Good day, Dr. V. Veena. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia.

Uh, I'm Doctor Reena, uh, currently I'm working in jail. In my situation, I completed my PhD from Pondicherry University.

And I worked before in Rava University for five years, and you say it's what year? So I feel VIT is like instead of moments where it is lots of importance to national and international importance. And not only that, research is a major focus.

So I feel the quality of the education as well as research in among the universities best in reality. So I would like to join the relationship.

Thank you for sharing that, Dr. Reena.

Dr. Veena, thank you for providing us with your impressive academic and professional background. This process will help us assess your suitability for the role described: a Biomedical Genetics Professor focusing on teaching, mentoring, research, and institutional contributions. Let us begin. You hold a PhD in Biotechnology from Pondicherry University and have notable achievements, including the Research Excellence Award – 2025 and election as a Fellow of the Young Academy of India in 2021. Could you elaborate on one of your key research projects, such as "Phytomediated curcumin-decorated gold and silver nanoparticles for biomedical applications"? Specifically, what was the scientific contribution and its potential relevance in the field of biomedical genetics?

I'm being a bi technologist, I teach for allergies even the molecular biology and microchip in some, also with genetic counseling courses in general university. So I see about my research passion. I'm very much passionate about my research where I work with the cancer cell lines and individual studies basically.

Going with the.

Indian knowledge systems where we can improve the phytochemicals phyto based chemopreventive, chemopreventive or antiphonic antioxidant as well studies. So if I say about my contribution, yes I have.

They authored as a corresponding author around 32 papers among which 15 is my research article. So along with this I do collaborate with chemistry department where I work with some of the carbon.

Using molecules, how we can use it as a portrait for cancer and not only that, some of the structure activity relationship in case of personal history, I would like to be on that. So now my focus is on how they're genetically modifying the cells and how what is the input like epigenetic kind of mechanism. So basically now I started moving towards the phytomedicine because many are cases our phytomedicine or.

Medicines don't have proper molecular medicines, so targeting that particular thing, what are the genes that is expressed that is induced because of certain hydrochemicals especially which are can be developed as a drug molecule or chemotherapy is my research area.

So apart from this genetics, I will check about the beginning level expressions.

So that will be my contributions and I have two patents connected with this.

Thank you,

Dr. Veena, thank you for sharing your significant contributions and passion for research in the areas of cancer cell lines, phytochemical-based therapies, and genetic mechanisms. It’s impressive to hear about your focus on identifying how phytochemicals can be harnessed, as well as your work on genetic modifications and epigenetics for therapeutic advancements. Publishing 32 authored papers, being the corresponding author in 15 research articles, and possessing two patents further highlight your strong academic and research profile. To delve deeper, could you expand on how your research integrates into the teaching space? Specifically, how do you adapt your advanced research—such as your work in phytomedicine and genetic studies—for an undergraduate or graduate-level classroom setting? How do you ensure students effectively grasp such complex material?

Yeah, it's, uh, generally in my course I use a project based learning and flip classrooms and also article writing. So during the article writing, they'll be getting the video of literature. During project based learning, I give some of the experimental things that can be done. Say for example, they can identify a plan that is very specific for particular. Disorder. So I would like to ask them how you can do for extraction.

And how you can extract and how you can derive the material right from purchasing, authenticating the material and also for various extraction procedure. After extraction, students will also do small laboratory experiments and they will give the rest. So this is like without purification, they will go ahead. So in case of PhD students, we can collaborate with them and also ask them to do.

Studies where they will learn some of the important ethics, molecular techniques like cytotoxicity, assaying cell cultures. They can also check the gene level expression, what happens to the DNA, the phytomycin is given. Not only that, we can also test in the in vivo systems where we don't need technical committees like C elegans. And also we have earthworms, we also have.

Either a fish model where we can test the toxicity and through that we can integrate the research.

Uh, the lab, I mean the coming forces. So based upon that, I have few two articles in my previous experience where we have also published in journals. So that will be more careful. So that is one example. The second thing is while they are doing article writing, we can also give some survey based studies where they can prepare a questionnaire based upon the ethical concern whether it should go for institutional or national, you can get a approval.

If there's not needed some cultural information in case of patient studies we can take and that can be incorporated to obtain primary data that can be used other ways is also we can get a secondary data already exist in certain websites and with the help of the formation of the primary authors then we can utilize that for extracting as a research article or some of the papers that is conducted. So all these things I practice in my teaching.

