ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/3/2004 06 February 2004
Australia-India biotechnology conference in Bangalore to focus on diseases, immunology
A major Indo-Australian Conference on Biotechnology in Medicine is to be held next week in Bangalore. The conference is being organised jointly by the Australian High Commission in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, and the Christian Medical College, Vellore.
"The conference is being held at a time when Australia-India links are surging and when interest in closer collaboration between India and Australia in education, science and training has never been stronger," said the Australian High Commissioner to India, Ms Penny Wensley AO.
"This year we will see major delegations from Australia visiting India to discuss a range of issues in the fields of the social sciences, humanities, engineering, biotechnology, pure sciences and legal and financial services," said Ms Wensley.
The conference, from 9-11 February, will bring leading scientists and practitioners from Australia and India on to a platform with 700 young Indian scholars. It will address issues concerning the use of biotechnology in medicine with particular focus on immunology, infectious diseases, genomics and pharmacogenomics, and cancer. The venue of the conference will be the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
The High Commissioner added that the high-level representation from Australia at the Biotechnology in Medicine conference in Bangalore would open up possibilities for new science partnerships between India and Australia. "I particularly welcome the 700 young Indian biotechnology scholars to the conference. They represent India's future in biotechnology and their interaction with Australia's well-regarded biotechnology science community holds significant potential for exciting collaboration in the future," said Ms Wensley.
In his message to participants, conference patron and eminent Australian scientist Sir Gustav Nossal AC said, "Biotechnology is clearly one of the most promising areas of research over the next 50 years. It bids fair to revolutionise the practice of medicine, agriculture and many other fields of industry."
"Both India and Australia have wonderful science in this area, but are still relatively small players in comparison with the U.S., Europe and Japan. It makes great sense to explore ways in which India and Australia can collaborate towards mutual advantage," said Sir Gustav.
Professor G. Padmanaban, Emeritus Scientist, Indian Institute of Science, will inaugurate the conference on 9 February 2004. Professor Michael Good, Director of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australia, will deliver the keynote address on the theme, "Looking to the future - impact and challenges for translating biotechnology and medical research into better health."
A satellite symposium on bio-materials and bio-engineering will be held at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education on 13 February. Speakers from Australia and India will participate in the symposium.
For more information about the Indo-Australian Conference on Biotechnology in Medicine, please refer to: http://www.ausgovindia.com/education
For further information, please contact Mr Quentin Stevenson-Perks (011) 26888223 ext 256, or Mr John Fisher (011) 26888223, ext 197.