To note here is the first of its kind community-driven National Cancer Tissue Biobank, the animal house, and the Indo-German Sustainability Centre integrated into the new block.
The prestigious Indian Institute of Technology at Madras has now got a new block, housing state-of-art research centre. The new block was inaugurated by Ms. Jyoti Mehta in the presence of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, Mr. Rahul Mehta, CEO, The Mehta Family Foundation, and other faculty.
The Block-2 of Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, not only offers additional laboratory space, but also accommodates the Indo-German Sustainability Centre and the animal house.
The Animal House is mainly for research in medical biotechnology, specifically for cancer, cardiovascular diseases, HIV, tuberculosis and stem cell biology.
The institute has a dedicated space for animal house besides the first of its kind community-driven National Cancer Tissue Biobank (NCTB).
The bank has already collected over 1,500 samples from cancer patients in the city. It is first of its kind facility in India and aiming to provide researchers
with high quality of cancer tissues and the patient data in order to facilitate cancer research that will lead to improvements in cancer diagnosis and treatment.The institute’s state-of-the-art equipment could be used to find answers for the diabetes epidemic, given India’s diverse genetic population. The institute’s data science and the IT expertise could be harnessed to look at demographic data, map hotspots and intensify control in infectious diseases, said Dr. Sowmya, who is also the Deputy Director General, World Health Organisation, speaking at the inauguration of the new lab
Dr. Sowmya said with deaths due to cardiovascular diseases and cancer increasing rapidly in India, the country needs a tissue bank that would help in development and testing products for early diagnostics. “You need to form clusters and use available medical expertise to get a much better understanding on genomics,” she said.
For that to happen, there is a need for pan-India representation to study more diverse categories. Swaminathan said, “We need to invest in population-based cohorts and biological specimen repositories through partnerships between government, private sector and non-governmental organisations. The time has also come to harness data science and IT expertise to look at biological data and understand distribution of diseases much better,” she explained. According to her, NCTB is a step in that direction.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi thanked the Mehta Family for their continued support. “We are now having all the requisite infrastructure for the Biotechnology Dept. with the inauguration of this new Block.”
Prof. R. Nagarajan, Dean, International and Alumni Relations, IIT Madras, expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the Mehta family’s sustained association with the Institute. “Benefactors such as the Mehta Family have played a huge role in IITM’s development as a world-class institution of higher learning and relevant research. We look forward to the Mehtas’ continued involvement in shaping our future.”
Speaking about the new building, Prof. D Karunagaran, Head, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, said, “The new building will fulfil our requirements for additional laboratory space. It will also house Indo-German Centre for Sustainability in addition to our laboratories.”
The Mehta Family Foundation, Houston, Texas has sponsored the Block-2, which will enable the expansion of Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras. They had earlier sponsored construction of Block 1 of Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, and it now houses the Department of Biotechnology.
