Hyderabad : CSIR, CCMB & NIMS sign an MOU for research

Hyderabad:A memorandum of understanding on workings of evolving collaborative research projects of clinical relevance has been signed between the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS). The projects are meant to decrease the burden of disease amidst population.

CCMB is a premier institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

According to Dr. Rakesh Mishra, CSIR-CCMB, the expertise of the three medical institutions involving basic science, existing expertise of modern biology, along with the state of the art facilities and the final teaming up with clinicians of NIMS is bound to result in preventing and curing rare diseases.

Some of the diseases that this collaboration is going to aim to find cures for include: cardiomyopathies, obesity, diabetes, sickle cell anaemia and malaria. Dr. Mishra on this occasion spoke of conducting new training programmes involving faculties of both the institutes. These programmes he said would train young scientists and doctors, making them ready for the cell biology, forensics and bioinformatics industry.

An interactive session between Dr.Rakesh Mishra, Director, CSIR-CCMB, along with his scientists and the NIMS delegation of clinicians led by Director, Dr. K Manohar, also took place to take the collaboration workings further.

The NIMS, Director during the session revealed the institute having received a facility grant to develop a state-of-the-art place for patient care. NIMS is supposed to provide a 16 ICU bed facility and an equipped lab for bone marrow transplantation, and clean room facilities for stem cell culture, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation.

He mentioned the positive interest shown by both the Chief Minister, K Chandrasekar Rao and the Health Minister, Dr.Laxma Reddy in building NIMS into a pinnacle for advanced diagnostics for the entire Telangana state. He was hopeful of the centre being fully operational by next year.

The five year memorandum will see CSIR-CCMB and NIMS work together to come up with patient health care realisations.