Bhubaneswar-based Institute of Life Sciences, an autonomous institution under the Department of Biotechnology, has signed a collaborative agreement with All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar for undertaking advanced research in the area of human health & welfare.The pact aims to strengthen partnershipbetween the two institutions in research,education and outreach.
Welcoming the agreement, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Dr. RenuSwarup, said, in a twitter, “A much needed partnership.We need more of such collaborations between basic research groups and clinical researchers for translating our research leads”.
The Institute of Life Sciences was established in 1989 as an autonomous institute under the administrative control of Government of Odisha. Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, took it over in 2002. The then Prime Minister of India ShriAtal Bihari Vajpayee dedicated the institute to the nation in July 2003.
It has a broad vision of carrying out high-quality multidisciplinary research in the area of life sciences. The goal is for overall development and betterment of human health, agriculture and environment. Its mission is to generate skilled human resources for future India.
“A much needed partnership.We need more of such collaborations between basic research groups and clinical researchers for translating our research leads”.
It seeks to achieve the vision and mission by undertaking cutting-edge research using state-of-the-art technologies in the fields of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and filaria, viral infections, cancer biology, allergy and auto-immune disorders, genetic disorders, and agricultural productivity.
Towards this, the institute has established necessary infrastructure, including genomics and proteomics platforms, flow cytometry, imaging facilities, animal house, green-house, plant tissue culture and zebrafish facilities and high performance computing facility with financial support from the Dept. of Biotechnology, Government of India.
The institute has been highly successful in recruiting faculties with high level of competence in research in fields like cell biology, gene function and regulation, structural biology, immunology, immuno-genomics, auto-immune diseases, plant immunity, plant biotechnology, environmental biotechnology, microbial biotechnology, developmental biology, nano-technology and nano-medicine, computational biology and bioinformatics.
The institute has set-up an extension centre at the Ispat General Hospital, Rourkela to promote and facilitate research on infectious diseases. The institute has initiated and is particularly committed to developing Bhubaneswar-Cuttack cluster model for collaborative research involving neighbouring research organizations like NISER, IIT, AIIMS, NRRI, KIIT, RPRC and others.
India Science Wire
