KOCHI: The newly-announced Kerala Genome Data Centre (KGDC), a high-capacity data centre to enable harnessing the power of genomic data and the rich bio-diversity of Kerala, when fully established, will be the first such centre in the world.
“Though there are many Genome Data Centres in the world, they all are focused on human genetic data. Data on other organisms are mostly in silos in different institutions,” Sam Santhosh, the architect of the Centre, told TNIE. In comparison, the data at KGDC would be generated by sequencing samples from a variety of sources, including humans, animals, plants, and environmental samples. But human genomics is on hold for the time being.
“Human genetic data can give us the most value. However, there are many issues to consider when collecting, storing and sharing human genetic data with regard to privacy, ethics and our rights. So, we will have to carefully consider all this and draw the necessary guidelines to include human genetic data also in KGDC,” he said.
Santhosh said the centre would serve as a data hub for researchers, healthcare professionals, and public health officials to access and share genomic data. Currently, KGDC, which is based in Thiruvananthapuram, would come under Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC). Santhosh is the biotech advisor of K-DISC.
“In the future, there are plans to convert it into a government-owned nonprofit company under Section-8 (companies whose objectives include the promotion of science, research, etc.). This would enable it to attract CSR funding and grants as well,” he said. The state government has allocated Rs 500 crore for the project. Santhosh, who has successfully incubated and spun off four life sciences startups from his research lab in Kochi, reckoned biology would be the next big thing.
“Developments in the last two centuries were fueled by the industrial revolution and driven by the discoveries in Chemistry and Physics. This century is the one for Biology. The revolution in Biology was kickstarted by Genome sequencing and now have the power of editing the genes and even creating new genomes (synthetic biology) is triggering a new wave,” he said.
Kerala is blessed with a rich biodiversity that also includes many indigenous plants of medicinal value. “The genomic data of these plants will be of great value to the scientific world in discovering new drugs and as a resource for synthetic biology,” he said.