Department of Life Sciences, IUB

10/05/2026

Congratulations Tanfia !

Bangladeshi student Tanfia Khan Disha from Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) has been selected for the 2026 Hansen Leadership Institute (HLI), a fully funded international leadership fellowship hosted at the University of San Diego in California, United States.

07/05/2026

Aurpita Rani Paul, MS student in the Department of Life Sciences at IUB, has been awarded the National Science and Technology (NST) Fellowship 2025-2026 under the Food and Agricultural Science category. The NST Fellowship is awarded by the Ministry of Science and Technology to selected student researchers based on scientific merit and relevance to national research priorities. Aurpita’s research proposal, titled “Improving Heat Tolerance in Rice Variety (Oryza sativa) through CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Knockout of HTA1 Gene,” is being conducted under the supervision of Dr. Sabrina M Elias, Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences.

Read more: https://iub.ac.bd/news-and-events/news-archive/2026-May/69fc71486495009b7ff7ff21

28/04/2026

The Department of Life Sciences of IUB organized a workshop on Modern Mushroom Cultivation Techniques on April 27, 2026. A total of 20 mushroom cultivators and entrepreneurs from different parts of the country participated in the session and shared their challenges and experiences.
From enriching household nutrition to generating income for marginal families, mushrooms have emerged as a promising crop, but fungal contamination remains a persistent challenge – often beginning in a single spawn bag and spreading rapidly to devastate entire farms.
To address this, Dr. Jebunnahar Khandakar, Associate Professor of Life Sciences at IUB, developed an innovative method after nearly three years of research that prevents the spread of harmful fungi without reducing yield, while remaining safe for both the environment and human health.
The workshop aimed to do two things: first, answering farmers’ questions about this new technique and gathering feedback to improve it further; and second, help entrepreneurs better understand the longstanding challenge of sustainable market access to increase profitability.
Read more: https://iub.ac.bd/.../2026-April/69f02b2d059848198a2a5ac3

26/04/2026

Congratulations to Fatema Binte Younus from Department of Life Sciences who has achieved the Champion title in the Poster Presentation (Food and Agriculture Category) competition at the 6th International Young Biotechnologist Congress 2026,. The event was held at the Nawab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban, University of Dhaka on the occasion of DNA day on 25th April, 2026, organized by the Network of Young Biotechnologists of Bangladesh (NYBB).
Her poster titled “Enhancing Food Value and Flavor: Introducing Koji-Based Fermented Foods Using Indigenous Bangladeshi Rice,” impressed the judges with its innovation and relevance. The project focused on using local rice varieties to develop koji-based fermented foods and the objective was to introduce fermented food into the regular Bangladeshi diet.
This project was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Jannatul Ferdous and Dr. Arafat Al Mamun with the involvement of the Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS), University of Dhaka. The study highlighted how fermentation can enhance nutritional value, improve gut health and digestibility, enrich flavour and offer a sustainable and culturally adaptable approach to food innovation in Bangladesh.
This achievement reflects her dedication and contribution to advancing food biotechnology and promoting healthier dietary practices in Bangladesh. She is currently enrolled in the Masters in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics program of Independent University Bangladesh. We wish her the best for her future endeavours.

26/04/2026

22/04/2026

The "Life Science for Sustainable Environment" poster presentation is an event organized by the School of Environment and Life Sciences at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), scheduled for June 11, 2026. Open to both college and university students, the competition invites groups of one to three participants to present on specific themes like biotechnology, AI in agriculture, bioremediation, and climate solutions. Interested students must submit an abstract by April 30, with the selection announcement following on May 20. Beyond the chance to win prize money, all participants will receive a certificate of recognition.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Abstract submission deadline: 30 April, 2026
Selection Announecement: 20 May, 2026
Final Event: June 11th, 2026

Registration Link: https://forms.gle/eXW3kPkpAPMqnUd26

18/04/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Jebunnahar Khandakar, Associate Professor, DLS, IUB and her team for the new publication contributing to the improved Mushroom production in Bangladesh. The article is published in the journal Applied Food Research and available in the following link.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772502226003513

In summary, the article describes how partial composting of sawdust substrate reduces green mold contamination by Trichoderma spp. in oyster mushroom cultivation. The process alters substrate chemistry, lowers free sugars, enriches lignin accessibility, and reshapes microbial communities, enhancing mushroom mycelial growth, yield, and mineral content, offering a sustainable, non-chemical strategy for improved mushroom production.

31/03/2026

The Department of Life Sciences is going to arrange a seminar on "Vibrio cholerae as a Model for Multidisciplinary Studies in Pathogenic Bacteria", as a part of its regular activity each semester.
This time the speaker is renowned scientist and our very own Prof Shah M Faruque, Professor, Department of Life Sciences, IUB
You are welcome to join the semminar.

Date: 02/04/2026
Time: 11:00 AM
Venue: DMK Lecture Gallery

26/02/2026