The Centre for Biochemical Technology (CBT), a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been renamed as Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB). The central government has allotted six acres of land to IGIB to set up a Diamond Jubilee Genome Campus in New Delhi. IGIB would set up world class computing facility to conduct genome research in the new center.

Speaking to media persons, Dr Samir K Brahmachari, director IGIB said that the new name would not only reflect the present position and new content of R&D but also will give focus to activities and a direction to the future. By changing the name, the center would be able to attract expert faculty and young talent from India and abroad, he added.

He said that the institute has already acquired the state-of-the-art facilities and capabilities required for its new character. He felt that the institute required an expansion, as it is poised for innovative research and technology development programmes in the area of genomics and modern biology.

"In the post genomic era biology needs to be studied not only from reductionist approach but from an integrative approach, which includes among other things, large scale application of information technology to biology. IGIB would be the first institute in the country which is mandated to undertake these activities in a organized manner", he said.

The new facility that would be coming up in New Delhi would add on to the existing capabilities of the institute. The director said that the development of the new facility would be carried out in a professional manner. While the current faculty strength of CBT is 45, IGIB, with its additional facility in place, will have 75 faculty. The number of post-graduate students the center can accommodate would also grow several folds in the coming years.

The director said that the new facility would concentrate on discovery genomics and application genomics and hoped to develop it into a center where virtual organs, virtual patients and virtual drugs can be created.

Criticizing the negative reportage of Indian media when it comes to science related researches, Dr Brahmachari asked Indian media to help Indian research community build a positive image abroad. "Let us decide that we would carry only positive news about Indian scientific research for one year. I assure you that the confidence one would be able to inculcate within the Indian scientists because of that would be remarkable. It will also lead to better inventions," he felt.

He also said that the center has bagged an international patent for a computer-based method for genome-wise comparison of organisms, and added that it shows the institution''''s capabilities to undertake post-genomic research.

The software is to be marketed by TATA ELXSI, a TATA Group company that is into the computer systems marketing. The tools of bioinformatics will support post-genome drug research that looks for predictive and regenerative medicines.
Dr Brahmachari said that the new premises would be a private-public joint venture. He felt that it is too early to go into the details of the project but expressed hope that they would be able to move into the first building of the newly announced center within a year.

However the mission statement of IGIB continues to be the same and read as "to translate concepts developed in basic biological research to commercially viable technologies for healthcare."