South India’s first private Bio Bank, a facility dedicated to the preservation and analysis of human tissue samples for diverse research purposes, was inaugurated at AIG Hospital, Gachibowli, on Tuesday.
Over the next three years, the Bio Bank goal is to collect one lakh blood and tissue samples, safeguarding them for an additional decade. This repository will help researchers, clinicians, and scientists, granting them access to a collection of top-tier human tissue samples and other vital biosamples. Chairman of the hospital D Nageshwar Reddy highlighted the potential of combining this resource with Artificial Intelligence systems, Big Data tools, and Machine Learning Algorithms. He expressed optimism about accurately predicting chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases before clinical symptoms manifest.
Mr. Reddy shared further details about the Bio Bank’s infrastructure, boasting fifteen -80degree freezers, five -20 degree freezers, and three -160 degree liquid nitrogen tanks.
In attendance at the inauguration was Dr. Leroy Hood, president & co-founder of the Institute of Systems Biology, in Seattle, USA. Recognised as the inventor of the automated gene sequencer, Dr. Hood praised AIG’s commitment to research and noted that the Bio Bank would attract collaborators globally. He highlighted the potential for meaningful research on various phenotypes, contributing to the development of cutting-edge medical approaches for predictive and preventive healthcare. Dr. Hood also expressed eagerness about collaborating with AIG as part of the ‘A-Million-Person Genome/Phenome Project’ over the next decade.
Dr. Hood shared his vision for the future of medicine, emphasising the 4P’s: Predictive, Preventive, Personalised, and Participatory medicine.
