Category: 2019

Wave

Riding the Forensic Wave

One of the career options that occupies a broad surface area is that of Forensic Sciences. From firearms to blood pattern analysis, from psychological testing to DNA sampling, the world of forensic science offers numerous career paths for those who are interested in pursuing a fascinating career.
Let us understand what Forensic Sciences is and the career options it entails.

Forensic Science is all about the application of scientific knowledge and methodology to legal problems and criminal investigations. It is actually a vast and diverse subject which comprises various fields of science such as chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, social science, geology, psychology, etc. Forensic Scientists use their forensic acumen in the collection, preservation, and examination of physical evidence during an investigation. Commonly, forensic science can pick up fingerprints from a crime scene and investigate who actually committed the crime from the information gathered. Other samples such as blood can be tested in the lab to detect a crime.

Forensic science experts thus have a crucial role to play in the modern-day judiciary. They analyze evidence using scientific procedures and principles to deduce facts that are legally valid in the Court of Law. They play a key role in ensuring that the original form of evidence is retained during gathering and transfer. This is because even slight tampering of evidence can alter the results of the forensic analyses significantly. Some forensic scientists focus on biological and life sciences to help those in the legal world understand what happened in a particular situation. These scientists can often be found in laboratory or other investigative settings, where they closely examine a variety of evidence. Other forensic scientists focus on the behavioral sciences; specifically, they look at the psychology behind certain criminal behaviors. There are others who focus on cyber crimes, they are Cyber Forensic Experts.
Course Cursor:
B.Sc. in Forensic Science

The basic criterion of eligibility needed to be met for admission to the course is a Higher Secondary (10+2) or equivalent qualification from a recognized Board, with Physics, Chemistry and Biology and/ or Math as main subjects and a minimum aggregate score of 55%. However, a few private universities in India conduct their own entrance tests for evaluating and admitting students to the course.

tBachelor’s degree program is a 3- 4 years degree program with an average of 120 semester credit hours of work. The course curriculum includes the subjects like Criminal Procedure and Evidence, Crime Victim Studies, Constitutional Issues in Criminal Procedures, Fingerprint Analysis, Crime Scene Investigation, and Theories of Crime Causation. 

M.Sc. in Forensic Science or PG Diploma in Forensic Science

Master’s degree in forensic science prepares the individuals for advanced positions within the forensic science industry. It typically consists of core subjects like drug analysis, criminalistics, biological evidence, DNA analysis, trace evidence, Blood splatter patterns, and toxicology. 

A graduate in microbiology, biochemistry, zoology, chemistry, physics, applied science, botany or medicine can pursue a Master’s degree in Forensic Science. Even law students can pursue a career in forensic science by completing a suitable certificate or diploma course. Students have the option to choose between different specializations – forensic physics, forensic medicine, forensic biology, forensic pathology, forensic chemistry, and much more according to what interests them. It’s also possible to become a Forensic Scientist with an

MBBS

background. After an  MBBS, you can pursue an MD in Forensic Science.

Ph.D. in Forensic Science

If you wish to get into teaching or research, a doctorate degree is mandatory. Core subjects include Forensic Instrumental Analysis, Advanced Forensics, Physical Evidence Concepts, Controlled Substance Analysis, Forensic Laboratory Management, and Research Design in Forensic Science, Pattern, and Law and Forensic Sciences. To join the doctoral courses aspirant have to complete his/her master’s degree and have to get at least a 3.0 GPA.  An aspirant can pursue his/her specialization course in the fields like Forensic Biology, Forensic Serology, Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Toxicology, Forensic Ballistics, Forensic Entomology, Forensic Botany in the Forensic science field.

