School of Pharmacy

National Youth Day

As a part of National Youth Day, birthday of Swami Vivekananda, Amrita School of Pharmacy conducted a webinar on 12th January 2021. The session was handled by Sri Peeyush G who delivered a talk on the topic ‘Swami Vivekananda: An Eternal Inspiration’

Highlights

• Enlightened the students on how Swami Vivekananda’s life was a perfect example of inspiration and motivation
• Pointed out 3 values – concentration, selflessness and self-confidence, that everyone must inculcate in their life to have a ‘standard of life’

International Women’s Day

As part of International Women’s Day, Amrita School of Pharmacy conducted a webinar on the topic “Women and law – uses and misuses” on 23rd March 2021. The speaker was Adv. Parvathi Menon, Standing Counsel, Kerala Women’s Commission, High Court of Kerala.

Highlights

• Briefed about various laws and regulations regarding women safety and empowerment like Dowry Prohibition Act, Muslim Marriage Act, Domestic Violence Act, Child Marriage Act and various articles under Indian Penal Code that supports women.

Amritavarsham 68

As part of Amritavarsham 68, our beloved Amma’s auspicious birthday, Sri. Sooraj Rajendran delivered a talk on the topic “Decolonising the Self and Indian Mahatmas” on 23rd September 2021.

Highlights

• Gave an insight into the relevance of realising our culture and the need to decolonise our attitudes

Meet the Legend Program

Amrita School of Pharmacy organized a “Meet the legend” program on 18th February 2021. The honourable guest was Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan, Amrita Kripa Charitable hospital, who is a great humanitarian working to uplift the tribal community.

Highlight

• Introduced the students to the lives of tribal communities and their culture

Motivational Talks

• Mr. Vijay Menon, an expert in Human Resource Development, a corporate trainer and a Social worker gave motivational talk to the students of first year B.Pharm, Pharm.D, M.Pharm and Ph.D on 2nd February 2021 and 25th March 2021.
  • Highlights
    • Discussed about the morality and humanity within every individual
    • Stressed about the significant values which one should possess to lead a meaningful life
• Swami Mahamedhananda of Sri Ramakrishna Math gave a deep insight on the topic “Spirituality in daily life” to the students and faculty on 19th April 2021.
  • Highlights
    • Dealt with divinity, ethics and real-life aspects
    • Discussed the importance of a Guru, a master in life and also the kind of relationships to be developed from within every individual
• Swami Atmananda Puri from Amritapuri delivered a talk on ‘Success In Life’ for the students and faculty members on 28th April 2021.
  • Highlights
    • Explained the importance of ‘ASSET’ in our life which can be achieved through Activities, Seva, Sadhana, Exercise, Trust and Love.

Virtual Mobility Program

Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Ulster University, United Kingdom under the UK-India Education and Research Initiative organized a virtual mobility program of 30 hours, spread over 5 days, from 5th to 26th February 2021.

Highlights

• Dr. David Gibson, Senior Lecturer, Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University gave a talk on ‘COVID-19 in the UK’.
• Dr. Sarah Atkinson, Lecturer, Stratified Medicine, Ulster University took a session on ‘Introduction to Personalised Medicine & Pharmacogenomics’.
• Mr. Iain Jack, Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy, Ulster University handled a session on ‘Getting Medication to Patients in the UK’.
• Mrs. Anila.K.N, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Amrita School of Pharmacy, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham conducted a session on ‘Getting Medication to Patients in India’.
• Dr. Sangita A S, Research fellow, Indian Council of Medical Research/Centre of Disease Control Collaborative, and Dr. Vrinda Namboothiri, Clinical Research Pharmacist, Department of infection control and epidemiology, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre, took a session on the ‘Antibiotic Stewardship Programme’.
• Dr. Kiran G Kulirankal, Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre gave a talk on ‘COVID vaccination updates with insights to Indian Scenario’.
• Dr. Martin Kelly, Respiratory Consultant, Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Londonderry discussed about ‘The role of Translational Medicine in COVID and other repiratory diseases’.
• Dr. Aaron Courtney, Lecturer, Clinical Pharmacy, Ulster University delivered a talk on ‘How to make people unwell- an ethical approach’.
• Dr. Sunil Mahore, Senior Manager, Serum Institute of India delivered a talk on ‘COVID-19 vaccine-a ray of hope’.

National Science Day

Amrita School of Pharmacy organized a series of webinars as a part of National Science Day from 1st to 3rd March 2021. The theme recommended by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. of India for the year was “Future of science technology and innovation: Impact on education, skills and work”.

Highlights

• A session on the topic “Research” was taken by Dr John Joseph, who was an alumnus of Amrita School of Pharmacy and presently Postdoctoral fellow, Center for Nanomedicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He discussed the basic concepts used in the field of research with best suitable real life examples which are essential for the better understanding. He gave a clear understanding of the importance of nanotechnology in drug delivery system, intelligent robots and future problems in the real research world.
• Another session on “Contact thermometry for early detection and mass screening of breast cancer” was handled by Dr A. Seema, Scientist, Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology, Trissur. During her session she explained the various problems faced by breast cancer patients, awareness of breast cancer in society and updated about the upcoming treatment strategies of the disease
• The last session was handled by Dr R B Umamaheswari, IP Consultant and Patent Analyst on the topic “Recent insights in Patent filing in India”. She explained about the system of patent filing, patentable and non-patentable objects, documents required for filing a patent application, importance of publication and patent filling fee in India.

