A US-based private foundation Param Hansa Philanthropies (PHP) would support the setting up of a Centre for Computational Oncology at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
The centre was officially launched on November 2, and PHP will support the centre with $1 million over the next seven years.
On cancer progression
The Param Hansa Centre for Computational Oncology (PHCCO) will foster research in predictive and quantitative mathematical models of cancer progression, metastasis, and tumor relapse, to identify the underlying fundamental dynamics of these multi-scale processes and to eventually improve patient outcomes in the clinic.
“The centre aims to nurture an active community of future leaders in computational oncology in India, through inter-institutional, cross-disciplinary collaborations among researchers in academia, medicine, and industry,” IISc said.
The center will be led by Mohit Kumar Jolly, associate professor, Department of Bioengineering, who also heads the Cancer Systems Biology research group at IISc.
The partnership was facilitated through the IISc Foundation, a non-profit entity set up in the USA, to support research and infrastructure development at IISc.
Utilising power of science
Dheeraj Pandey, founding director of PHP, said, “We believe in utilising the power of science and data sciences to create deep, meaningful outcomes for cancer research in India and elsewhere. With this long-term collaboration with IISc, we look forward to contributing to the fight against cancer in India and elsewhere, and simultaneously building a cadre of young scientists who, over time, will make a significant contribution to research and training future researchers in this field.”
Prof. Govindan Rangarajan, director of IISc, said, “At IISc, we are constantly seeking to push frontiers in cutting-edge research and encourage cross-disciplinary partnerships that solve pressing clinical challenges. We look forward to the exciting projects and solutions that will emerge from this new Centre.”