Institutescape: 
  • FS Indian Education Department, Pune
  • Lady Harding Medical College, New Delhi
  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
  • Institute of Forensic Science, Mumbai
  • Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology & Forensic Science (LNJN NICFS), New Delhi
  • Institute of Forensic Sciences (Gujarat Forensic Sciences University), Gandhi Nagar
  • Centre for Cyber Forensics and Information Security (University of Madras), Chennai
  • Government Institute of Forensic Science, Aurangabad
  • St. Xavier’s College (University of Mumbai), Mumbai
  • Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), New Delhi
  • Institute of Forensic Science & Criminology (Panjab University), Chandigarh
  • Amity University (Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences)
  Career Pathways:   This is one field where there is a scope of employment in both the private as well as the government sectors. Successful graduates can find work in both government and private agencies, in hospitals and laboratories. Some corporate organizations hire graduates as Document Experts. Other areas include:
  • anti-terrorist operations
  • mass disaster- management
  • cybercrime investigation
  • protection of human rights
  • environment
  • consumer
  • intellectual property rights.
Almost all government hospitals and police departments employ forensic experts. The most common government investigative agencies that hire forensic professionals in large numbers are that of CBI, RAW, IB, and the state police departments. Other than these, there are many more other job roles from various areas such as civil services, banks, police, pharmaceutical industry, paint industry, clinical research, biotechnology, and software. Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) across India hire forensic scientists.  

After having completed the necessary qualifications, you can choose to work as a crime scene investigator. In case you are interested in working in a more specialized area, you may want to be a trace evidence analyst or a forensic pathologist. Most of the job-specific skills that are required for this are learned as and when one is working. As you already have an MD degree, you may choose to work as a teacher, reviewer or reformer of law as well. Criminal rehabilitation is another area where there are a lot of employment opportunities for qualified personnel. In case you are interested in the legal side of forensic medicine, you may choose to look for employment in that sector as well.



Riding the tech wave- Cyber Forensics

With the technology wave disrupting the way we interact with each other and do businesses, there is a growing need for professionals who can help organizations prevent cyber attacks. Besides, the cryptocurrency fever has brought about a new form of crypto mining activities that have triggered cybercrime. Cryptominers steal power usage for computer processing from enterprises and consumers to mine cryptocurrencies. This new form of cybercrime involving cryptocurrencies can slow down devices, overheat batteries and in rare cases, render devices inoperative. These kind of cyber crimes bring about an upsurge in jobs in cyber forensics.

Cyber Forensics or Computer Forensics is the application of Computer Science for assisting in the legal and criminal justice system. In case you are a graduate in Computer Science, Information Technology or Computer Applications, you are most  eligible for Cyber Forensics courses. A Cyber Forensics professional needs to pursue a post-graduation in Cyber Forensics or a certification in Information or Cyber Security.

Cyber Forensics Courses in India
  • IFS Forensic Science Education, Pune
  • Gujarat Forensic Sciences University
  • Indian School of Ethical Hacking
  • IIIT Delhi (Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology)

Some typical examples of jobs in cyber forensics are Computer Forensics Investigator, Computer Forensics Technician, Digital Forensics Specialist, Computer Forensics Analyst, Computer Forensics Specialist etc.

Professionals trained in Cyber Forensics can also provide training and education to students in various private and public colleges. Additionally, they also have a shot at bagging a job at one of the many Central Forensic Science Laboratories located PAN India.

Summing up:

The rising level of demand for forensic science professionals has been correlated with the meteoric rise of technological solution prominence across nearly all industries. Forensic information will be far more accessible and actionable with the assistance of cutting edge technological developments, making those who specialize in collecting said information more valuable to their employing organizations by default.

This makes the Forensic Scientists, whichever branch they choose to specialize in, at a career escalator.

Emerging LLM Courses

One career pathway that runs through all the three organs of the Government viz Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary, is LAW. If you’re dead serious about law and already have some legal working experience behind you, an LLM could be your passport to success.

Why an LLM?

Once upon a time, the only people who pursued an LLM did so to become familiar with another legal system, generally that of the US or the UK, or as a stepping stone to a career teaching law. The increasing complexity of modern legal systems has pushed ever more lawyers to seek additional training. In most developed countries, for instance, lawyers routinely take continuing legal education courses in a way that would not have been recognizable a decade ago. More and more lawyers are currently pursuing LLMs. And it is not just lawyers wrestling with the increased complexity of legal practice who now pursue LLMs. Some seek simply to strengthen their core skills, writing, and research, for instance, to be better at traditional lawyering.

An LLM degree offers many specializations.  Two emerging options in LLM  are in the field of Environment and Natural Resources Law and  Specialization in Infrastructure and Business Laws.

