4 days ago
ICMR-NCDIR hosts open school day in Bengaluru
BENGALURU: The ICMR-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (ICMR-NCDIR) hosted an 'Open School Day' on Thursday as part of the nationwide Science and Health Technology for Next-Gen Explorers (SHINE) initiative of the Indian Council of Medical Research, aiming to inspire young minds and nurture future researchers.
The event was held to mark the birth anniversary of renowned Indian medical scientist V. Ramalingaswami and brought together over 200 students from classes 9 to 12 across three city schools: National Public School, Urbana; Kendriya Vidyalaya, RWF Yelahanka; and Sai Vidya Mandir.
ICMR Director General Dr Rajiv Bahl addressed the gathering, sharing breakthroughs from ICMR's work ranging from the development of Covid-19 vaccines to the innovative use of drones in transporting vaccines, organs, and medical samples.
Through short films and guided lab visits, students were introduced to ICMR's research in tuberculosis control, cervical cancer detection using AI-enabled microscopes like i-Scope, and the application of data science in tracking non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, stroke, diabetes, and hypertension.
'The initiative is about planting the seeds of scientific curiosity early. We hope these students leave inspired to pursue careers that contribute to India's scientific and public health goals,' Dr Prashant Mathur, Director, ICMR-NCDIR, said.