The SPARC Project Symposium, hosted by the School of Biotechnology at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham from February 9–11, 2026, represents a strategic research collaboration uniting Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, IIT Kanpur, and the University of Melbourne.
The SPARC Project Symposium, hosted by the School of Biotechnology at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham from February 9–11, 2026 , represents a strategic research collaboration uniting Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, IIT Kanpur, and the University of Melbourne. Designed to foster deep academic partnerships under the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) , the three-day event features a comprehensive agenda covering critical advancements in Molecular Therapeutics, Computational AI in Medicine, Disease Biology, Immunity, and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Beyond the expert-led technical sessions, the symposium actively engages the next generation of researchers through a dedicated student poster presentation session, providing a platform for emerging scholars to showcase their work alongside established faculty. This convergence of high-level scientific discourse and student participation is further enriched by cultural exchanges and networking opportunities, strengthening the long-term collaborative ties between these premier Indian and Australian institutions
The Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), an initiative of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, aims to strengthen the research ecosystem of Indian higher educational institutions by supporting joint research projects between top Indian institutions and globally ranked foreign universities. Through faculty and student mobility, SPARC brings international expertise to address national challenges, nurtures long-term partnerships, and enhances the global standing of Indian academia.
Dr. Richard Strugnell
Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
University of Melbourne
Dr. Frederic Hollande
Professor, Department of Clinical Pathology, University of Melbourne
Dr. Mark R. Davies
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne
Dr. Sacha J. Pidot
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne
Dr. Alexandra Corbett
Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
University of Melbourne
Dr. Amy Chung
Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne
Dr. Andre Mu
Senior Lecturer, Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
University of Melbourne
Dr. Sandeep Verma
Professor, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Dr. Ashok Kumar
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur
Dr. Sri Sivakumar
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
Dr. Rabibrata Mukherjee
Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri
President, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh
Pro Vice Chancellor
Dr. Bipin G. Nair
Dean & Head of School, School of Biotechnology, Amritapuri
Dr. Geetha B. Kumar
Dean & HoS, School of Physical Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Dr. Krishnakumar R
Professor, Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Amrita Hospital
Dr. Gopal S. Pillai
Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Amrita Hospital
Dr. Dipu T S
Professor, Division of Infectious Disease, Amrita Hospital
Dr. Sudheeran Kannoth
Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, Amrita Hospital
Dr. Praveena N. B.
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Amrita Hospital
Dr. Satheesh Babu T. G
Professor, Department of Chemistry, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Dr. Rahul Krishnan P.
Assistant Professor, Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Dr. Gilad Gressel
Research Associate, Amrita Center for Cybersecurity Systems & Networks
Dr. Ajith Madhavan
Associate Professor,
School of Biotechnology
Dr. Jayalekshmi H
Associate Professor, School of Biotechnology
Dr. Indulekha Pillai
Assistant Professor, School of Biotechnology
Dr. Aravind Madhavan
Assistant Professor, School of Biotechnology
Dr. Muralidharan V
Assistant Professor, School of Biotechnology
Dr. Pradeesh Babu
Assistant Professor, School of Biotechnology
| Time | Session | Speakers / Details |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 am – 10:00 am | Welcome Address | Prof. Geetha Kumar Dean, School of Physical Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Prof. Rabibrata Mukherjee Dept. of Chemical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur Prof. Sandeep Verma Dept. of Chemistry, IIT Kanpur Prof. Richard Strugnell Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Melbourne Prof. Bipin G. Nair Dean, Life Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 09:45 am – 10:00 am | Benedictory Address | Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri President, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 10:00 am – 10:15 am | Amrita University Presentation | Dr. Maneesha V Ramesh Pro Vice Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 10:15 am – 10:45 am | Tea Break | |
| Session: Molecular Therapeutics and Diagnostics Session Chair: Dr. Bipin Nair, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham | ||
| 10:45 am – 11:15 am | Bioactive metabolite discovery from human pathogenic Nocardia species | Prof. Sacha Pidot University of Melbourne |
| 11:15 am – 11:45 am | Targeted and Minimally Invasive Therapeutic Innovations for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Chronic Fatty Liver Disease | Dr. Ashok Kumar IIT Kanpur |
| 11:45 am – 12:15 pm | Rationalizing antibiotic prescriptions after pediatric heart surgery: Results of ICMR study on bacterial sepsis after congenital heart surgery (BESEACH) | Dr. Krishna Kumar Amrita Hospitals |
| 12:15 pm – 12:40 pm | Rapid and Affordable Point-of-Care Detection of Bacteria and Fungi | Dr. Satheesh Babu Amrita University |
| 12:40 pm – 01:30 pm | Lunch Break | |
| 02:00 pm – 03:30 pm | Meeting with AMMA (The Chancellor) | Venue: Ashram |
| 04:00 pm – 04:30 pm | Meeting with Amrita Centre for International Programs & Pro Vice Chancellor | Venue: Shraddha Hall |
| 04:30 pm – 05:00 pm | Prof. Rabibrata Mukherjee SPARC, National Coordinator, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur | |
| 05:00 pm – 06:00 pm | Facilities & Campus Tour | |
| 06:00 pm – 07:00 pm | Faculty Interaction | |
| 07:00 pm | Dinner | |
| Time | Session | Speakers / Details |
|---|---|---|
| Session: Computational and AI Tools in Medicine Session Chair – Dr. Andre Mu, University of Melbourne | ||
| 09:30 am – 10:00 am | Evolutionary dynamics of Streptococcus pyogenes: Developing surveillance systems to inform vaccine design | Prof. Mark Davies University of Melbourne |
| 10:00 am – 10:20 am | AI in Healthcare Diagnostics and Rehabilitation | Dr. Rahul Krishnan Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 10:20 am – 10:40 am | AI for Endoscopic Ultrasound, Automatic Segmentation of 3D Hearts for Congenital Heart Disease | Dr. Gilad Gressel Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 10:40 am – 11:00 am | Bacteriophage Therapy: From Bench to Bedside – A Multi-Sectoral One Health Approach to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance | Dr. Pradeesh Babu Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 11:00 am – 11:30 am | Tea Break | |
| Session: Disease Biology Session Chair – Dr. Sandeep Verma, IIT Kanpur | ||
| 11:30 am – 12:00 noon | Investigating the role of Nicotinamide Acetyl Choline Receptors (nAChR) in lung cancer: insights on disease progression of never smokers | Prof. Tapasya Srivastava Delhi University |
| 12:00 pm – 12:25 pm | Host-Directed Therapeutic Strategies for the Treatment of Bacterial Infections | Dr. Aravind Madhavan Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 12:25 pm – 12:55 pm | Characterisation of predictive biomarkers and therapeutic targets in colorectal and pancreatic cancer | Prof. Frederic Hollande University of Melbourne |
| 12:55 pm – 01:20 pm | Innate immune regulation of fibroblast plasticity during cardiac calcification | Dr. Indulekha Pillai Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 01:20 pm – 02:30 pm | Lunch Break | |
| Time | Session | Speakers / Details |
|---|---|---|
| Session: Immunity in Health and Disease Session Chair – Dr. Sacha Pidot, University of Melbourne | ||
| 09:30 am – 10:00 am | Characterizing protective antibody responses against Infectious Diseases | Prof. Amy Chung University of Melbourne |
| 10:00 am – 10:30 am | Autoimmune Neurology – from inflammation to degeneration | Dr. Sudheeran Kannoth Amrita Hospitals |
| 10:30 am – 11:00 am | Mucosal Associated Invariant T cells – immune recognition of metabolite antigens | Prof. Alexandra Corbett University of Melbourne |
| 11:00 am – 11:30 am | Microbiota–mucus Tango: The hidden dance of gut inflammation | Dr. C. V. Srikanth Regional Center for Biotechnology, Faridabad |
| 11:30 am – 12:00 pm | Tea Break | |
| Session: Combating AMR Session Chair – Prof. S. Sivakumar, IIT Kanpur | ||
| 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm | The microbial ecology of infectious diseases | Dr. Andre Mu University of Melbourne |
| 12:30 pm – 12:50 pm | Disarming pathogens: Anti-virulent strategies against bacterial and fungal pathogens | Dr. Jayalekshmi H. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 12:50 pm – 01:20 pm | AMR and vaccination | Prof. Richard Strugnell University of Melbourne |
| 01:20 pm – 01:40 pm | Deciphering the hyper-vulnerability of the phage production-host, Escherichia coli ST155 to bacteriophage infections | Dr. Ajith Madhavan Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 01:40 pm – 02:30 pm | Lunch Break | |
| 02:30 pm – 03:45 pm | Poster Presentation | |
| Session: Clinical Insights Session Chair – Prof. Geetha Kumar, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham | ||
| 04:00 pm – 04:20 pm | Combating AMR: A clinical perspective | Dr. Dipu T. S. Amrita Hospitals |
| 04:20 pm – 04:40 pm | Ocular infections – An overview and challenges to solve | Dr. Gopal Pillai Amrita Hospitals |
| 04:40 pm – 05:00 pm | Leveraging multi-omics strategies in clinical and preclinical research: special emphasis on snakebite envenomation and diminished ovarian reserve | Dr. Muralidharan V. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 05:00 pm – 05:15 pm | Closing Remarks | Dr. Bipin Nair Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| 05:15 pm – 06:30 pm | Concluding Session | Venue – Shraddha Hall |
