National   

Indo-German centre for infectious diseases set up

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Medical Research and the Helmoholtz Association of National Research Centres on Tuesday announced the setting up of an Indo-German Science Centre for Infectious Diseases (IGSCID).

The proposed five projects will be set up over three years at an estimated cost of 4.5 million Euros. The cost will be shared equally by the two partners. The centre will work in the areas of virology, developing vaccines and anti-infectives, animal models of infective diseases and zoonosis.

The scientific cooperation between the two countries, started three decades ago, was strengthened through signing in April 2006 of a memorandum of understanding in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel. A high level delegation from Germany, led by Prof. J. Mlynek, president of Helmoholtz Association of National Research Centres, along with a team of scientists comprising 11 members are currently on a visit to India.

Speaking on Tuesday, Prof. Mlynek said the centre would bring the scientific community of both the countries together to work in the frontier areas of research in infectious disease plaguing the globe. In the light of the global diseases, the Indo-German Centre will nurture the effort of providing a benchmark as well as a collaborative channel to coordinated efforts in an international plane.

Prof N.K. Ganguly, Director General of ICMR, said the proposed Indo-German Centre would provide adequate funding opportunity for twin objects of the projects, administering collaborative budgetary efforts, promoting exchange of scientists and holding joint workshops. The promotion of interdisciplinary research in basic medical science of infectious disease would lead to a deeper understanding of cross-cutting areas and promote capacity building of scientists in the two countries.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

CPI (M): take speedy steps to overcome Supreme Court stay
Joint terror mechanism useless: Advani
NGRI studying `global pattern' in earthquakes
CPI (M) Central Committee unhappy at loss of lives in Nandigram police firing
Congress, Trinamool boycott peace meeting
India and U.S. to cooperate in the environmental sector
Conserve power to prevent load shedding: Patil
Cross examination of Rekha Mahajan starts
Greenpeace activist denied access to data on safety tests of GM crops
Man beaten to death
Supporters mob Rahul Gandhi in Kanpur
Will not interfere in Goa local poll schedule: EC
Collect data on orphans, local bodies told
FRCP for Apollo Hospitals doctor
Rights abuses: Amnesty moots regional mechanism
States asked to prepare action plan for coming kharif season
Indo-German centre for infectious diseases set up
No compensation sans specific contract: court
Sit-in continues in Manipur
China, India have same view on Iran: Li
"No constitutional convention for tainted ministers to quit"

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu