2 IIT-B projects selected to develop fast-track solutions to Covid-19

Two projects by the department of biosciences and bio-engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) have been selected by the central government

Two projects by the department of biosciences and bio-engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) have been selected by the central government to develop fast-track solutions to fight Covid-19.

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The Department of Science and Technology’s Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB) has approved five research projects from various organisations in the country to combat Covid-19 and related respiratory infections. Two of these projects are from IIT-B, one each from IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru.

Professor Sanjeeva Srivastava from IIT-B is working on the project ‘Identification of global metabolite biomarkers in Covid-19 infected patients for target therapy.’ Biomarkers are naturally occurring genes or molecules that can indicate the severity of a disease.

Kiran Kondabagil, another professor, has been selected by DST-SERB for the project ‘Antibody-based capture of 2019-nCoV and its inactivation using lipid-based in-situ gel’. Both projects are along the lines of finding a cure or therapy to the novel coronavirus, which has so far affected over 200 countries and killed over 51,000 people worldwide.

“These are two projects that we have got funding for. They are all research-related projects. That’s the only information we can reveal right now,” said Milind Atrey, dean, research and development, IIT Bombay. Officials did not divulge details of the grant but the DST-SERB is likely to allocate funds to the tune of Rs1.25 crore to the four institutes.

IIT-B director Subhasis Chaudhuri said, “We are happy to note that DST-SERB has selected projects of two of our colleagues to develop fast track solutions for Covid-19. We wish them success in this endeavor.”

Meanwhile, the DST-SERB has set up a rapid response centre at the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIT-B, for which the centre has allocated Rs56 crore.

The Centre for Augmenting WAR with Covid-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) will identify up to 50 innovations and startups that are in the area of novel, low-cost, safe and effective ventilators, respiratory aids, protective gear, novel solutions to control Covid-19.