Let us examine them in detail

LLM ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

The specialized LLM in Environmental and Energy Law is designed for lawyers interested in careers in environmental, land use, and energy law. Individuals who aim to work for governments, international organizations, or NGOs; who aspire to cutting-edge private practice with law firms; or who will pursue academic careers, study with leading experts in these areas. Each year, students in the program form a close community that enjoys the benefits of being a distinct cohort within the larger student body.

Course Content:

 

The primary focus of LL.M. specializing in Environment and Natural Resources Law stream is to understand how the legal framework can reorient economic activity towards sustainability. This reorientation can happen in different ways like prohibiting or regulating environmentally damaging activities, assigning liability for environmental harms, clearly defining property rights and providing adequate incentives for benign environmental activities. The course will also address the principles of allocation of natural resources according to the concepts of due process of law and equity. This specialization offers a broad range of introductory and specialized courses.

LLM Environmental Law course covers local and international legal frameworks for environmental protection, climate change protection and vital use of natural resources. During the programme, you would be exposed to many issues like water law, business and trade, different forms of pollution, land issues and environmental justice.

As a student of LLM Environment Law, you would get to study topics like Environmental Law and Policy, Energy Law, Mining and Mineral Laws, Forest Law & Policy and International Environmental Law and also the Environmental Aspects of Business Activities, Climate change, and law and Hazardous Waste Law.

Getting in:

LLM Environmental Law is a 1-2 year postgraduate degree in law with an environment as the subject specialization. The colleges offering LLM Environmental Law are conducting the course in full-time mode and distance learning mode as well. The course can be pursued by candidates possessing BA LLB or LLB degree with a minimum of 45% or 50% marks in aggregate. The admission procedure shall differ for each college but primarily be based on merit or entrance exam conducted by the concerned college.

Given below is the list of colleges around India offering LLM Environmental Law course:

Institute in Focus:

The TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS), New Delhi is a not-for-profit Deemed University sponsored by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) with the objective of building capacity in various themes of sustainable development. Currently, TERI SAS offers Ph.D. & Master’s programmes in Legal Studies, Biotechnology, Policy aspects, Energy and Environment, Business Sustainability, and Natural Resources and various other executive programmes. While offering these programmes the University adopts an interdisciplinary curriculum incorporating the most contemporary, research-based evidence.In 2016, the Centre for Post Graduate Legal Studies (CPGLS) was established at TERI SAS as an interdisciplinary Centre of excellence dedicated to legal research and teaching on issues pertaining to sustainable development. Currently, CPGLS offers the following research-based academic programmes:

               

  1. Ph.D. in Legal Studies (with a focus on Law and Sustainability)
  2. One-year LL.M. in Environment and Natural Resources Law
  3. One-Year LL.M. in Infrastructure and Business Law

TERI SAS offers one-year LL.M. programme with specialization in Environment and Natural Resources Law and Infrastructure and Business Law fully in tune with the UGC norms. 

The highlights of TERI SAS LL.M are that the courses are designed in consultation with industry and focusing on National and International developments and are aimed at balancing theoretical rigor and practical application with a prime focus on skill development through research assignments, field visits, case study, group work, role-play, guest lectures, seminars, and workshops.

 

Online options:

Lewis & Clark Law School in the Northwest of the United States is now offering its LLM degree in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law via a distance-learning online option.

The online LLM in Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Law is specifically designed for attorneys who want to practice more effectively with today’s global environmental legal issues, but that can’t or don’t want to relocate. The online LLM draws on the expertise of Lewis & Clark’s on-campus Environmental Law Master of Laws, that has been helping lawyers enhance their careers for 30 years.

The LLM in Environmental, Natural Resources & Energy Law includes study modules on Climate Change, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Wildlife Law, and Public Lands. It has been designed for those interested in this field, including lawyers who are in private practice, those who serve as government employees, elected officials, energy advisors, and natural resources law specialists.

 

LLM INFRASTRUCTURE AND BUSINESS LAW

LL.M. with specialization in Infrastructure and Business Law addresses the policies and laws relating to major sectors viz., transport (including railways and civil aviation), energy, telecommunications, urban infrastructure, and water. The purpose of this specialization stream is to provide an insight into the fundamental legal concepts relating to business in general and various infrastructure sectors in particular including the issues involved in the development, financing, and management of projects. The programme will address issues relating to public-private partnership in detail.