World Pharmacist’s day Celebrations – 2021

Two webinars were hosted by Amrita School of Pharmacy in connection to World Pharmacist’s Day 2021 celebrations on 25th September 2021.

Highlights

• First session was handled by Shri. P Prakash Babu, on the topic “Regulatory Overview in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Distribution”. The speaker discussed about the current pharmaceutical status of India, export of drugs, marketing, DPCO and NPPA.
• Dr Siddhartha N Dhurappanavar, was the speaker for second session. He emphasised the critical roles played by a clinical pharmacist and explained the impact of the attitude needed by a clinical pharmacist to excel in the profession.

Department of Pharmaceutics

Webinar on “The Rising Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance and Novel Strategies for Antibiotic Discovery”

Dr. Anutthaman Parthasarathy, Post-Doctoral Associate, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York was the speaker of the webinar organized on 12th May 2021.

Highlights

• Briefed on the growing anti-microbial resistance medical threat
• Discussed the potential of plant defense molecules as promising anti-infective drug candidates

Webinar on “Innovator Drug vs Generic Drug”

Dr. Shinu Chacko, Manager, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics, Sun Pharma, Haryana was the key note speaker for the webinar organized on 26th May 2021.

Highlights

• Briefed about the pharmacokinetic studies of both generic and innovator drugs
• Discussed the challenges faced in the development of drug formulations

Webinar on “Characterization of Sub-visible Particles in Drug Products”

Dr. Rishi Gupta, Application specialist, Anton Paar India was the speaker for the webinar organized on 9th June 2021.

Highlights

• Provided an insight on how the development of complex biological drug products such as monoclonal antibodies, peptides, vaccines etc. boosted the demand for innovative delivery mechanism
• Explained how the particles during different stage of manufacture can have an impact on drug’s effectiveness

Webinar on “Implementation of QbD in dissolution method development”

Mr. Vijay Kshirsagar, Director and CEO, TRAC Pharma Consulting” was the speaker for the webinar organized on 18th June 2021.

Highlights

• Explained the different steps in QbD process.
• Discussed how QbD can be applied to get an efficacious product.

Webinar on “Timeline, Budget and Procedures in Patent Filing till Granting”

Dr. R B Umamaheshwari, IP Consultant and Patent Analyst was the key note speaker for the webinar organized on 11th June 2021.

Highlights

• Introduced IPR, implementation of patent law and different types of patent.
• Insight about the eligibility criteria for obtaining the patent and the documents to be submitted
• Elaborated the rights of patentee, terms of patent, expiry of patent, surrendering of patent and its revocation.

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Analysis

Webinar on “Flash Chromatography Systems in Purification Process”

Mr.Arjun G, Product Manager for Flash and Consumables, Spinco Biotech was the speaker for the webinar organized on 1st June 2021.

Highlights

• Explained different types and the mode of operation of flash chromatographic instruments
• Discussed the newer developments and applications in the area of flash chromatography

Webinar on “Organic Chemistry Laboratory Practice for Pharmacy Students and Scholars”

Dr. Rangarajan T.M, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Shri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi was the speaker for the webinar organized on 8th June 2021.

Highlight

• Explained the laboratory setting, safety measures, planning and documentation as well as various chromatographic techniques for the identification and purification of the synthesized compounds

“Hands on Workshop on In-silico Drug Design using Biovia Discovery Studio”

A “Hands on Workshop on In-silico Drug Design using Biovia Discovery Studio” was organized from 23rd to 26th July 2021 with Dr. Dhivya S, Senior Application Scientist, Altem Technologies as the resource person. The objective of this workshop was to educate next-generation scientists about rational drug design, discovery and development of drugs. Hands on training was provided individually for each step and the students were made to perform the work on their own project topics.

Highlights

• Day 1: Introduction to drug discovery and the various types of drug designing, Opening a protein data using RCSB PDB as well as preparation of protein and ligands for docking, Confirmation of criterias like Lipinski rule of five
• Day 2: Molecular Dynamics approach with 3DQSAR analysis

Department of Pharmacy Practice

Webinar on “Management of Obstetric emergencies”

Dr S. Viswanathan, Managing Partner cum Consultant, Zi Clinic, Chennai addressed the students and faculty of ASP about the topic “ Management of Obstetric emergencies” on 3rd June 2021.

• Covered the types of Obstetrics emergencies, their complication, how to manage obstetric emergencies and what to look out in future.

Webinar Series by the alumni working as Clinical Pharmacist in AIMS, Kochi

Objective: To give an idea about the roles and responsibilities of Clinical Pharmacist in various clinical departments.

