1) Industrial collaborations:
1.1 MAHE – Philips Partnership
Philips and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) have been working together on various healthcare research projects since 2004. MAHE, with the support of Philips healthcare has created a research lab in the area of imaging at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal. This joint research activity has transformed into a research lab know as medical imaging research suite (MIRS) where post graduate interns, research students, clinicians and engineers work together towards healthcare innovation.
KMC Research Cell and Philips have initiated joint research program in the area of “Health Care Analytics” and Oncology Informatics” where in candidate during his research period will be supported by both Manipal University and Philips
MAHE – Philips Collaborative PhD program
Support from MAHE for this joint research will be in the form of “Phillips supported PhD program at KMC Manipal in Healthcare Analytics” research scholarship for three years and other benefits as per the University guidelines. MAHE and Philips will jointly mentor candidates selected for this research program. The PhD topics are conceptualized from Absolute Clinical Need from Healthcare Stream from KMC, Manipal. The main Guide / Principal Investigator will be from Healthcare Stream & Co-guide is from Philips or MAHE technical institution. Candidates from technical stream are preferred for this PhD program. Philips will support towards technology development and IP support for research.
Ongoing PhD Programs
1. MR Neurography: Optimization of a fat suppressed 3D T2 MR sequence combined with motion sensitizing iMSDE pre-pulse for imaging of peripheral nerves and in cranial nerves.
2. Development of a Predictive Labor Progress Model for Low Resource Settings. This research will help centres, which are managed at periphery by nurses and low resource areas.
3. Computer Aided Detection of Laryngeal Cancer using Machine Learning and Radiomics Features. Towards better treatment outcomes to oncology cases of laryngeal cancer Tumour feature extraction and analysis.
4. Development of an Efficient Data Analytics Model for Head and Neck Cancer using Clinical Features and Radiomics. Helpful for Oncologists and Radiotherapists for the prediction, diagnosis and treatment planning for Head and Neck Cancer patients.
Salient features:
· Selection of the candidates will be as per MAHE guidelines
· Selected candidates will be supported by Dr TMA Pai Ph.D. Scholarship of MAHE.
· Philips will support the research in terms of mentorship, technical support, training needs and research expenses as per the Master Research Collaboration Agreement (MRCA).
1.2 KMC – ICMR/Pfizer Partnership
ICMR has initiated a series of activities under its AMR initiative. AMR surveillance and AMSP are going on in 20 medical colleges/ hospitals across the country. ICMR recently initiated AMSP program in 2016 in tertiary care hospitals to train teams from both private and Govt. hospitals for treatment and infection control guidelines. ICMR signed a MoU with Pfizer at New Delhi on 30th March 2017 to focus on the core component areas to achieve the unified goal of reducing AMR. KMC Manipal is selected for the prestigious Phase I and Phase II initiatives, since KMC Manipal had initiated AMSP program in Kasturba Hospital in 2015 under Dr. TMA Pai endowment under the leadership of Dr. Vandana K E, Professor and Head of Department of Microbiology. The program in KMC has emphasized on standardized data collection on drug utilization and monitoring, revised the hospital antibiotic policy and antibiotic policy application, public awareness campaign, observation of world antibiotic awareness day, mass media programs such as radio, TV talk shows, and newspapers articles etc., point prevalence surveys on antibiotic usage patterns in the hospital and capacity building programs for consultant microbiologists from South India on “Interpretative clinical microbiology and stewardship”. Added to this, another novel initiative comprising experts with long standing experience in antimicrobial resistance, pharmacy practice, epidemiologists and clinicians under Manipal Academy of Higher Education under the banner of‘Antibiotic Guardianship & Education (AGE)’ has been established in 2019 to educating pharmacists and college students, creating awareness about regulations for doctors and general public including patients regarding AMSP.
2) MoU/Agreement done with major institutions all over the world
KMC Manipal conducts biomedical and interdisciplinary research in collaboration with numerous research and commercial organizations both in India and all across the world. Collaborations are usually formalized by memorandums of understanding signed between KMC-Manipal and the respected institute. Collaborations have been initiated with leading universities across the world for both academic and research purposes. Most recently research collaborations have been established between KMC Manipal and world class research facilities at The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), USA, The Regents of the University of Michigan, USA, The University of Nottingham, Public Health Foundation of India and The University of Bath, University of Nottingham, University of Bath and HRIDAY, New Delhi, University of Stirling, Scotland, University of Oxford, UK and Academy Medical Center, University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands. The nature of research collaborations at these institutes are as follows:
Institute | Nature of Collaborations |
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), USA | To further advance scientific knowledge and discoveries through the conduct of collaborative research |
The Regents of the University of Michigan, USA | Dept of NIH funded project “Genetic Diagnosis Heritable Neurodevelopmental Disorders with Exome Sequencing” |
The University of Nottingham, Public Health Foundation of India and The University of Bath | Medical Research Council to fund for the project titled “Primary prevention of chronic lung disease in India: preventing smoking uptake among adolescents” |
University of Nottingham, University of Bath and HRIDAY, New Delhi | The parties agreed to novation with PHF’s right and obligations under the Academic Collaboration Agreement to HRIDAY on the terms of this agreement with effect from August 9, 2017 |
The University of Stirling, Scotland | The University of Stirling wishes to carry out a portion of a research project entitled “Building capacity for applied research to reduce tobacco related harm in low and middle income countries”, funded by Medical Research Council, UK |
Merck Foundation | Merck to sponsor candidates for the MAHE Embryology Training Program |
Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory (ARRL) and Department of Infectious Diseases, Barwon Health (BH) | To initiate a Rickettsial reference laboratory (Manipal is the place of research in Karnataka) |
University of Oxford, UK | |
To study immunometabolism of the emerging infectious diseases Melioidosis in India (Indian Melioidosis | |
Research Forum and Center for Emerging and Tropical Diseases - www.melioidosisindia.com - is serving the nation as the Reference Center for Melioidosis diagnosis and research over years) | |
Academy Medical Center, University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands | To study the Molecular Analysis and Risk Stratification of Sepsis in India (MARS-India) |