Aerial view of the Lumbini tank and gazebo at the HMBGRI campus, venue of the 2025 international workshop
Conferences & events

Conferences

Since 2011, SGRF has brought scientists, students, clinicians and industry together at conferences, symposia and workshops across India.

SGRF Conferences

Our educational outreach

SGRF Conferences, formerly SciGenom Conferences, is the educational outreach arm of the foundation. Its flagship was the NextGen Genomics, Biology, Bioinformatics and Technologies (NGBT) conference, held every year from 2011 to 2019 in a different Indian city, which helped build India's genomics community as next-generation sequencing arrived in the country.

Alongside NGBT, we have hosted focused symposia on clinical genomics, genetic disease, agricultural genomics and rice improvement, and more recently on synthetic biology and on the research potential of Hortus Malabaricus.

Recent events

Workshops and symposia

9–10 August 2025

International workshop: The research potential of Hortus Malabaricus

Hortus Malabaricus Botanical Garden and Research Institute, Cheruthuruthy, Thrissur

A two-day workshop on unravelling the botanical mysteries of Hortus Malabaricus and exploring prospects for future research. Research scholars, academics and policymakers discussed:

  • The botany and history of Hortus Malabaricus
  • Hortus Malabaricus plants in Ayurveda, and their ethnobotany
  • Molecular phylogenetics, phytochemistry and pharmacology
  • Sustainable bioprospecting and plant-based innovation

Organising secretary: Dr Anoop P. Balan, HMBGRI.

19 August 2024

Symposium on Synthetic Biology: Design, construction and testing of biological systems for human therapeutics

PSRT Auditorium, CUSAT, Kalamassery, Kochi

A half-day symposium organised with the CV Jacob Centre for Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing at CUSAT, Synthite Industries and Alstonia Bio. Keynote talks:

  • Dr Sachdev Sidhu, University of Waterloo: multivalent antibodies, the next generation of biologics
  • Prof. Stephen Michnick, University of Montreal: the genetic landscape of an in vivo protein interactome
  • Prof. Clarence Ronald Geyer, University of Saskatchewan: engineering therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies

Talks also covered the Kerala Genome Data Centre and building a biotech hub in Kochi.

Event page ↗
NGBT conference series

NextGen Genomics, Biology, Bioinformatics and Technologies

Nine annual conferences, newest first.

YearDatesCityVenueWebsite
201930 Sep – 2 OctMumbai—NGBT 2019 ↗
201830 Sep – 2 OctJaipur—NGBT 2018 ↗
20172 – 4 OctBhubaneswar—NGBT 2017 ↗
20163 – 5 OctKochiLe MéridienNGBT 2016 ↗
20151 – 3 OctHyderabadHICCNGBT 2015 ↗
201417 – 19 NovBangaloreNIMHANSNGBT 2014 ↗
201314 – 16 NovNew DelhiCSIR-IGIB, Mathura RoadNGBT 2013 ↗
20121 – 3 NovChennaiDepartment of Biotechnology, IIT MadrasHeld as "Next-Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics for Genomics & Health"2012 ↗
201116 – 17 DecThiruvananthapuramRajiv Gandhi Centre for BiotechnologyNGBT 2011 ↗
Symposia

Earlier symposia

DateSymposiumVenue
8 Apr 2019Trait improvement in rice: application of emerging technologies ↗Thrissur, Kerala
17 Aug 2015Genetic diseases: from Mendelian to malignancies ↗Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, Chennai
1 May 2015Clinical genomics of renal, cardiovascular and neurological disordersNarayana Nethralaya, Bangalore
16 Feb 2015Agricultural genomics symposium ↗Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore