IIT Madras has established the Shankar Centre of Excellence for Diabetes Research (SCoEDR) within its Department of Medical Sciences and Technology. Funded by alumnus Subramonian Shankar, CEO of AmZetta Technologies, the new center will support 15 PhD students as “Shankar fellows” and will focus on fostering product development, startups, and commercialization efforts. Subramonian emphasized the importance of connecting academic research with industry applications to tackle global health issues.
As reported by timesofindia.indiatimes.com, the inauguration ceremony was attended by Chris Hodges, the US consul-general in Chennai, and Prof. V Kamakoti, director of IIT Madras. Prof. Kamakoti highlighted the center’s importance in integrating technology to both prevent and treat diseases like diabetes, which affects millions of people in India. Hodges discussed the collaboration between IIT Madras and the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center (EGDRC) in the US, expressing optimism for future research partnerships between the two countries.