The Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology is one of the few Departments in India having full-fledged academic programme at Postgraduate and Doctoral levels in Toxicology. The Department has made its mark in toxicological research and has been supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) through Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Universities & Higher Educational Institutions (FIST) programme and University Grants Commission (UGC) Special Assistance Programme (SAP). Ph.D degree in Toxicology is being awarded in different fields of toxicology. The Department has collaborative programmes with many reputed institutes such as Indian Institute of Toxicological Research (CSIR), Lucknow; Central Drug Research Institute (CSIR), Lucknow; Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR), Jammu; Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (DRDO), New Delhi etc.
Thrust areas
- Chemoprevention of cancer by plant products/indigenous medicines and standardization of such drugs.
- Targeting the molecular mechanism and elucidation of their plausible role in induction of carcinogenesis in prostate, liver, kidney and skin at preclinical stage.
- Toxic effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
- Neurodegenerative disorders and their protection.
- Role of trace elements in the manifestation of diseases.
- Ecotoxicity of environmental pollutants and their interactive effects.
- Immunotoxicity of drugs and environmental chemicals and its prevention.
- Molecular mechanism of nanoparticles in toxicity manifestation.
- Animal models of arthritis for study of mechanism of action of protective agents.
- Fly lab as an alternate model of toxicology
The Department has received funding support from agencies such as Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Central Council for Research In Unani Medicine (CCRUM), Department of AYUSH, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Environment and Forests and UGC. Every year a good number of students qualify fellowships offered by government agencies. Students who have obtained degree in toxicology have got placements in various companies and R&D institutes such as Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd., CDRI, IITR, Dabur, Torrent, Cadila, Lupin, Dr. Reddy's Laboratory, Sri Ram Institute of Industrial Research, Nestle, Himalaya etc. The Department’s distinguished Alumni as faculty or postdoctoral fellows are spread all over the globe. More emphasis is given to develop academic and research skills of the students. M.Sc. programme has integral component of dissertation work in the fourth semester. After completion of the course students have job opportunities in industry and research organizations. A good number of students qualify NET examinations conducted by UGC-CSIR in life science and forensic science streams. The Department is fully-equipped with sophisticated equipment to perform research in all major fields of toxicology including in vitro and in vivo toxicity studies.