Where I incorporate experiential learning that they obtain also do some laboratory experiment that comes as a research. So that's how even we are going ahead with the some of the biomedical genetics using some of the cell lines. So for example, we have primary cell lines that you can extract with small ethical committee concerns and you can treat the drugs and see how exactly acting on the normal sense. So we can do few assays and studies connected.

Yeah. So that will be more helpful for the students when they graduate.

Dr. Veena, it's clear that you have a well-structured and interactive approach to teaching. Incorporating project-based learning, flipped classrooms, and article writing provides students with both theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience. Encouraging activities such as plant material extraction, gene-level expression studies, and toxicity evaluation on various model organisms seems highly effective, particularly for developing critical thinking and independent research skills. Engaging both undergraduate and graduate students in experiential learning, like the ethical aspects of molecular techniques and primary/secondary data analysis, demonstrates a commitment to research-integrated teaching. Your focus on practical applications, such as testing phytochemicals on primary cell lines and facilitating assay studies, equips students with relevant, advanced skills for their future. A follow-up on this: Given your depth in experiential teaching, how do you assess the success of your students’ learning outcomes? Specifically, how do you measure their ability to transition from understanding basic concepts to applying them in advanced, research-driven scenarios?

So basically I'll just check the results how they are.

And there will be some lots of Corrections where they might have gone it troubleshoot that. We identify what is the major need for it. Then we correct that. We again get some more data and there may be some extra validation that is required. When we convert that as a paper, say, for example, students would have come with testing it, but they tell the activity is not there, but they're not measured exactly. So when you do the exact quantification, they understand what.

Whether it is twofold, threefold or it is something. And along with this, we also take the statistics into consideration whether it is being worked or what. Along with this, we should also use some positive controls for those books. And if the material is very good than the positive control, then we go ahead with the publication of patents. And if we feel it is novel, many people are working on it. So we directly file a patent.

I think uh, patent of called provisional patent and we give some time for the students like this is your 12 months time. I need so many solutions. I want you to work on the standard protocol. I need a proper research. So we also sit with rounds with them and design it properly as per the need. As for the, even the review of literature, not only review of literature, we also check with some of the patent review literature because since many of my work is concerned with the patents.

We wanted to try to patent it and go ahead with licensing or go ahead with going for startups. So we just patented and asked the students to work on it and get the results. So if the significant we go ahead with complete specification filing and get published and we go ahead with the thing. So based upon this, I have one or two patents conducted. So that is how I train them. If there is no results, we also publish that because no results or negative.

It is also one of the reasons we try to publish that with some more, uh, works to be done.

So basically, uh, based upon the outcome which they get, the feasibility, sometimes the students will get a small available work. So we wanted to enhance that. And sometimes people within basic level of work when it comes to postgraduate students. So we try to give some more literature searching capacity. And now we have AI teams also. So I teach some of the AI teams for them to get some data to organize some of the things. And then so this is how I'm.

In the students to get into some of the important things like can we move forward?

That project outcomes or research connected with them.

Dr. Veena, thank you for elaborating on how you guide your students in achieving meaningful research outcomes, emphasizing troubleshooting, validation, appropriate use of controls, and ensuring robust statistical analysis. The steps you take—from identification of errors to redesigning protocols and involving students in patent filing—demonstrate a meticulous and forward-looking approach. Encouraging your students to patent promising discoveries and even promoting the potential for startup opportunities shows a commitment to nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial thinking within the academic framework. It is also commendable that you ensure both successful and negative outcomes are documented and published, emphasizing the importance of learning from all experimental results. Additionally, integrating modern tools like AI into research and literature review processes showcases your proactive approach toward equipping students with contemporary skills. Let's now explore your teaching philosophy further. How do you ensure inclusivity and accommodation for diverse student backgrounds and experiences, particularly when teaching complex subjects such as molecular biology and genetics in a collaborative setting?

Yeah, teaching with the boys background of students is like challenging but we can make it little interesting. Now you have gamification strategies that is coming. So where the games is given and there are also basic 2 advanced level of simulation studies that is offered. So one example is forward University of Lab 16 program. So I use that tools.

To check how they can do lab stimulation before going to lab, they can do that one and produce and they will have learned the basic concept rather than going in directly learning in a lab. So that is helpful for me to certain extent. I'll give some projects connected with that also not only with the basic technique, but also with the advanced technique while giving some problem how to extract this, how to do this, how to take the pipette, how to change the pipettes and how to use the.

From basic.

Intermediate to advanced level.

