Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology's (RGCB) major emphasis is on research programs looking at disease biology and molecular medicine. Our mission is to understand the underlying biology of human diseases and eventually develop a new complimentary approach to train individuals in translational clinical biology and promote collaborations between clinical and basic scientists. This we hope will serve as a catalyst to move discoveries effectively between bench and bedside.

The range of disease areas which are actively studied includes cancer, atherosclerosis & heart disease, tuberculosis, viral infections, cholera, neurological disorders and reproductive problems. In addition, application of modern technologies such as high throughput sequencing, DNA bar-coding, synthetic biology, nano-biotechnology and chemical biology are used to develop delivery systems, understand the fundamentals of cellular function during disease and also characterize the molecular taxonomy of disease manifestations.

Our integrated cancer research program includes scientists investigating the crucial role of cancer stem cells in drug resistance & minimal residual disease, engineering tumor cells for better anti cancer drug screening platforms, understanding the biology of tubulin binding drugs, looking for the molecular mechanisms involved in chemosensitization, development of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) as well as understanding the action of natural compounds on BRACA mutated breast cancers. In infectious diseases, we study molecular epidemiology of mycobacteria, host-pathogen interaction & regulation of macrophage gene expression by mycobacterial proteins, developing inhibitors to NS2 proteases in dengue fever and understanding the clinico-biology of cholera. We also search using metagenomics, the microbial flora in different environment niches for biologically active products and enzymes.

RGCB has a strong chemical biology program where anti microbial peptides are isolated from rare frogs found in the forests of the Western Ghats and then characterized & tested. We do DNA barcoding of such frogs as part of an international program on molecular ecology. Our chemical biologists also develop degradable scaffolds for cell differentiation, controlled drug release systems using polymer nanoparticles and film based drug releasing systems as well as design & synthesis of new polymer matrices for organic synthesis. Our human genetics program analyzes various pharmaco-genomic profiles and their role in responses to various drugs used for management of neuro-psychiatric disorders while in reproductive biology we search for differentially expressed proteomes associated with anomalies in sperm development & maturation as well as molecular factors involved in defective implantation and utero-embryo interaction.

RGCB's neurobiologists study in detail the role of the enzyme CaMKII in biochemical regulation at neuronal synapses and the trans-differentiation of umbilical cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cells into neural lineage, specifically into ocular fate specified cells. And finally our important cardio vascular biology laboratories investigate the molecular risk factors associated with type II diabetes in patients with cardiovascular disease, the molecular genetics of congenital cono-truncal anomalies and varicose veins. Another exciting study currently in pre clinical evaluation involves the use of cardiac stem cells in the management of ischemic injury.

RGCB also has take up with all due importance and earnest, development of advanced diagnostics for assessing diagnosis, prognosis and disease course for cardiac disease, cancer and infectious diseases. We already have an incubation facility with HLL Healthcare Ltd to jointly develop an accurate platform for differential dengue diagnosis. In addition we have upgraded our own Regional Facility for Molecular Diagnostics to also begin R&D programs in bioengineering. These programs include design and fabrication of modular assay systems including the development of nano release pads for the effective optimum release of test reagents in point of care testing devices, DNA detection and signal amplification via an allosteric enzyme system for the development of a model diagnostic technology and using circulating nucleic acid (CNA) as biomarkers for cancer and cardiac disease. We will also work specifically on biosensors and our senior bio-engineers have been entrusted with the task of building necessary platforms for this

RGCB is therefore a lead anchor in the translation process of biological sciences to better patient management - truly in the quest and delivery of "bench to bedside technology"