BHUBANESWAR: Researchers of SOA University are developing new drugs and diagnostic techniques to fight cancer and infectious diseases. Vice Chancellor Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda said research is being conducted for the purpose of the interdisciplinary life science departments for education and research (BUILDER) national lab set up at the university with funding support of Department of Biotechnology.
“The department has sanctioned Rs 4.54 crore for the cancer drug research project. Three principal investigators and 14 co-investigators have been engaged and the focus is on interdisciplinary research in life sciences,” Prof Nanada said while addressing the three-day international conference on advances in power, signal and IT (APSIT-2023) here on Friday.
He also referred to the three innovative pharmaceutical formulations developed by university researchers to treat various chronic medical conditions for which SOA had recently signed a technology licensing agreement with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Pointing out that inter-disciplinary research was the need of the hour, Prof Nanada said, the earlier practice of developing expertise in one core area was no longer valid. Convenor of APSIT-2023 Prof Sangram Keshari Routray said as many as 931 research papers had been received for the conference of which 143 had been chosen for deliberation.
General manager (electrical) of Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (OPTCL) Prasanta Kumar Pattanaik and associate professor of Electrical Engineering department of Jadavpur University Susanta Ray also spoke. The three-day conference has been organised by the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER).