GOVIND RAJAN VS
SAN FRANCISCO/BENGALURU, MARCH 20
Close on the heels of setting up of a post-graduate Medical School and Bagchi-Parthasarathy Hospital, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, India’s premier institute for advanced research and education, has entered into an MoU with Ajit Isaac, Founder and Chairman of Quess Corp, and Sarah Isaac, for setting up a Centre for Public Health at the IISc campus.
Isaac couple is donating Rs 105 crores for setting up this Center, which will be called the Isaac Center for Public Health (ICPH). This will be a part of the postgraduate Medical School, to be set up soon. The Center will be operational by 2024 and is expected to encourage aspirants to pursue careers in clinical research to develop new treatments and healthcare solutions driven by a bench-to-bedside philosophy.
- The Centre will create a niche for health data science and analytics through close collaboration with the existing world-class computer science and data science departments at IISc
- The Center will work with all departments of IISc Medical School, and also other science and engineering departments.
- The Center will create a niche for health data science and analytics through close collaboration with the existing world-class computer science and data science departments at IISc, putting it on par with international counterparts like the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Centre is poised to create world-class post-graduate education and research programs in public health to redefine healthcare models for India and for the rest of the world. It will offer dual degree programs such as Master of Public Health (MPH)-PhD (5-6 years) and Master of Public Health (MPH)-MTech Research (3 years). The total annual student intake will be about 10 per year with a steady-state student population of about 40 over time. The Center will also have the latest biomedical research computing infrastructure to host the data, develop and test big data analysis methods tailored for public health.
We are extremely pleased to announce that Mr Ajit Isaac & Mrs Sarah Isaac have committed 105 crore to establish a Centre for Public Health at the upcoming IISc Medical School. The Centre will offer dual degrees, fund research, scholarships, Chairs & more! https://t.co/RHzOZxh5DH pic.twitter.com/oPxiRvXMKi
— IISc Bangalore (@iiscbangalore) March 17, 2022
Commenting on this collaboration, Prof Govindan Rangarajan, Director, IISc, said, “There is an acute need for India to have a world-class center for clinical and academic research in public health to be able to make quicker and more impactful strides in realizing the goal of quality healthcare for all. The Center will work with all departments of IISc Medical School, and also other science and engineering departments. The Center will create a niche for health data science and analytics through close collaboration with the existing world-class computer science and data science departments at IISc, putting it on par with international counterparts like the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He thanked Mr and Mrs Isaac for making it o make it possible for us to move from aspirations to actually realizing our goals.”
Ajit Isaac said, “The humanitarian crises created by the pandemic will take several years for nations to recover. At the same time, it has also exposed the lacuna in the public health systems, which need to be addressed systematically and consistently to be prepared for the future. A strong nation is not only built on education and employment but good, sound public health. And the onus of building a healthier future cannot lie on the Government alone, and I am glad to have the opportunity to work alongside an internationally-acclaimed institution like IISc, which provides the right ecosystem for creating word class physician-scientists, the medical talent of future.”
The proposed Isaac Centre for Public Health will be located in the IISc Medical School’s Academic and Research block and span one floor spread over 27,000 sq ft. The Centre will be equipped with research labs and computational facilities to cater to the academic and research programmes. In addition to providing courses in statistics, epidemiology, and data science, the students will also get exposed to impactful research leading to a PhD degree or MTech (Research) degree. In particular, the MTech (Research) programme will be tailored towards deep domain expertise in data science, public health data analytics, and AI/ML techniques.
The funding also supports international fellowships for students, scholarships, Visiting Chair Professorships and endowed Chair Professorships. In addition, the Centre will provide funding for carrying out impactful research projects in public health, including bio-surveillance, digital health, as well as mobile-based diagnostics.
Recently, IISc announced the setting up of a post-graduate Medical School and Bagchi-Parthasarathy Hospital in line with global examples of integrating science, engineering, and medicine under a single roof. The Centre for Public Health is an extension of this commitment towards collaborating with like-minded institutions and visionaries who seek to shape the future of healthcare.
Quess Corp Chairman Ajit Isaac and family at IISc during the event announcing the setting up of Isaac Centre for Public Health, slated to be operational in the campus by 2024.
(Govind Rajan VS is an alumni of IISc and is also the Co-founder of IISc VentureLabs, an alumni network for investments.)
