Submitted by Laura Puhl on Wed, 06/09/2023 - 16:17
Today (6 September) the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) welcomed Indian entrepreneur Ashok Soota from SKAN Research Trust (SKAN) to Cambridge to mark an upcoming partnership between the two organisations that will bring cutting edge expertise in stem cell research to India.
SKAN (an acronym for Scientific Knowledge for Ageing and Neurological ailments) is a not-for-profit medical research trust based in India that focuses on transformational technologies that will alter the future of medicine through the discovery of new therapies.
CSCI Director Professor Bertie Göttgens said of the partnership, “I am hugely excited by SKAN's vision and confident that its new partnership with the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute will help catalyse exciting progress in biomedical research both in India and Cambridge.”
The CSCI-SKAN partnership will focus on three key areas that will help both organisations further their missions with human health: knowledge exchange, scientific collaboration, and professional development. This will include:
- a comprehensive Partnership agreement
- Consultancy and secondment frameworks for knowledge transfer and training from CSCI to SKAN
- a joint research Project Agreement to study “The genomic landscape of neurodegenerative diseases of ageing in an Indian cohort”
The joint research, led by CSCI Principal Investigator Dr Jyoti Nangalia, will study both normal brain tissue and neurological diseases to identify age-related genomic changes in the Indian population.
A new partnership: Prof Göttgens & Mr Soota and Dr Nangalia & Mr Karedan make it official
Mr. Ashok Soota, the Chairman & Managing Trustee of SKAN, said, “We are delighted to be collaborating with University of Cambridge in the field of stem cells which are powering the most exciting medical interventions. The collaboration will support SKAN in creating a world class stem cell centre in Bangalore and the application of bioinformatics to leverage the power of this technology.”
Dr Jyoti Nangalia, Group Leader at the Wellcome-MRC Stem Cell Institute and Wellcome Sanger Institute, says, “I am looking forward to working with Ashok Soota and the SKAN team to support their vision to create a centre of research excellence in India. Together, we embark on a journey to unlock genomic insights into age-related brain diseases, addressing their growing burden in society with advanced DNA sequencing capabilities.”
Through this partnership, CSCI will continue to work towards their goal of transforming human health through exceptional international and interdisciplinary research.