Organisations propose projects to curb COVID-19

The Bangalore Life Sciences Cluster (BLiSC) will soon propose projects to achieve immediate and medium-term response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a statement, BLiSc said it is “actively participating in the national effort to track, study and counter the pandemic.”

The BLiSc comprises the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (InStem) and Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-Camp).

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Immediate-effect proposals

The cluster is submitting immediate-effect proposals to the empowered committee for fast-track approval, including solutions for COVID-19-monitoring, based on the campus’ existing capabilities in molecular biology; genetics and molecular epidemiology for mapping the disease spread, susceptibility; and technological solutions for multiple aspects of COVID-19 management, including better diagnostic methods and clinical management.

Another immediate-term proposal includes developing techniques for better protection against the infection.

Medium-term response

The medium-response proposals consist of a multi-institutional effort to model the spread of the disease, using modern genomics and bioinformatics approaches to understand the evolution of the pathogen, specifically, its ability to cause disease and thereby map the susceptibility of human populations to COVID-19.