Department Profile

The Department of Zoology has already completed 29 years in its academic and research pursuits to achieve excellence in respect of infrastructural developments, research orientations, and teaching services to the students in particular and to cater to the need of the human society of the South-Western region of the state of West Bengal, India in general. After the establishment of the Department of Zoology in the year 1990 with 1 Professor and 2 Lecturers , the faculty strength of the Department has reached to 8 (4 Professors, 2 Associate Professors, 1 Assistant Professor and 1 vacant post for Assistant Professor). In course of the 29 years of academic journey of the department, more than 2000 post-graduate students could successfully complete their post-graduation in the subject of zoology. So far, more than 90 passed out students have qualified in the NET/GATE/SETs examinations and other similar competitive examinations. Intake capacity of PG students for every year has been increased from the initial of 30 students to the present roll strength of 57 students . The department was started with two special papers but has now expanded to offering four special papers viz. Fishery, Ecology, Genetics & Molecular Biology and Parasitology covering different classical and modern aspects of the subject Zoology. More than 100 research scholars have so far been awarded with Ph.D. degrees under the guidance of the faculties of this department. The Department has also earned the confidence of several sponsoring agencies like DST, FIST. UGC, MEF, WBPCB, CSIR etc. and succeeded to receive grants amounting to several cores of rupees. The Department has so far completed two dozen of research projects including several consultancy projects which have resulted publications of more than 400 research papers by the faculties in different research journals of National and International repute. The post graduate students having NET/SLET/GATE etc. from other Universities of West Bengal, other states of India and even from abroad enjoying International Research Fellowship have enrolled and registered themselves for Ph.Ds. in the Department. The faculties of the Department have been invited to deliver invited talks, keynote addresses, lead lectures in several national and international conferences in India and abroad.

Getting the support from the own University and also from several research projects, the department has been able to develop and possess around 8 thousand square feet area with three big laboratories, two large well equipped class rooms, one departmental library, one well-furnished computer room having 25 computers, one departmental instrumentation room, sitting cum laboratories of the faculties and one office room. The main thrust of department, right now, is to upgrade and modernize the teaching-learning process (couple of classrooms and laboratories have been upgraded) and by developing state-of-the-art: Biodiversity Museum under the auspices of the department, which are expected to cater to academic needs of students of the department in one hand and also to meet the thrust of research information of other interested persons from the outsides including the students of other colleges and schools which certainly will develop and enhance the awareness pertaining to the local indigenous biodiversity resources of this region.

Present Faculty Strength is: Professor – 4; Associate Professor – 2; Assistant Professor – 1; Assistant Professor – Vacant

Number of Nonteaching staff: 2

Presently Total area of Zoology department: More than 5000 sq.fts. (Approx.), with Two- Lecture halls having learning aids and one with smart class room facility with leaching learning aids, Two- General Laboratories, One departmental instrumentation room, Four- Special paper laboratories, One- Computer laboratory with networking facility, One- Departmental Library, One Biodiversity Museum, one continuous flow aquarium house, Field Demonstration site for Aquaculture, Vermitechnology and Sericulture.

Syllabus has been revised twice during last five years tenure (2016 and 2018) in order to make a blend between classical and modern aspects of Zoology. Semester mode of teaching includes: Class teaching, Laboratory Work, Project work, Field Study and Internal Assessment.

Department is running with three special papers:

• Fishery
• Ecology
• Genetics & Molecular Biology
• Parasitology

Present student intake capacity: 58 per semester

To enrich the academic programs a number of eminent faculties and leading scientists from different Universities and Research Institutes are involved as visiting Professor.

Research Activities of last five years

• Research Projects completed: 10
• Ongoing Research Projects: 09
• Total Research Project’s Grants during last 5 years : 2,93,67706.00
• Sponsoring Agencies: UGC, DST, DBT, WBPCB, PHED, WBDST, Dept. of Fisheries, Govt. of WB.
• Consultancy Projects :
• Ph.D. Awarded : 25
• Ph.D. Registered : 34
• 181 Research Papers have been published in peer reviewed journals in last 5 years.

Instruments available in the department

• Thermal cycler (PCR), Applied Biosystem
• Spectrophotometer, Shimadzu
• Gel Doc with attached computer, BioRad
• Trinocular Microscope, Carl Zeiss
• Trinocular Bright Field Microscope, Carl Zeiss
• Water Quality Analyzer
• Cold room (-4°C)
• -20°C Freezer
• Gel Electrophoresis Apparatus , BioRad & Cleaver Scientific
• Water Distillation plant , Borosil
• BOD Incubators
• 37°C Shaker Incubator

Collaborative approach of the Department

• Since the Inception, the Department has developed a strong collaborative research efforts with CMFRI –Cochin and CARI-PortBlair on Sundarban Mangrove Ecosystem Sponsored by ICAR, NATP
• Another International collaborative research projects with Centre for Woman Developmental Studies, New Delhi on “Woman Empowerment and Rural Biotechnology” funded by UNIFEM (UNDP) was completed.
• Presently during the last 5 years, the department has produced a number of Ph.D and Research papers in collaboration with several National Institutes and Universities. Some of them are listed below:
  • Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics , Kolkata
  • Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata
  • Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, West Bengal
  • CIFE, Mumbai
  • University of Calcutta
  • School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata
  • National Institute of Cholera & Enteric Diseases (NICED, ICMR), Kolkata
  • Dept. of Zoology, Burdwan University
  • Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani

Outreach Activities

• Academic and research services in the form of organizing workshops /Field Studies to disseminate the standardized Rural Biotechnological Tools like:
  • Vermitechnology
  • Sericulture
  • Aquaculture
• Research projects involving the marginalized local people of ‘Jangalmahal’, for the fruitful execution, implementation and dissemination of knowledge and technology to grass root levels of the society.

Research Areas

• Coastal Biodiversity & Bio-resource management
• Plankton diversity
• Fish olfaction & Ultrastructure
• Fish Nutrition
• Vector epidemiology
• Cancer Biology
• Genetic polymorphism and Inflammation Immunology