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The Department of Biotechnology has issued a call for collaboration among researchers, scientists, and clinicians in a concerted effort to address the growing concerns surrounding cardiovascular health and diseases. As part of its chronic and lifestyle disease program, the department is encouraging multicentric research projects aimed at advancing our understanding of cardiovascular complications and cardiac function. The ultimate goal is to develop effective strategies for early risk assessment and prevention.
The department’s Expression of Interest (EOI) document highlights alarming statistics from recent studies on the Global Burden of Diseases, which ranked cardiovascular disease as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India from 1990 to 2019. While metabolic drivers such as diabetes and obesity are well-known contributors, the document emphasizes that economic, social, and environmental factors also play a significant role in the pathways leading to cardiovascular diseases.
The impact of COVID-19 on cardiac health has only added to the urgency of this call. The pandemic has exacerbated existing cardiac conditions and brought new challenges to light, underscoring the need for innovative biological models that can better explain, prevent, and treat cardiovascular diseases.
In response to these mounting concerns, the Department of Biotechnology is inviting EOIs from academic institutions to develop collaborative research projects that explore areas such as the cardiovascular consequences of viral infections, advanced models for understanding cardiac function, and new approaches for drug discovery. By focusing on high-risk populations, the department hopes to uncover novel biomarkers and develop predictive algorithms that can facilitate early detection and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
This initiative is poised to bring together diverse expertise and resources, marking a pivotal step toward addressing one of India’s most pressing health challenges. Researchers and clinicians are encouraged to seize the opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking work that could have far-reaching implications for cardiovascular health in India and beyond.
