Centre for Development of Knowledge and Awareness (CEDKA), a New Delhi-based public trust, is organizing a six day international conference on bioinformatics from March 20, 2003. The conference is to be attended by speakers from foreign research institutions and genetic/genomic and related biotechnology companies. Debate on the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) of genetic and genomic research will also be part of the symbosium. CEDKA intends to ensure the participation of 800 to 1000 delegates from biotech related sectors from within the country and abroad.

According to organizers, the event is to cover the methods-to-application-to-discovery practice spectrum. “First, presenters will discuss current genomic discovery and genetic associations with bioinformatics, as well as the long-range possibilities and implications of such work. The second group of talks will focus on the translation of pure bioinformatics research into applied genetic disease associations. After the third group presents the significance of bioinformatics on the future of biomedical science, there will be a forum to motivate discussion on the relationships between bioinformatics, its research relevance, and ways to use this information to provide enhanced research outcomes. Research areas to be discussed will include database, methodology and tool development,” a CEDKA statement said.

The organization also claimed to have formed a tie-up with US based Bioinformatics Research Center (BRC) for initiating joint programmes in research, training and other programmes in the field of multi-disciplinary bioinformatics.