Director, CSIR-IIIM, Dr. Zabeer Ahmed inaugurated this health check-up camp of very unique type which is specifically aimed to integrate state-of-the-art AI/ML models with comprehensive health data, laying the foundation for precision medicine with personalized disease risk scores, for the Indian population. While speaking during the inaugural event, Dr. Zabeer Ahmed said that CSIR is one of the largest research and development organisations of India and has a network of 37 laboratories situated across the whole country. “This is a Pan India programme running at the national laboratories and centres of CSIR, spread throughout the country” he added and mentioned that the data generated through Phenome India programme would also enable the team to develop various diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for various health conditions impacting the Indian population.
After the inauguration, Dr. Zabeer Ahmed went to all the testing stations and assessed the preparedness for the three-day sampling programme, expected to have about 200 voluntary participants from CSIR-IIIM, Jammu. He also interacted with the PI-CHeCK team and encouraged the volunteers to actively engage in the programme.
A spokesperson informed that under this programme, CSIR-IIIM has invited its employees, pensioners, and their spouses to voluntarily participate in this unique opportunity for comprehensive health assessments, including gut microbiome analysis, transient elastography/fibroscan for liver health, electrocardiogram for heart health, spirometry and oscilometry for lung function assessment and skin barrier testing, as well as complete blood biochemistry covering essential parameters like Liver function test (LFT), Kidney Function Test (KFT), Complete Blood Count (CBC), Lipid Profile, and many more.
PI-CHeCK sampling at Jammu is being coordinated by Dr. Sumit G. Gandhi, Senior Principal Scientist and Head of Infectious Diseases Division and Dr. Vamsi Yenamandra, Physician Scientist, CSIR- Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB), alongwith the active assistance of Rajendra Kumar and Sanjay Sharma (Principal Technical Officers). The programme is being spearheaded under the overall supervision of Dr. Shantanu Sengupta, Chief Scientist at CSIR-IGIB and Principal Investigator of this project.