New Delhi: Max Healthcare Institute Ltd has joined an international research consortium under the Indo-European COMBAT initiative aimed at strengthening dengue research and improving global preparedness for mosquito-borne diseases.
The initiative, supported by the Department of Biotechnology and the European Commission, brings together leading institutions from India and Europe to develop technology-driven approaches for better understanding, diagnosis and management of dengue and related infectious diseases.
The consortium has secured a major research grant to support the programme, which will focus on studying disease progression and identifying early warning markers that can help improve patient outcomes and response strategies.
Representing Max Healthcare Institute Ltd in the project are principal investigators Sandeep Budhiraja, Group Medical Director and Atul Thatai, Director – Molecular Diagnostics and Cytogenomics. The collaboration has been facilitated by Ujjwal Neogi, Associate Professor at the Karolinska Institute, while the initiative is being led in India by the BRIC National Institute of Biomedical Genomics.
The research programme will combine multi-omics technologies, clinical data and artificial intelligence to improve understanding of how dengue progresses in patients. Researchers aim to identify predictive biomarkers that could enable earlier diagnosis and more targeted clinical interventions.
Commenting on the collaboration, Budhiraja said,”Dengue continues to pose a major public health challenge in India and partnerships that combine clinical expertise with advanced research technologies can help strengthen early diagnosis and improve patient outcomes.”
Neogi highlighted the global importance of such collaborations, noting that bringing together Europe’s scientific capabilities and India’s clinical expertise can help develop scalable, data-driven solutions for infectious diseases and improve preparedness for future health threats.
Dengue remains a major health concern across tropical and subtropical regions, including India, where periodic outbreaks place pressure on healthcare systems. Experts believe that collaborative research initiatives like COMBAT could help build stronger surveillance, diagnostic and treatment frameworks while advancing global pandemic preparedness through data-driven innovation and cross-border scientific cooperation.