Investigator this is and if results are not coming how do we troubleshoot whether what is the problem how to identify those things I take a help of this website tools and apart from this I also use some of the AI organizing tools to check whether they are working or so I give some of the timelines there has to come up with some timelines and show the results it's positive or negative then we will sit back and we will identify what is the issue and also.

When it comes to transdisciplinary projects like for example, molecular biology, so to understand how DNA can be extracted and this is done at the basic level, even tensile. But when it comes to MSC level, BSc level, we teach them how to use the advanced technique like using the string columns, how to extract it faster. What are the samples that you can use what you can.

Derive at it and then based upon it we give someone more assignments and then they get more and more.

Then later on they will, they can do Western blotting, they can do either of gel electrophoresis blotting and other techniques to identify. It takes some time, but laboratory things, we try to give them some time, but also we make sure that the students should be available because it's not going to be done in one or two hours. It will take half a day, sometime one a day. So we try to adjust, to consider students, to understand how it can be done. And now we have sequencing techniques too.

So we have NGS platforms also like Nanopore and other stuff. So I just ask them how to go ahead with it and also share some of the tutorials and video animation, simulation studies also which will help for them to learn from the basic level. In fact, rather than teaching also, they can also learn that as a user in flip classrooms. Then we will sit and data analysis is one of the important thing that takes lots of time. So for that we try to make the students to sit and.

So that's how I connect molecular genetics like when I'm teaching molecular complex studies that I use most of simulation studies and then I ask them to work in the laboratory and correlate that with the expression studies or whatever it is that will help them to understand more clearly. And nowadays students are more enthusiastic in such type of studies and gamification strategies.

Dr. Veena, thank you for sharing your innovative teaching strategies, particularly in dealing with the diverse backgrounds of students. Leveraging gamification strategies, simulation tools like Lab 16, and AI-supported organization tools are exemplary methods to bridge gaps in understanding and foster engagement. By structuring lessons to progress from fundamentals to advanced techniques, you effectively demonstrate a commitment to inclusive education while maintaining rigorous academic standards. Offering hands-on projects and troubleshooting exercises, along with incorporating advanced techniques like gel electrophoresis, Western blotting, and NGS platforms, is instrumental in preparing students for real-world applications in molecular biology and genetics. Integrating simulations and tutorials into flipped classroom models further reflects your adaptability to modern teaching methods. Encouraging collaborative learning through practical data analysis and problem-solving also highlights your persistent focus on skill-building and critical thinking. With this in mind, I’d like to move to another focus area. Could you describe how you mentor students in collaborative research, particularly for interdisciplinary projects? For example, how do you facilitate collaborations between departments or even with industry partners, considering your focus on patents and translational research?

Yeah, currently I'm doing that. I'm a program coordinator for one of the industry related.

Course which is called clinical Embryology and assisted reproductive technology. So where we try to submit the students to get the samples, especially the samples something with technology department. So we collect that and we check some of the important psychomedicines on it. So how they're going to protect these gamuts.

And when it comes to interdisciplinary, there are molecular biologists, there are embryologists, there are industry partners. So in case of industry, we need some of the ethical concern that should be there. So first we're going to take up proposals connected with that and validity of the proposals they're going to propose and get the ethical committee clearance. Then we allow the students to work on those projects. Especially there are some of the set of tools that we have to follow while we are collecting the samples. Once the samples is collected, then we are going to.

Store the samples and use the samples in the level. Say for example, I would like to study how what is the fragmentation effect of the schools that is obtained in the Android and especially people, patients who come with some of the defects where they cannot have a proper thing to consider. So especially when it comes to male infertility issues, we take the semen sample, we check what is the fragmentation level of DNA and other steps and what is the effect.

And we also check the background of that particular patient, what and all is the habit that these following right from age as well as the office. Then we check at gene level to certain degradation and other stuffs. We also check with the addition of some of the phytochemicals, check whether it can stop the DNA time.

So these are all simple, simple experiments I do and I also collaborate with one of the Embryology Research Center in Bangalore for this particular purpose where I integrate. Not only this, there are some theory in labs and connecting with them and how academia works, how industry works, That's my bridge here. So whichever there is feasibility to do research, we concentrate on that, feasibility of skill development for the students to concentrate on those. So that's actually my work.

Uh, previous to this, I also had one of the diagnostic, uh, industry, which is 26 years old industry, so where I connected the diagnostic uh, labs, how to prepare the students to be paid for diagnostic labs and simple search oriented. So this is how I mentored the students. Say, for example, if it is interdisciplinary, I would check the capacity of the students, what they can do, and if they are very good, they can also learn the other subjects. For example, embryologists, they only do.

