About the Centre

The four-year undergraduate programme introduced under NEP 2020 (UGCF-2022) devotes the entire final year (Semesters VII and VIII) to research projects and dissertations. To support this shift, Ram Lal Anand College established the Skill Development Centre in Genomics, a dedicated facility that lets large batches of undergraduates carry out meaningful research despite limited wet-lab space. The Centre gives students direct, hands-on experience in next-generation sequencing (NGS), genomics, and metagenomics. It also serves as a research resource for doctoral scholars, faculty, and external research groups.

Our Objectives
  • Hands-on training for undergraduates: Provide undergraduate students in microbiology and computer science at the college with hands-on experience and skill development in next-generation sequencing, genomics, metagenomics, and related areas.
  • Dissertation research Projects: Foster research in fields such as metagenomics, genomics, and transcriptomics for B.Sc. (Hons) Microbiology dissertations.
  • Training for the wider academic community: Offer training opportunities to students and faculty from other colleges (on chargeable basis) of University of Delhi and other universities.
  • Doctoral research support: Provide research support to PhD students specializing in genomics, metagenomics and meta-transcriptomics registered under the RLA faculty.
  • Sequencing and analysis services: Offering sequencing and analysis services on chargeable basis to research groups
Why the Centre Matters

The Centre connects classroom learning with real-world research, equipping students, scholars, and collaborators with the skills, experience, and resources to do high-quality genomics work.

  • Enriching Undergraduate Learning
    The Centre links classroom learning to real research. Students apply concepts from their core courses, including molecular biology, genetics, recombinant DNA technology, advances in microbiology, environmental microbiology, and bioinformatics, to live research problems. This deepens their understanding of the foundations of modern biology. Working on projects in current, fast-moving areas of research, students gain experience that can lead to: publications in peer-reviewed journals; presentations at national and international conferences; a strong research portfolio for graduate studies and careers
  • Building Skills for Careers
    Students trained at the Centre learn sequencing data analysis and widely used bioinformatics pipelines, skills that are in high demand in academia and industry. For students planning postgraduate study or a research career, this experience gives them a clear competitive advantage.
  • Interdisciplinary Collaboration
    Genomics draws on many fields. The Centre encourages collaboration across departments, including Microbiology, Computer Science, Geology, and Statistics, so that students and faculty can approach research questions from several angles.
  • Support for Doctoral Research
    With sequencing available in-house, PhD scholars no longer need to depend on outside agencies. This saves time and cost and gives them greater control over their data.
  • Research Impact and Innovation
    Work carried out at the Centre adds to scientific knowledge in genetics, genomics, evolutionary biology, personalised medicine, and environmental science. The Centre also aims to be a hub for innovation and technology transfer. It welcomes partnerships with industry that could lead to new biotechnological applications.
Facilities & Equipment

The Centre is equipped to handle the full workflow, from preparing DNA and RNA to sequencing and analysing the data.

  • Sequencing: Oxford Nanopore MinION sequencer: a portable long-read sequencing platform that produces data in real time.
  • Sample Preparation & Quality Control: Qubit 4.0 Fluorometer: for accurate measurement of DNA and RNA concentration; PCR thermal cycler for amplifiying target DNA, Gel electrophoresis unit for separateing nucleic acids by size; Gel documentation system to capture and records gel images, Refrigerated microcentrifuge for processing samples at low, controlled temperatures.
  • Storage: −20 °C freezer: For storage of samples and reagents
Contact / Enquiries
Prof Prerna Diwan, Coordinator

Professor, Department of Microbiology
Ram Lal Anand College, University of Delhi 5,
Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi-110021
Phone- 91-11-24112557 (Office)
Email: prernadiwan.mic@rla.du.ac.in
Mobile: 91-9871290711