BioSpectrum India Magazine November issue BioSpectrum India Magazine | Page 47

www.biospectrumindia.com
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November 2017
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BioSpectrum
l ACADEMIC NEWS
Infosys signs
MoU with IISc
Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic
arm of Infosys, has signed Rs 5 crore
MoU with Indian Institute of Science,
Bengaluru, to enhance infrastructure and
broaden research activities at the Centre
for Infectious Diseases Research (CIDR).
With this MoU, Infosys Foundation aims
to set milestones in the area of research
of infectious diseases. The foundation will
focus on motivating
researchers to perform
cutting-edge research,
as well as train them to
raise awareness about
infectious diseases. Rs
5 crore grant will be
used towards research,
training and creating
awareness, about
infectious diseases,
benefiting 25 faculty
members and 250
students at IISc. IISc is
a public university for research and higher
education in all science and engineering
disciplines. This association will facilitate
an interdisciplinary approach, with
a focus on research about infectious
diseases, leading to the development of
new drug targets, drug delivery systems
and novel diagnostic tools.
IIT-M gets a new biotechnology block
Indian Institute of Technology Madras’ Biotechnology
Department has got new state-of-the-art research facilities
with the inauguration of a new Block recently. The Block-2 of
Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of
Biotechnology, IIT Madras, was inaugurated by Jyoti Mehta
in the presence of Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Director General,
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Prof Bhaskar
Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras, Rahul Mehta, CEO, The
Mehta Family Foundation, and other faculty.
The Mehta Family Foundation, Houston, Texas has sponsored
the Block-2, which will enable the expansion of Department of
Biotechnology, IIT Madras, and accommodate special facilities
such as an Animal House and a Cancer Tissue Bank. They had
earlier sponsored construction of Block 1 of Bhupat and Jyoti
Mehta School of Biosciences, and it now houses the Department
of Biotechnology.
The major additions in Block 2 are the National Cancer Tissue
Biobank (NCTB) and the Animal House. The NCTB, a state-
of-the-art non-profit community based tissue bank, is a joint
initiative of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt
of India, and IIT Madras. It will collect cancer tissue samples
with consent from patients diagnosed with cancer. Information
about the previous medical history and treatment of the donors
is also documented along with the tissue samples.
Bengaluru to have first multi-faceted AI centre
Bengaluru will house the country’s first multi-faceted
artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics centre to tap the
potential of data analytics, an emerging technology, for
various eco-systems in the state. The centre will come up
at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)
campus in Bengaluru and the state government has
earmarked an initial grant of Rs 5 crore for the purpose.
The centre is being established on the
recommendation of Karnataka Knowledge Commission
(KKC) which had constituted a special task group
on artificial intelligence. The 18-member task group
is co-chaired by Chiranjib Bhattacharya, professor,
Department of Computer Science and Automation,
Indian Institute of Science, and Venkatesh Valluri,
chairman and president of Ingersoll Rand (India
Region). There are plans to offer courses for students on
various aspects of data analytics and related fields and
curriculum will be prepared soon.
At the same time, the state government intends to
formulate a policy for hi-tech and frontier industries
like 3D printing, robotics, nano technology, big
data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine
learning, stem cell research, bespoke DNA medicine
among others.
The Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) has been running the Centre for
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) since 1986
in Bengaluru. However, CAIR caters more towards
providing technological and secure communication and
information systems for the defence services.
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