IIT Madras launches Department of Medical Sciences and Technology

The course offers an interdisciplinary approach to prepare students for designing life-saving medical devices, drug discovery, artificial intelligence in medicine, and fundamental medical research. The department will train physicians to effectively apply technology in their clinical practice and lay the foundation for physician-scientists training in India.

The Department was launched on Thursday in the presence of Lakshmi Narayanan, Co-Founder, Cognizant, V  Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Medical clinicians on the Steering Committee of the Department and other stakeholders.

The goal is to establish an research facility for medical sciences and technology to develop and train ‘physician-scientists’ and engineering physiologists to become the future leaders in their fields. The new department will conduct both fundamental and applied research programs that connect various medical disciplines. By providing the necessary resources and platform, IIT Madras hope to enable researchers to create innovative technologies that will improve the lives of patients for generations to come. The Institute also aims to establish an exceptional research facility for medical sciences and technology to develop and train physician-scientists and engineering physiologists to become the future leaders in their fields.

“During the COVID outbreak in India, it became evident that we needed to incorporate technology into medicine to effectively handle similar situations in the future as a country. Though we hope such challenges never arise again, this intervention will be crucial in defining our response,” Kamakoti said.