A recent trip to India by a delegation of University faculty and administrators could lead to a bevy of new research opportunities, a partnership for a new degree program, and an international tenant for Innovista.

Harris Pastides, vice president for the Research and Health Sciences division, and four professors from medicine, arts and sciences, public health, and engineering and computing met with officials at several Indian research institutes and universities in Bangalore and Chennai in early January.

"We came back with a number of very good prospects for research collaboration and opportunities for student exchange," Pastides said. "India has many problems with poverty and a critical water shortage, but the country is also a mecca for innovation, science, and entrepreneurship. They are eager to partner with us in a number of areas, including alternative fuels, public health and clinical research, and nanoscience and computing."

A meeting with administrators at the Indian Institute of Clinical Research was especially fruitful, Pastides said. Leaders of that institute already have visited the Columbia campus with an eye toward establishing a North American university partner for a joint clinical master's degree program.

"The institute is responding to an influx of international pharmaceutical companies flocking to India to conduct clinical research," Pastides said. "We are quite interested in planning a joint degree program with them as well as exploring an Innovista location for a business headquarters for them to attract more clinical research by pharmaceutical companies who want an international platform."

Meera Narasimhan, a professor in neuropsychiatry and behavioral science in the School of Medicine and a member of Carolina's delegation to India, plans to collaborate with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience in Bangalore on clinical experiments focused on depression. Specifically, she's interested in a study on the effects of novel treatments such as Yoga to complement pharmaceutical antidepressant treatments in patients with refractory depression.

"Also, researchers from our Arnold School of Public Health and the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science are keen on partnering with the National Epidemiologic Institute in Chennai to look at the prevalence of metabolic syndrome with and without mental illness with a focus on diet and lifestyle in the Indian subcontinent," Narasimhan said.

James Hebert, an epidemiology professor who participated in the trip, is planning to spend a sabbatical year in India as part of a Fulbright fellowship. His leadership with Carolina's Cancer Prevention and Control Program could dovetail nicely with the metabolic research at the National Epidemiologic Institute in Chennai.

Geological sciences professor Venkat Lakshmi, another member of the University's delegation, is hoping to collaborate on a massive water infrastructure project in India. Tangali Sudarshan, an electrical engineering professor and member of the delegation to India, met with researchers there to discuss initiatives in alternative energy and nanoscience. While the University delegation was traveling through India, Indian carmaker Tata Motors introduced the Nano, a tiny car that could bring individual transportation to millions of Indian citizens.

2/08