Collection stored in the samples, if we can teach some of them to extract the DNA, to run the jail or to run some of the aspects, we can check with that. If they're trained, they can do their individual projects along with some. So that's how I am mentoring the students. Sometimes it happens to be even from the psychology department. We take a counseling aspects and check some of the results connected with psychological things and the gene level expression, whether the gene.

Already recorded for some of the things that is contributing for infertility, we also check with. So I'm doing interdisciplinary, sometimes transdisciplinary workflows.

Dr. Veena, you’ve outlined a highly impactful and interdisciplinary approach to research mentoring. Coordinating industry-linked programs such as Clinical Embryology and Assisted Reproductive Technology exemplifies your ability to bridge academia with practical, industry-relevant applications. Your structured methodology—from ethical clearances to sample collection, storage, and experimental procedures—demonstrates a clear focus on both process compliance and educational outcomes. Collaborating with centers like Embryology Research Centers and diagnostic labs, while training students in advanced molecular biology techniques, highlights your role in extending their skill set beyond traditional academic boundaries. Introducing students to interdisciplinary workflows, such as integrating psychological studies with molecular and genetic research, broadens their learning horizons and fosters a transdisciplinary perspective—essential in cutting-edge fields like reproductive technology and diagnostics. Finally, tailoring mentorship based on the capabilities of individual students while fostering collaboration across disciplines, including molecular biology, embryology, and psychology, underscores your dedication to nurturing well-rounded, skilled professionals. You’ve made a compelling case for your ability to mentor and prepare students for both research and industry. From here, let’s consider another dimension: how have you contributed to research publications in reputed journals, and how do you integrate that experience into advising students on scholarly publications? For instance, what strategies do you employ to guide them through crafting manuscripts, targeting appropriate journals, and handling peer reviews?

Hello, are you there?

Yeah. So actually we are under progress for some of the manuscript and project that is developed. So we I'm working on some of those aspects how we can convert it. One is regarding PCOD samples. So we are working on some of the phytochemicals that work on PCOD. So that has gone for some small confidence presentation. I am yet to do some of the scientific validation that goes for a quality publication.

Working on that. So basically it is in progress when I'm taking assisted reproductive technology, but other some of the manuscript is already published in the research articles like Journal of Biomedical Research and other stuff.

Thank you, Dr. Veena, for sharing your current progress and your commitment to high-quality research publications. It's commendable that you are methodically advancing your work on PCOD and phytochemicals, aligning it with scientific validation for eventual publication. Your achievements in publishing within journals such as the Journal of Biomedical Research further reinforce your ability to contribute to reputed academic literature. When advising students on scholarly publications, do you follow a specific framework? For instance, how do you mentor them on selecting impactful journals, structuring manuscripts, and responding effectively to peer review feedback? How do you ensure their work meets the standards of high-impact research?

No, I'm not happy to work in anything because I can't progress more in the advance.

Our scheduled time for the interview is now up. Before we conclude, do you have any questions related to the role or the company?

And when I'm considering the manuscript writing and other steps, I do give some training for them. Apart from this, I give how to cite the articles properly and to check the quality of work.

And some of the journals like I always go ahead with this focus index journals rather than the very less qualitative work and search how they can do and get the math. There is a scientific writing and other trainings that we can give for students additionally so that they'll come up. Now we have some of the AI tools that is helps us for writing it. So I'm introducing that in my curriculum.

The research. Fashion.

I will get serious.

Dr. Veena, it’s admirable that you integrate key aspects of manuscript development—including article citation, journal quality assessment, and scientific writing—into your mentoring process. Focusing on instructing students to aim for Scopus-indexed journals underlines your emphasis on academic rigor and impactful publication. Your inclusion of AI tools in the curriculum also reflects adaptability to modern research methodologies, ensuring students are equipped for the evolving academic landscape. With this, I believe we’ve covered extensive ground regarding your teaching methodologies, research contributions, and mentoring strategies. Is there anything else you’d like to share or discuss before we conclude the session?

My penis image. I'm waiting for the next one.

I’m here to focus on the interview questions and your professional expertise. If there’s anything specific related to the academic or job context that you’d like to discuss, feel free to let me know. Otherwise, if you have no further questions or comments, we can conclude this session.

Yeah, we can.

To confirm, are you explicitly requesting to end the interview? If so, please let me know clearly.

I think we can conclude the sessions. Uh, I don't have much queries connected with the curriculum.