drug discovery, there are millions of immature death every year due to lack affordable and efficient drugs. Drug discovery and development is a costly, time consuming and laborious process. It requires approximately one billion dollars and ten years to bring a new drug molecule into the market. How to bringdown cost and time required for discovering a new drug molecule is one of the major challenge in the field of drug discovery. 

Open source OSDD initiative 

 OSDD is a CSIR led team India Consortium with global partnership with a vision to provide affordable healthcare to the developing world by providing a global platform where the best minds can collaborate & collectively endeavor to solve the complex problems associated with discovering novel therapies for neglected tropical diseases like Malaria, Tuberculosis, Leshmaniasis, etc. It provides single platform for drug discovery, bringing together researchers, wet lab scientists, research organizations, clinicians, and students. The principal of OSDD is “Collaborate, Discover & Share” and motto is “Affordable health care for all”.

 Computational Resources for Drug Discovery

 Computational Resources for Drug Discovery (CRDD) is an important in silico module of OSDD. The CRDD web portal provides computer resources related to drug discovery from a single platform. The main focus of CRDD is to provide computational resources for researchers in the field of computer-aided drug design. It provides various webservers and software related to in silico drug designing, developing biological databases related to medicine and collecting and compiling various important resources for in silico drug designing. Challenges in developing in silico tools for Drug Discovery In silico tools and techniques providing an alternative for reducing cost and time in drug discovery during various experimental phases. The computational methods for in silico drug discovery have been broadly divided into two main fields: bioinformatics and chemoinformatics. 

Chemoinformatics and other in silico tools related to computer-aided drug designing are dominated by proprietary or commercial companies, where these tools are costly with stringent license conditions. Due to heavy cost of chemoinformatics resources, computer-aided drug discovery is still a costly affair. In last few years CRDD team have developed open source webservers for computer-aided drug discovery. There are number of reasons why open source are not popular in the filed of drug discovery (particularly in chemoinformatics, pharmacoinformatics, clinical informatics) that includes; i) not available from single source, ii) difficult to install, iii) lack of infrastructure. In order to overcome some of the limitations we developed OSDDLinux. It provides the popular open source software in the field of drug discovery from a single platform.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

OSDD invited for the post of a Junior Research Fellow


Date of publication  13 th September                                              last date October 5
Position of a Junior Research Fellow to Work on DST Sponsored Project

Applications are invited for the post of a Junior Research Fellow (temporary position till the project is supported) under DST funded research project.

Interested candidates can send their application with full resume / curriculum vitae. Experienced candidates, please apply with details of your present job description to mathewritta@osdd.netbefore 5rd October, 2013 mentioning in “DST project” in subject line. Selected candidates will be called for a personal interview. The decision of the interview panel will be final.

No TA/DA will be provided for attending the interview. The qualifying candidates are expected to start working within 1-2 weeks from the selection date.



Position: Junior Research Fellow
Pay:
SL.NO
Designation and Qualification
Emoluments for first 2 years (per month)
Emoluments for 3rdyear/SRF (per month)
  1.   Post graduate degree in basic sciences and NET qualified
OR
Graduate degree in professional courses and GATE or equivalent qualification
Rs. 16000/-
+ 30% HRA
Rs. 18000/-
+ 30% HRA
  2.   Post graduate degree in basic sciences with NET qualification for lectureship
Rs. 12000/-
+ 30% HRA
Rs. 14000/-
+ 30% HRA
  3.   Post graduate degree in professional courses
Rs. 18000/-
+ 30% HRA
Rs. 20000/-
+ 30% HRA
  4.   Post graduate degree in basic sciences without Net qualification for lectureship
Rs12,000/-
Rs14,000/-

AgeBelow 30 years

Duration: Two years (Each year extended based on performance after successful assessment by review committee).

Responsibilities: Gene cloning, site directed mutagenesis, mycobacterial growth analysis, invitro assay, phosphorylation studies, protein isolation and characterization by western blot analysis, extraction of mycolates, TLC, mass spectrometry. Screening of chemical molecules against M. tuberculosis. Book keeping and maintenance of stocks and consumables related to the project.
Essential Qualifications: M.Sc. in Microbiology / Medical Microbiology / Biotechnology / Biochemistry or B. Tech Biotechnology or M. Tech Biotechnology from a recognized university / institutewith a consistent first class academic record above 60% and relevant research experience as evidenced from thesis / dissertation carried out in a reputed scientific institution. Candidates should possess the extra qualifications specified by DST along with the degrees. Attach the scanned copy of the net lectureship or GATE qualification.

Desirable: Hands on experience with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and basic microbiology techniquesPractical experience in gene cloning, site directed mutagenesis and western blotting will be an added advantage.
Candidates should be comfortable and prudent working with M. tuberculosis and other microorganisms and be aware of the necessary safety and precautions required for handling it.