New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS): All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, on Wednesday announced a partnership with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to promote collaboration in healthcare, emerging technologies, their applications, and policy development.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will boost regular dialogues and also drive innovative solutions to address healthcare challenges in the country.

“The importance of leveraging synergies between the two premier institutions will be of immense value to the translational research and play a key role in delivering quality patient care,” said Prof. M. Srinivas, Director of AIIMS.

CSIR is a research organisation with a network of laboratories, outreach centers, and innovation complexes across India. It's known for its research and development knowledge base in various scientific and technological areas.

Together the CSIR and AIIMS will establish a synergistic partnership aimed at propelling medical research forward, enhancing healthcare delivery, and tackling pressing health challenges in India. It will combine the clinical expertise of AIIMS with the technological and research excellence of CSIR to revolutionise healthcare innovations.

“This partnership will pave the way for significant breakthroughs in research, contributing to patient care and scientific progress in the country,” said Dr. Vinay Nandicoori, Director of CSIR-CCMB.

The AIIMS-CSIR collaboration marks the beginning of a transformative journey, promoting innovation and creating impactful solutions to address healthcare challenges in India.

AIIMS and the CSIR have previously collaborated on several projects. Currently, the institutions are working on a pilot project to convert biomedical waste into soil additives. CSIR has also tested the technology on biomedical waste with AIIMS.

AIIMS Bhopal is using a molecular PCR-based diagnostic test developed by CSIR-CCMB to help patients with sickle cell disease. The partnership also includes joint research projects on sickle cell disease and genetic health.