New scientific studies should be guided by previous research for better results, says former IISc director

Any new scientific study should be guided by the history of studies that were done many years ago to obtain better results, said P. Balaram, former director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, on Friday evening.

In his inaugural address at the 11th International Cell and Gene Therapy Conference (CGTCON 2026), which was organised by Centre for Stem Cell Research (CSCR) at CMC in Vellore, Dr. Balram said that exhaustive research on various areas of specialisation of healthcare has been done many years ago. Such research findings should be the foundation for young scientists to conduct new research. “The history of research that was done over all these years remains a guiding light for young researchers to take their studies to new heights,” he said.

The former IISc director highlighted the importance of conducting more detailed and intensive research on blood disorders. Basic research by scientists would play a key role in finding ways to treat blood disorders, he said.

Earlier, Biju George, Director, CMC, said that it was way back in 1986, Mammen Chandy, who headed the Department of Haematology in CMC then, established Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) as a curative form of treatment. “Matched sibling donor transplants were performed for a number of malignant and non-malignant haematological diseases. Unfortunately, a fully matched sibling or family donor can be identified in only 25% of families,” he said.

This year’s conference, that would end on October 10, will showcase developments across major disease areas, including haematological, ocular, diabetic and metabolic, neurological, cardiovascular, and dermatological disorders. It will also cover organoids and disease modelling, nucleic acid delivery technologies, and the industry, manufacturing, and regulatory aspects of advanced therapeutics.

The CGTCON 2026 aims to strengthen collaborations between clinicians, scientists, industry partners, and regulatory stakeholders.