Oncology Session on 11th May 2021 by Dr. Hridya Jayamohananon, Clinical Pharmacist, Medical Oncology.

Highlights

• Emphasized on the importance of medication reconciliation and medication history before initiating the therapy
• Briefed about the daily activities of clinical pharmacist in Oncology and about the chemo-order sheet, which include pre-meds, meds and home medications.

GI Surgery session on 13th May 2021 by Dr. Abhijith Muraleedharan, Clinical Pharmacist, GI Surgery.

Highlights

• Discussed about the outpatient set up followed in the department as well as the documentation processes of various data of the patient
• Mentioned about the importance of immune suppressants in post-transplant patients and TDM monitoring

Hematology session on 27th May 2021 by Dr. Shyamaprasad.

Highlights

• Highlighted the importance of medication reconciliation and medication history before initiating the therapy

Department of Pharmacology

Webinar Series

Dr. K. Sadasivan Pillai, Vice Chairman, Scientific Advisory Board, IIBAT-Tamil Nadu gave talks on “Dose response relationship and LD50” and “Preclinical safety evaluation of drugs” on 8th and 9th June 2021, respectively.

Highlight

• Discussed on preclinical safety evaluation of drugs, toxicology, toxicokinetics, dose response relationships and the significance of lethal doses.

Mr. Bibin Balan, Certified Medical Coding Instructor-USA, President, Kerala APPC gave a talk on “Medical coding and its work-force opportunities” on 9th June 2021.

Highlight

• Discussed on how medical coding is done, how to become a qualified medical coder and the opportunities available

The alumni meet, Amrita Smriti 2021 of Amrita School of Pharmacy, was held virtually on 14th August 2021 via Microsoft Teams platform

Highlights

• Active participation by many alumni and faculty
• Alumni shared their memorable college and hostel life experiences
• Various interesting games were conducted as a part of the meet

The UAE chapter of the Alumni Association of Amrita School of Pharmacy organized a meeting and get-together at Hotel Calicut Paragon, Karama Dubai on 18th December 2022. Dr.Sabitha M, Principal, Amrita School of Pharmacy presided over the function, and Mr.Abdul Jamal, Manager, Aster Pharmacy who is also an alumnus of the institution was the chief guest. Around 40 alumni from different batches of D.Pharm, B.Pharm, M.Pharm and Pharm D and family members of a few of them attended the meeting. Mr.Abdul Jamal inaugurated the program by lighting a lamp and addressed the gathering. Principal in her address reminded the duties of a human as well as a professional and encouraged the UAE Alumni chapter to initiate activities for fulfilling some of such duties. The meeting witnessed the launch of a LinkedIn page of the UAE chapter with an aim to guide those who look for job opportunities in UAE and it was also decided to raise funds for financial support for selected students in the college as well to conduct educational seminars by UAE alumni for students. The core committee members who worked for organizing the meeting were Dr.Visagh Udayakumar of B.Pharm 2010 & M. Pharm 2015 batch, Ms.Mable John of B.Pharm 2006 and M.Pharm 2010 batch, Dr. Jisha Das of Pharm. D 2011 batch, Mr. Vishnu S of B. Pharm 2009 batch, Mr. Aneesh S of B. Pharm 2007 & Pharm. D P.B 2011 batch, Mr.Vishnu Nambalat of B. Pharm 2012 batch and Ms.Maneesha S.A of B. Pharm 2012 & M. Pharm 2016 batch. Members of the new committee were selected and different cultural programs, and memory sharing by alumni as well as a Shinkari melam added color to the event

Amrita School of Pharmacy, Kochi Campus, celebrated the Pharma Arts Fest-DHWANI 2022 from 5th to 14th of December 2022, hosted by 2020 Batch Bpharm and PharmD students under the guidance of Dr.Sabitha.M (Principal, Amrita School of Pharmacy) and Arts committee in an offline mode. Our icon was Bhagavathy theyyam, symbolising our talents and representing our support and commitment towards our culture. Our theme was: United by culture, bound by service, recovered by strength.

The cultural extravaganza included various off-stage events conducted from 5th-9th of December 2022 from 3-5pm and on stage events on 10th,12th and 13th of December 2022 at college auditorium. For the first time in the history of Amrita School of Pharmacy the teachers and non-teaching staff spreaded the colours of enthusiasm with an amazing dance performance that heightened the excitement of the event.

The final day of arts was held at Annexe auditorium on 14th of December 2022 wherein the suspense of Dhwani was unveiled by the esteemed presence of Sri.Aravind Venugopal who gifted us a bunch of golden memories with his mesmerising performance. The chief guest released the Annual Magazine:’SAMVED 2022′ and presented awards of Kalaprathibha: Mr.Sreeram Sathyan ,Kalathilakam:Ms.Anjana Menon, Emerging talent from first year:Ms.Sreenandhana.The ever-rolling trophy for arts was bagged by SAMUDRA 2019 Batch who received the trophy from the chief guest. The event is still cherished by the Instagram page named Dhwani.