KMC Manipal Receives The Prestigious SPARC Grant Award: Know More

Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, has been awarded a prestigious SPARC grant of Rs 41,13,233 under the ministry of human resource development’s Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC). KMC Manipal is the only medical college in India to receive this grant in the domain of ‘Healthcare: Emergent Areas of Impact – Infectious Diseases’. Dr

Manali Hazarika from department of ophthalmology the principal investigator of the project titled ‘Evaluation of the Bacterial Ocular Surface Microbiome in Neonates’, received the award. This is the first study of its kind in India. The research is being conducted in collaboration with Dr Mark Willcox and Dr Jerome Ozkan from the University of New South Wales, Australia, along with co-PIs Dr Sulatha Bhandary, Dr Leslie Lewis, and Dr Kiran Chawla from KMC Manipal.

As part of the SPARC initiative, KMC’s ophthalmology and microbiology departments, along with other MAHE institutions, hosted Dr Jerome Ozkan from January 13–17, 2025. During his visit, an international workshop on metagenomics, titled ‘Exploring the Hidden World of Microbial Diversity’, was organized, featuring hands-on training and expert didactic sessions. Dr Ozkan is world renowned for his work in analysis of DNA sequence analysis and bioinformatics of the ocular surface. They highlighted the significance of metagenomics in advancing microbial research and the impact of SPARC grants in fostering international collaboration, enhancing national research capabilities, and improving MAHE’s global standing