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Life Sciences

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The Life Sciences major gives you a strong foundation to become a world-class scientist and technologist. Someone who is a specialist in the biological sciences and technologies of the future yet has strong interdisciplinary foundations that allow the pursuit of callings and careers outside of the conventional spectrum.

While pursuing the Sustainable Life Sciences major, you will learn the fundamentals of modern biological sciences in its full interdisciplinary span. You will also acquire a comprehensive humanistic education focusing on a broad range of foundations that are essential for all future graduates.

Specializations

While pursuing the Sustainable Life Sciences major, BSc (Hons) and BTech students can choose from three specializations in their third and fourth years of study.

Biotechnology

The discovery of DNA structure has led to a vastly more sophisticated and technological understanding of life processes at the cellular and molecular levels in the past few decades. Biotechnology today is at the forefront of solving some of the greatest challenges facing humans, from novel therapies for difficult diseases like cancer to the rapid development of vaccines against pathogens and all the way to implementing significant extensions of human healthspan.

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

The rise of next-generation sequencing coupled with a massive jump in the power of computing systems has led to the methods of computer science and mathematics revolutionizing the study of biology. A highly interdisciplinary field at the junction of multiple quantitative sciences and technologies, ranging from high-performance computing to AI, is an arena of tremendous growth and applicability within the biological sciences yet with applicability to a wide range of disciplines.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a great challenge of our times. The sustainability track within the life sciences major will focus on a comprehensive understanding of the problems of sustainability in the twenty-first century with a strong focus on specific issues in environmental systems, sustainable ecosystems, and sustainable food production systems.

Please Note : BDes and BBA (PGD) students will specialize in areas of Design or Business Administration.

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.

Marie Curie

Scientist & Nobel Prize winner – 1903 & 1911

Signature Projects

As part of the Sustainable Life Sciences major, you will work on a range of projects.

The Code of Life: Extract and Analyze DNA: Understand the structure and function of DNA and RNA; the information-carrying molecules responsible for all life.

Recombinant DNA: Use Nucleases to Genetically Alter Plasmids: Learn the fundamentals of altering small molecules of DNA using bacterial enzymes.

From Atoms to Cells: Probe Cellular Structure and Theorize About its Atomic Basis – Understand the properties of the building blocks of matter. And use this knowledge to conceptualize how complex arrangements of molecules could come together and be held together into the simplest forms of life.

From Cells to Organisms: Dissect, Image and Theorize About Multicellular Life: Explore the evolution of multicellular life forms from single cells, uncovering principles of cellular organization and communication.

Analyzing Sustainability: Build Environmental and Social Network Maps and Predict Outcomes: Explore the principles of how connected systems survive and sustain themselves, from the level of organisms to societies to entire ecosystems.

Envisioning Cells: Elementary Optical Microscopy: Explore the different methods available to modern scientists that enable them to visualize structural details inside cells and tissues.

Plant and Animal Tissue Processing: Histology and Immunohistochemistry: Learn the fundamentals of sectioning solid biological matter using tissues from animals and plants.

Light Microscopy: Advanced Light Microscopy and Introduction to Epifluorescence Microscopy: Learn the fundamentals of light microscopic systems. You will also learn how to process, handle samples, and acquire images independently.

Data Acquisition Systems: Build Arduino and NIDAQ based time-lapse data acquisition systems: Learn how to build modern data acquisition systems and use them to acquire time-series data from the environment and biological systems.

Data Analysis: Acquire and Analyse Local Air Pollution Data: Explore and implement modern data analysis techniques based on self-acquired data.

Dynamical Systems: Graph and Simulate Interacting Systems: Simulate and analyze interactions in recurrent networks to understand the complexity of actual systems. The fundamentals of ‘systems thinking’ will be embedded with projects such as these.

Please Note: The projects are tentative to change per emerging developments in the field.

Degrees Offered

With the Sustainable Life Sciences major, you can graduate in any of our four degrees.

BSc

For the scientist who will research and implement ideas in the modern biological sciences and biotechnologies.

BDes

For the designer who will design spaces, machines, and structure the interactions that are necessary for an effective conceptualization of systems used in the biological sciences.

BTech

For the engineer who will liaise with scientists to implement and communicate ideas in the modern biological sciences and biotechnologies.

BBA

For the businessperson who will work in the biology industry.

Learning Outcomes

The Sustainable Life Sciences major is designed to train you in a range of interdisciplinary skills and areas.

Develop rigor in scientific reasoning and logic.
Master the ability to conceptualize projects – real-world problems prevalent in industry and research – from the ground up.
Ability to explore and stay curious.
Build a systems-thinking approach to sustainability.
Training in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Genetics.
Training in Data Acquisition and Analysis.
Training in Microscopy and Imaging.
Training in Mathematical Methods for Biological Sciences.
Proficiency in Programming.
Proficiency in handling and shaping material objects. Examples include 3D printing, precision machining, and art.
Ability to conceptualize and execute long-term projects.
Design and Fabrication Skills.
Communication Skills.

Career Outcomes

With a major in Sustainable Life Sciences, a range of career avenues open up for you across industries.

Biotechnology Industry
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Higher education in the Biological Sciences and Biotechnology
Researchers
Facility Managers
Technology Officers
Marketing managers

Competitive Edge With Atria University

Atria University offers you a unique curriculum structure across disciplines to help you re-learn concepts and develop a mindset that is oriented towards becoming future-ready.

An Integrated introduction to modern science and technology

You will draw upon both theory and experiment, delivered through constant immersion in real-world projects that will be conceptualized from the ground up. This is a unique approach grounded in doing what is often considered advanced work from day one.

Location

Atria University is surrounded by some of the most important science and ecology institutions and organizations in India such as NCBS, IISc, GKVK, ATREE, NCF, BioCON, InStem, Bayer, Ccamp, among others. Providing a unique educational environment that exposes students to the best teachers and research in India.

Life Sciences are at the forefront of human discovery in the 21st century

Sustainable Life Sciences hold the key to human health as well as sustaining all life on this earth. While continuing to inspire technologies of the future across multiple disciplines.

The new standard in sciences calls for a close collaboration between disciplines that have traditionally been considered separate. Modern biological sciences, with its sharp focus on technologies and broad systems thinking, is a key area to expand the possibilities for human health and well-being in the 21st century.

As a future graduate, you must integrate knowledge from diverse fields. Understand both the promise and the peril of modern technologies so that you can guide human knowledge towards a more sustainable future.

All instruction will combine experiential, experimental, and theoretical learning into a powerful multimodal form of learning. Offering students and teachers room for experimentation. Practical explorations in various forms (projects of varying intensity and duration) will be coupled with theoretical knowledge. You will also build your ability to read modern scientific literature. These varying pursuits will help you master the tools needed to eventually learn on your own.