Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory at SVIMS upgraded to State-level

Tirupati: Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) has made two major announcements at its first Annual Research cum Alumni Day. The Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) of SVIMS has been upgraded to State level by the Indian Council of  Medical Research (ICMR) that sponsor it. 

Dr AK Bagga of ICMR has announced the upgradation of the lab which was being operated at SVIMS for the last two years. Another important announcement was the signing of MoU between SVIMS and IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) who work together in the areas of medical and biological disciplines.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Bagga said that within a few years of inception of medical college laboratory which is a wing of virology network, SVIMS VRDL has functioned in the capacity of State-level laboratory and now it has been upgraded to the State level. 

The lab will now cater to the needs of people on a larger scale and more outcomes can be generated. He congratulated the Director-cum-Vice-Chancellor Dr T S Ravikumar for this achievement and appreciated the contributions of Principal Investigator of VRDL, Dr Usha Kalawat.

The MoU between SVIMS and IISER will bring together the two leading scientific institutions of Tirupati in their endeavour to promote pedagogy and research particularly in medical and biological disciplines. It was signed by Prof Ravikumar and IISER Director Prof KN Ganesh. 

In their joint announcement, they said, “The MoU aims at research collaboration in various fields of basic and applied research including MPhil, PhD programmes, project investigators and co-investigators for various funding agencies, both national and international, expert committee members for teaching in academic activities and visiting faculty and guest faculty.” 

Dr Ravikumar further said that by involving research scholars and experts from different fields of science research and sharing knowledge they would like to create a culture of critical thinking or an ecosystem of enquiry. 

He insisted that every student and faculty should involve in research, publish their work and contribute for innovations in health care. The research programme will set a platform to create new knowledge, accelerate the progress and generate new opportunities.

Senior Professor from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, Prof Guruprasad, Dean of SVIMS Dr Sreenivasa Rao, Registrar Dr TC Kalawat, Medical Superintendent Dr Alok Sachan and others participated in the programme.