Guwahati, Sept 2 Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Karkinos Healthcare Private Limited (KHPL) for research collaboration on cancer diagnostics in the Northeast.
Under the agreement with the Mumbai-registered healthcare technology firm, a Centre of Advanced Research on Diagnostics in Cancer (C-CARD), a first of its kind with an IIT, will be set up at IIT-G, a statement from the institute said on Friday.
The centre will be equipped and operated by KHPL on the institute’s premises for its establishment.
Its primary aim will be to work on research related to advanced and affordable diagnostics solutions for non-communicable diseases, primarily cancer for patients from across the nation.
“IIT Guwahati aspires to strengthen its research and development arsenal and there is no better way to highlight the same in establishing C-CARD by KHPL, in the heart of our institute,” IIT-G director T.G. Sitharam, said during the MoU signing ceremony.
“In the near future, we envision to extend this centre of excellence with the activities of the Assam Advanced Healthcare Innovation Institute – the upcoming multi-specialty hospital at IIT Guwahati to inculcate next-generation scientific and technological innovations in the area of healthcare,” Sitharam said.
The MoU signing was a part of the 29th foundation day celebration of IIT-Guwahati on Thursday.
Among the initiatives to be taken under the agreement include large-scale onco-diagnostic services in conjunction with the Assam Cancer Care Hospitals across the state to prepare a comprehensive cancer atlas for Northeast and establishment of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and whole genome sequencing (WGS) facilities to identify the India-specific hereditary origin of this giant killer.
Other initiatives include capability development on high-end data analytics using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques; high quality informatics for research and development through comprehensive genomic landscape identification; capacity development through academic collaboration on clinical excellence and partnerships with biotech and pharma majors.
As a part of this initiative, in the near future, IIT Guwahati and KHPL will also collaborate on research projects related to molecular biology, cell biology, genomics, proteomics, diagnostics, therapeutics, bioinformatics, data science, entrepreneurship development and other multi-disciplinary and translational areas.
“Assam has made giant strides in cancer care and Karkinos is pleased to further these efforts and partner with IIT-G in bringing cutting-edge cancer diagnostics and advanced research to the people of North East. We see this as the first phase of a long and wide-ranging partnership that will redefine cancer care in the region and beyond,” R. Venkataramanan, chief executive officer, KHPL, said.