Christopher Lowe

CHENNAI: This is something Indian students ought to know.

Pursuing biotechnology is best at the postgraduate level and that too by those who have fundamental knowledge in Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Biochemistry.

This observation was made by Christopher R. Lowe, Director, Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, during his recent visit to Chennai.

A researcher and teacher for over 35 years, he holds more than 40 patents and his efforts have spawned more than half a dozen companies involved in the high-end areas of biotechnology.

Prof. Lowe told The Hindu that he received applications from Indian students with biotechnology or engineering degrees, but not many were considered because the applications-oriented biotech PG course required fundamental knowledge in Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Biochemistry.

The Institute of Biotechnology, founded in 1988, works in a range of areas such as biosensors, optics, electrochemistry, polymers, proteomics, spectroscopy, cell cycle control, genetics, protein engineering, molecular biology, waste water processing, medical and animal biotech areas. And each of these areas requires the knowledge of one or the other basic science.

However, Prof. Lowe noted, the quality of the Indian students with whom he got to work with was quite high. He interacted with students of institutes such as the IIT, Anna University and the Vellore Institute of Technology.

Successful work in biotech research lied in the mindset of working in high-end original areas and a good business plan to convert research into good enterprise.

The unique part of the Cambridge institute was weaving in business enterprise as part of the biotechnology course. This helped a student to convert an idea into a successful business plan. ``Our focus even in the initial years was to do high value, high-end research, to turnout only high quality postgraduates (and not undergraduates), interface with and move towards knowledge based industry, and be reasonably entrepreneurial.

``There was a time people looked strangely at us but today the entire world has swung with us and the institute earns £ 3.5 million, including a good part from Government-sponsored research and industry-based research," Prof. Lowe said.

Asked how a similar model could be replicated in India or the third world, he said that for this to happen, the focus of an institution should be sound R and D, good financial plan, right experts in the group, venture capitalists and the right high-end equipment.

Sound academic base

``At the core is a sound academic base around which come up the research enterprises that get external support from the industry."

He pointed to the latest company to come from his institute, Psynova Limited. It was born out of research to create biomarkers for psychiatric disorders.

``The idea is to see whether we can distinguish a person who has schizophrenia from one who does not have it, using biomarkers."

This part of a group does molecular investigations of euro-psychiatric disorders, with a focus on schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder; identifying genes and proteins associated with human psychotic conditions.

``That is the kind of model we are looking at. When we decided to create the company, it was important to have that kind of mindset that will create the scientific infrastructure, its complex equipment, organise the instrumentation, the system... Then it was a question of making people invest in the company, find the start up fund, look for venture capitalists and finally big industry investment for the research work. It is all a matter of gathering experts in this complex discipline of research... ," he concluded.

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