IIT-Madras partners with National Institute of Siddha – Times of India

CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT Madras) is partnering with the National Institute of Siddha (NIS), a centre of excellence for research and higher education in siddha system of medicine, for the development of new collaborative teaching programmes and research in the areas of clinical research, molecular biology and in-vitro cell line studies and health system research.
An MoU was signed for this by IIT-Madras director V Kamakoti, Dr R Meenakumari, director, NIS, and under this, both institutes will jointly organize seminars, workshops, webinars, conferences, continuing education programmes [including Continuing Medical Education (CME)] and develop academic programmes. They will also promote the exchange of students, PhD, postdoctoral scholars and faculty for teaching/training programmes.
“Siddha is a very important school of Indian medicine. This collaboration will focus on establishing a scientific basis that explains the efficacy of Siddha medicines,” V Kamakoti, director, IIT-Madras, said.
“We hope that the collaboration will open new avenues for knowledge sharing about the tremendous therapeutic potential of available Siddha medicine and the application of cutting-edge technology of IIT-M in scientific validation of siddha formulations, identification of its bioactive molecule and mechanism of action,” Dr R Meenakumari, director, National Institute of Siddha (NIS), said.
The NIS Chennai works to improve the quality and standards of postgraduate education in siddha system and to conduct research and validate the siddha medicines for selected diseases.