Career Avenues

For LLM students from premier Law schools, there are excellent career opportunities.

LLM degree prepares a candidate to become a teacher, researcher, litigating lawyer or a corporate lawyer. An LLM in Environmental Law degree program prepares attorneys and legal professionals to promote environmentally sustainable legal outcomes in cases dealing with pollution control and remediation, land use and infrastructure, resource conservation and management, and more.

Furthermore, having an LLM in Business Law could put you in a good position to pursue a career as a company secretary, provided you go ahead to earn the required professional qualifications because law and/or business degrees are considered attractive for company secretary positions. If your first degree happens to be in business, economics or management then your attractiveness as a candidate would be greatly enhanced.

Summing up:

Therefore, if you wish to push the law envelope further and hone your lawyering skills, options like LLM in Environmental Law and LLM in Infrastructure and Business Law are worth exploring.

Pharmacovigilance - Keeping up the Vigil

Pharmacovigilance – Keeping up the Vigil

One sector that would always boom and is recession proof is Healthcare and its cousin, Pharma. With many drugs hitting the market, there is a  growing need for vigilance and a check to prevent and monitor the adverse effect of drugs. There is a complete science to it. It is called Pharmacovigilance.

Let us understand what it is and what are the careers in this growing field.

Pharmacovigilance (PV or PhV), also known as drug safety, is the pharmacological science relating to the collection, detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention of adverse effects with pharmaceutical products. As such, pharmacovigilance heavily focuses on adverse drug reactions, or ADRs, which are defined as any response to a drug which is noxious and unintended, including lack of efficacy.Medication errors such as overdose, and misuse and abuse of a drug as well as drug exposure during pregnancy and breastfeeding, are also of interest, even without an adverse event, because they may result in an adverse drug reaction.

Simply put, Pharmacovigilance, is drug safety. It can be defined as the study and prevention of adverse effects caused by pharmaceutical products. Pharmacovigilance is the reason that many drugs are withdrawn from or not even brought into the market at times.The government supports and helps to implement courses in pharmacovigilance as their primary goal is to ensure students of medicine are aware of the adverse effects of certain pharmaceuticals. Pharmacovigilance makes it possible to implement quality systems in all pharmaceutical companies that manufacture large amounts of medicine.

Information received from patients and healthcare providers via pharmacovigilance agreements (PVAs), plays a critical role in providing the data necessary for pharmacovigilance to take place. In fact, in order to market or to test a pharmaceutical product in most countries, adverse event data received by the license holder must be submitted to the local drug regulatory authority. Ultimately, pharmacovigilance is concerned with identifying the hazards associated with pharmaceutical products and with minimizing the risk of any harm that may come to patients. Companies must conduct a comprehensive drug safety and pharmacovigilance audit to assess their compliance with worldwide laws, regulations, and guidance.

Who are Pharmacovigilance officers?

Pharmacovigilance officers are drug safety officers. They are responsible for monitoring and reporting the effectiveness and any adverse effects or side effects of pharmaceutical products on the market in the general population and in hospitals and research trials. They must liaise closely with medical and drug company representatives, patients, doctors, and other healthcare professionals to record the effectiveness of drugs and other treatments. The data is meticulously recorded, analyzed and processed because the informed opinions of pharmacovigilance officers will help pharmaceutical companies maximize product safety and performance, and cut down on adverse effects.

Genesis:

Pharmacovigilance (PV) was officially introduced in December 1961 by an  Australian doctor who first suspected a causal link between serious fetal deformities and thalidomide, a drug used during pregnancy: Thalidomide was used as an antiemetic and sedative agent in pregnant women. In 1968, the World Health Organization (WHO) promoted the “Programme for International Drug Monitoring”, a pilot project aimed to centralize world data on adverse drug reactions (ADRs). In particular, the main aim of the “WHO Programme” was to identify the earliest possible PV signals. 

