Department of Biophysics

About Department of Biophysics

The Department of Biophysics at Panjab University was established in the year 1964 with a vision to strengthen the field of Basic Medical Science of Panjab University. It originated with Electro-Physiology, Radiation Biophysics and Electron Microscopy. Apart from the traditional areas in Biophysics such as Cell and Molecular Biophysics, Radiation Biophysics, Membrane Biophysics and Neuro-Biophysics, the Department had put in efforts in recent times to move into new emerging areas such as Molecular Modelling, Bioinformatics, Molecular Imaging, Translational research in Cancer, Molecular Medicine Nano-biophysics, structural biology and Nuclear Medicine. Advances in these areas have paved a way for the designing and development of drugs and medical technologies for the welfare of mankind.

It is the only department in India, which offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the discipline of Biophysics (under the framework of Honours School System). The department also offers excellent research opportunities leading to the award of Ph.D. degree. The courses being offered in the three years B.Sc. Honours and two years M.Sc. Biophysics programme have been planned in such a way to provide a broad base in the subject and can be accepted in the diverse fields of biomedical sciences as well as life sciences. The department is also actively involved in collaborations with other departments of various Universities/Institutes for multidisciplinary research.

The strong base of the department has been built by its Veterans and nurtured by the current faculty. The department has a good number of publications to its credit which include research papers, review articles, books, national and international patents, and number of research projects sponsored by national and international agencies. The faculty has also been bestowed with several renowned Academic and Research awards that simply convey the success story.

World over, the alumni from this department have been well recognized and many of them occupy coveted positions in academia, industry, medical institutions and research institutions. In the last few years, around fifty alumni have been awarded international doctoral as well as post-doctoral fellowships.

The department has been selected by UGC for Special Assistance Program (SAP) DSA-Phase-I based for its accomplishments in research and education. Moreover, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India also has accorded it with the status of "DST-FIST Supported Department". The department has also received financial support in the form of PURSE grant. Currently, the department is also looking forward for a Public-Private Partnership Programme such as DBT-BIRAC, which supports research schemes to facilitate academia and industry collaboration.