Bangalore Archdiocese

Media Release

Bengaluru, July 11 : The south zone Advanced Mycology Diagnostic and Research Centre [AMDRC] of the ICMR was inaugurated on 11th July 2023 at St. John’s Medical College and Hospital, Bengaluru. This would be one of the eight referral / nodal centres across India and the only centre for the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry.

This centre would be involved in training, diagnostics, research and community advocacy in the field of Mycology (fungal infections).
Dr George D’Souza, the Dean of St. John’s Medical College in his welcome address emphasized on the rising trend of invasive fungal infections and the commitment of St. John’s to find solutions to this problem. He highlighted the role of the institution in providing diagnostic and research opportunities in the field of Mycology at regional, national and international levels.

Rev Dr. Paul Parathazham, Director, St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences spoke of how this centre would help needy patients in line with the vision and mission of the institution. He emphasized on the immense support received by the institution from ICMR towards research initiatives in various fields. He reiterated the commitment of the institution to successfully completing all these projects in a timely fashion.

Dr. Rajiv Bahl, Secretary Division of Health Research, Govt of India and Director General, ICMR in his keynote address emphasized on the need to focus on building national assets in health research across centres of excellence in India. These would be essential in addressing the problems of today while also preparing for crisis situations of tomorrow. He encouraged institutions to engage in multicentric collaborative networks to undertake cutting edge research in neglected fields of health. This would help advance the development of a healthy nation in the near future, with India specific guidelines for various medical conditions.

Dr. Jayanthi Savio, Professor and Head, Dept. of Microbiology, and Principal Investigator, AMDRC outlined the functions of the centre and how it would help in patient management using state of art advanced molecular techniques in diagnosis. Students and faculty would be trained in Mycology thus building a repository of experts in the field across the country. Awareness regarding fungal infections would be promoted to facilitate early reporting and better treatment of patients in need. She thanked the ICMR for the grant of 5 crores to set up the advanced centre and the management of St. John’s Medical College for the infrastructure and personnel for this initiative.

Dr. Sujatha Rathod, Director of Medical Education, Govt. of Karnataka committed to the support for training and collaborative research in Mycology in the 70 medical colleges across Karnataka state. She also said that the medical education department aims to provide specialized medical care and facilities through quality medical and paramedical programmes and support to take these initiatives forward to serve patients.

Dr. Randeep S, Commissioner Ministry of Health and Family welfare, in his message shared his happiness that ICMR has taken on this mission to empower institutions in the management of fungal infections which is absolutely essential given the current challenges of healthcare delivery. He said that he will extend his support in this endeavour of equitable healthcare and collaborate with public and private healthcare facilities in achieving this.

Dr. Suja K S, Deputy Director, Advanced Research wing, RGUHS spoke about the importance of research projects funded for faculty, encouraged faculty in medical colleges to initiate integrated research projects and avail opportunities available with advanced centres.

Dr. Arunaloke Chakrabarti, former Professor and Head, Dept. of Microbiology, PGI Chandigarh spoke about the need identified in Mycology for setting up advanced centres across the country. He explained how we were able to manage the outbreaks of certain fungal infections such as mucormycosis and Candida auris due to the networking and advanced centres.

Dr. Rajiv Bahl inaugurated the centre virtually and a short video of the facility was played. The workshop being conducted on Clinical and Diagnostic Mycology from 11th to 15th July 2023 for faculty and post-graduates from across India was formally inaugurated with the release of the workshop manual by the dignitaries. The programme ended with the vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Priyadarshini A Padaki, co-PI of AMDRC. This was followed by the physical inauguration of the facility by Rev Dr Paul Parathazham.