India’s first diabetes biobank has been established in Chennai, a collaboration between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF). This biobank, a crucial step in advancing scientific research, will collect, process, store, and distribute biological samples to study diabetes, its causes, variations, and related disorders, contributing to global health research.
The biobank aims to facilitate advanced research into the causes of diabetes, focusing on its unique patterns in India and related health conditions. Dr. V. Mohan, chairman of MDRF, highlighted that the biobank would aid in identifying novel biomarkers for early diagnosis and developing personalized treatment strategies for diabetes. The facility houses blood samples from two major ICMR-funded studies: the ICMR-India Diabetes (ICMR-INDIAB) study and the Registry of Young-Onset Diabetes, which will provide critical data for future research.
