India, Australia to team up in path-breaking research

The areas include cancer diagnosis and techniques to monitor oceans

January 08, 2011 12:23 am | Updated 12:23 am IST - CHENNAI:

Leading Australian and Indian researchers, funded by the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, are teaming up to pursue ground-breaking ideas, from new non-invasive tools for detecting cancer to better techniques to monitor the health of our oceans.

With 65 million Australian dollars from the Australian government, and a matching contribution from the government of India, the Fund is powering innovation in critical areas such as oncology, marine science, agriculture, water management and nanotechnology, according to a press release from the Australian High Commission.

Australian Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr said the outcomes of the research partnership would make a real difference to people in both nations. “Collaboration is a powerful way of achieving results. It gives our world-class researchers the tools and networks they need to excel.”

“By working in partnership with India, we bring new perspectives and more resources to tackling our shared challenges,” Senator Carr said. “Both nations can maximise the value of their research investments by pooling funding, and sharing skills, equipment and facilities.”

Senator Carr noted that India was acknowledged as an emerging global power in science and technology. “By working together we can help ensure that our researchers can realise their incredible potential, for the benefit of communities across the globe.”

Among the areas of collaboration include cancer diagnosis. A combined team of Indian and Australian scientists are working on developing novel tools to detect cancer non-invasively. The Australian team leader, Associate Professor Wei Duan, explained: “This research will help to overcome the dose-limiting side effects (effects of the drug which prevent higher doses being provided) of current chemotherapy drugs and could provide the basis of an imaging tool for detecting very small tumours.” The Indian partner for this venture is the Institute of Life Sciences.

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