Dr. Anil K. Suresh, Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences with SRM AP Pro VC Prof. Narayana Rao
A newly established research facility in the main academic block will house advanced equipment for research related to applications like cellular culture, drug delivery, cell imagingand cell cytotoxicity. Dr. Anil K. Suresh, Principal Investigator of the cell culture laboratory who is currently an Associate Professor at the department of Biological Sciences spearheaded the acquisition of lab equipment such as the Type 2 biosafety cabinet, CO2 incubators, cell counting machine, inverted and upright microscopes, table-top centrifuge, – 20 and 4 degree refrigerators and cell storage facility.
“At this facility the higher end epi-fluorescence microscope will in particular facilitate diagnosis and cure of several life threatening diseases like cancer (solid tumor) and leukemia”, said Dr. Suresh, “This is possible because the filters along with engineered nanoparticles pinpoint abnormalities and assign treatments with greater accuracy and efficiency.” However, these technologies with current limitations are not yet available for medical and pharmaceutical use because further intensive research is required before practical applications emerge. Hence, research facilities like this one at SRM AP will help to bridge the gap between technology and actual implementation.
Registrar Dr. D. Gunasekharan, Pro VC Prof. Narayana Rao, and Deputy Registrar, Dr. Siva Kumar at facility inauguration
According to SRM AP Pro VC Prof. Narayana Rao, SRMAP management will provide the necessary financial support to encourage faculty to establish research centers in their given areas of expertise. “Such laboratories can transform the university into a leading international research hub in science and technology, he said, “We are moving forward to establish SRM AP as a research intensive university with eight and such laboratories in the next year alone. In fact, a genome research facility will be launched next month on December 14th.”
The equipment was procured and funded through the “Early Career Research Award’ grant of the central government’s department of science and technology in response to a proposal submitted by Dr. Suresh.
Educational and small scale research institutions along with start-up pharmaceutical companies in and around Amaravati can also avail this cell culture facility, however appropriate training provided by the principal investigator would be a prerequisite.