India urged to leverage health data and AI to 'pole-vault' toward affordable healthcare
核心洞察
Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari (搜索) called on India to integrate its fragmented genomic, proteomic and population health datasets with AI to accelerate drug discovery and biomarker identification.
He proposed a common platform uniting public health data, hospitals, research institutions, startups and young researchers to enable AI-driven drug repurposing and personalised healthcare.
India's delivery of roughly 1.75 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses within 10–11 months was cited as proof that collaboration can overcome resource constraints.
India should leverage its vast health and genomic datasets, artificial intelligence and its large pool of young researchers to accelerate drug discovery, biomarker identification and the delivery of affordable healthcare, said Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari (搜索), former Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), and former Director General, CSIR.
Delivering a lecture on "Science 4.0: AI-enabled affordable and quality healthcare for all. Can India pole-vault" at BRIC-Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (搜索) (BRIC-RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram, Prof. Brahmachari said India already has extensive repositories of genomic, proteomic, metabolomic and population-level health data, but these datasets remain fragmented across institutions. "The data is there, somebody has the ability to analyse it, but we must connect," he said.
The lecture was organised in association with institutions under the Thiruvananthapuram Research and Innovation Cluster.
A common platform for integrated health data
Prof. Brahmachari proposed creating a common platform bringing together public health datasets, hospital and diagnostic data, research institutions, startups and young researchers. Undergraduate and medical students could work with experts and AI tools on disease-specific research projects, he suggested.
Such an integrated model could facilitate AI-driven drug and biomarker discovery, drug repurposing, early detection of non-communicable diseases, prediction of adverse drug reactions and drug interactions, and personalised healthcare.
He also suggested developing disease-specific AI agents capable of extending specialist knowledge to areas with limited access to healthcare. An India-specific AI system focused on Ayurveda knowledge could be another potential application, he said.
'Pole-vaulting' through collaboration
Calling for India to "pole vault" in healthcare, Prof. Brahmachari said the country should integrate science, technology, engineering, information technology, industry and entrepreneurship. India's ability to leapfrog technological stages—from the Green and White Revolutions to IT, space technology and vaccine manufacturing—demonstrated that limited resources need not constrain ambition, he said.
He cited India's COVID-19 response, when around 1.75 billion vaccine doses were delivered within 10–11 months, as an example of what could be achieved through collaboration between the government, scientific community and industry.
Kerala as a test bed and the reinvention of Ayurveda
Prof. Brahmachari urged Kerala to use its strong scientific and healthcare ecosystem as a test bed for such an integrated model. He suggested developing a statewide antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) map by bringing together research institutions and microbiology students to collect and analyse data.
He also proposed a virtual network or dashboard mapping the expertise available across scientific institutions in Thiruvananthapuram. Research projects could then quickly identify and bring together the required expertise without being constrained by institutional boundaries.
Describing Kerala as the "citadel of Ayurveda," he called for the reinvention of Ayurveda for the 21st century and the development of evidence-based Ayurveda for personalised healthcare. "Our scientific institutions have not invested in understanding Ayurveda," he said.
Open innovation and the economics of discovery
Citing his earlier open-source drug discovery work, Prof. Brahmachari said crowdsourcing and collaboration could significantly expand access to scientific tools and knowledge. He noted that the cost of genomic sequencing had fallen dramatically due to technological advances, while the cost of drug discovery had increased substantially. Open innovation and the sharing of scientific knowledge would therefore be essential to make future healthcare technologies affordable, he said.
Describing the emergence of AI as "Science 4.0," Prof. Brahmachari said large language model (LLM) tools were becoming part of research teams. He urged young scientists to develop the ability to ask better questions and work across disciplinary boundaries. "Your aspiration should be far larger than the technology exists," he said, urging young researchers to pursue ambitious ideas and not allow conventional thinking or resource constraints to limit innovation.
Welcoming the gathering, Dr. Beena Pillai, Director, BRIC-RGCB, said the idea of harnessing technology to address the needs of ordinary people was reflected throughout Prof. Brahmachari's work.