Page 18 - CSIR-IGIB Annual Report 2020-21

From The Director’s Desk

Greetings!

This annual report for CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology covers a period dominated by
the global COVID-19 pandemic and follows a previous report (2018-2020) that detailed what the institute
was doing just at the start of the pandemic. I had then written about the strong scientific and institutional
foundations at the institute that made it possible for us to make some difference during this difficult
time. In this report, you will read about stellar work carried out by the faculty and students at IGIB during
the pandemic, such as establishing point of care viral genome sequencing micro-labs, implementing large
scale pooled genome sequencing mega-labs, conducting large national sero-surveys, developing paper-
based CRISPR diagnostics, and many other works which made a difference. But there is much more to
this report than that. IGIB science has been advancing on multiple fronts, ranging from basic CRISPR
biology to population respiratory health. It spans a wide range, with fundamental insights into RNA
biology going hand in hand with applications of non-coding RNA in diabetes or vitiligo.

I had hoped previously that we will come out of the pandemic stronger, with health and science
becoming inseparable topics. I reiterate that hope and note that we have already made progress along
that path.

Regards
Anurag Agrawal

Annual Report 2020-21 15