Indian Institute of Science (IISc) announced the establishment of the Param Hansa Centre for Computational Oncology (PHCCO) on 3rd November 2023. Funded by Param Hansa Philanthropies (PHP), a charitable organization with a commitment to scientific research, the Centre was officially inaugurated on 2nd November 2023, marking a significant step towards the integration of cutting-edge computational methodologies with groundbreaking cancer research in India.
The new Centre will stimulate research in predictive and quantitative mathematical modeling of cancer progression, metastasis, and tumor relapse. It is an ambitious initiative that aims to unlock the fundamental dynamics of cancer, to bring about a profound change in patient outcomes. PHCCO also aims to raise an energetic community of future leaders in computational oncology in India. This would be achieved by nurturing inter-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaborations among researchers from academia, medicine, and the industry.
Heading the Centre is Mohit Kumar Jolly, an Associate Professor at the Department of Bioengineering at IISc. Jolly currently leads the Cancer Systems Biology research group at the Institute.
The establishment of this new Centre was facilitated via the IISc Foundation, a non-profit entity based in the USA dedicated to supporting research and infrastructure development at the IISc. PHP will provide support to the Centre amounting to USD 1 million over the next seven years.
Dheeraj Pandey, Founding Director of PHP expressed his enthusiasm during the launch ceremony. He expressed pride in this new initiative that will generate long-term impactful outcomes in computational oncology while supporting IISc in its mission. Pandey added that PHP believes in harnessing the power of science and data sciences to create meaningful outcomes for cancer research in India and globally. The collaboration with IISc is viewed as a stepping stone towards a meaningful contribution in the fight against cancer, while simultaneously developing a cadre of young scientists to significantly contribute to the research and train future researchers in the field.
Prof Govindan Rangarajan, Director of IISc, expressed his gratitude to PHP for their generous support in nurturing an emerging field of computational oncology. He highlighted the Institute's dedication to pioneering cutting-edge research and encouraging cross-disciplinary partnerships aimed at solving clinical challenges. Prof Rangarajan also shared his anticipation for the exciting projects and solutions that will originate from this new Centre.
It is indeed hopeful that the Param Hansa Centre for Computational Oncology, with its promising objective and a sustained financial commitment, can usher a significant contribution to computational oncology in India and catalyze the nation's fight against cancer on a new, scientific technological front. With this intelligent integration of computational techniques and cancer research, the Centre is optimistic about bringing quantifiable improvements in patient care, setting a global example for future institutions to follow.