Career scape:

Pharmacovigilance is a great career option for life science and pharmacy graduates. It is a scientific discipline that is primarily concerned with reporting and analyzing of drug side effects. It is primarily due to the work of Pharmacovigilance professionals that the drugs in the market that we consume are mostly safe and those that are found harmful are taken off the market. Pharmacovigilance professionals continuously monitor the safety of the drugs in clinical trials as well as the drugs already being sold in the market. After a drug side effect is reported, the Pharmacovigilance professionals enter the event in relevant databases, follow up with the case to gather more information and forward these reports to regulatory authorities and other applicable bodies. The Pharmacovigilance professionals identify signals in data that may point towards a potential side effect and probe the case further.

Job responsibilities:

  • recording and reporting adverse reactions received from healthcare professionals and consumers
  • conducting in-depth interviews with patients and healthcare professionals
  • developing a thorough knowledge of products
  • completing periodic safety update reports on drugs and other treatments
  • writing and reviewing serious adverse effects reports and forms
  • flagging up early warning signs of adverse effects of drugs
  • minimizing the risk of serious side effects
  • completing safety audits
  • working on clinical trials of new drugs

Getting in :

Candidates of pharmacovigilance can pursue both certificate and diploma courses.In order to pursue a career in pharmacovigilance, the minimum eligibility criteria to apply for the course is:

  • A postgraduate or graduate degree in Bioscience/Life Sciences (with any of the following subjects: Botany, Zoology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Genetics, Biotech) with at least 50% marks in aggregate
  • A postgraduate or graduate degree with Chemistry as a subject with at least 50% marks in aggregate
  • A postgraduate or graduate degree in Pharmacy or Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • A postgraduate or graduate degree in Medicine

Institute scape:

  • Institute of Clinical Research, India, postgraduate diploma in Pharmacovigilance. 
  • Clinical Research Institution and Management Academy, CREMA, Mumbai, and Bangalore offering postgraduate diploma in Pharmacovigilance.
  • Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon, Certificate in Drug Regulatory Affairs.
  • Innovative center for BioSciences Clinical Research, Mohali,postgraduate diploma in Pharmacovigilance. 

Career Pathways:

Till a few years ago, B.Sc and M.Sc graduates were hired for Pharmacovigilance. Soon companies started getting B.Pharm people in the same pay scale as B.Sc n M.Sc. hence companies started hiring Pharmacy graduated and postgraduates. You can make a career in creating, Individual Case safety reports(ICSR’s), PSUR Periodic Safety update reports, Signal detection, Risk Management, Medical Coding, and Medical Writing.

An entry-level job in Pharmacovigilance is DSA (Drug Safety Associate). DSAs are mainly involved in case  creation, checking for MSI (Minimum safety information – a patient, a reporter, a suspect drug and an adverse event), reconciliation and followup process, data entry of all information available in the document and medical coding. Once a candidate has 2-3 Years experience and builds required skill sets (Medical coding, narrative and scientific writing, good understanding of medical terms and basic understanding of regulatory affairs, ICH-GCP and compliance) he can go on to become a DSS (Drug Safety Scientist). 

Top recruiters:

You can find good job options in the following sectors:

  • Pharmaceutical Companies (MNCs & Indian) & Biotech companies.
  • Clinical Research Organizations.
  • Regulatory Agencies like DCG (I) & CDSCO
  • Pharmacovigilance units in Medical colleges & Hospitals

Asian clinical trials serene, Bioserve, Clin invent, Clintec international, Clinigene, Dr Reddy’s lab, Elly Lilly,  Glaxo SmithKline, IGATE clinical research, Johnson & Johnson, Lambda therapeutic research, Lupin limited, Matrix laboratories ltd., Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Pharmanet, Quintiles, Ranbaxy, Roche India, Sristek, Siro Clinpharma, Synchron, Sanofi Aventis, Torrent Pharma,  Reliance life science,  Amed,  Accutest, Actimus, Adroit insights, Alembic, Asian Clinical Trials.

The Road Ahead:

The career in  Pharmacovigilance is quite bright. At present, India is the fourth largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the world and therefore is a surfeit of drug brands with more than 6,000 licensed drug manufacturers and over 60,000 branded formulations. India offers unique advantages for the growth of Pharmacovigilance that include rapid induction of New Chemical Entities (NCEs) and high technology pharmaceutical products in the market, an abundance of patients with genetic diversity, presence of Lakhs of formulation in the domestic market and a large world-scale Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) database.

All this makes India an escalating platform for an exciting and lucrative career in Pharmacovigilance.