India’s first dedicated Bioengineering Centre of Excellence for Lung Health has been inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad), marking a significant milestone in advanced respiratory research. The Centre has been established in collaboration with the Institute for Lung Health (ILH), Germany, creating a strong Indo-German scientific partnership.
According to an official release from IIT Hyderabad, the initiative addresses the rising demand both nationally and globally for sophisticated lung health research. It aims to promote cutting-edge, interdisciplinary work at the intersection of bioengineering and clinical medicine.
The Centre is jointly headed by Prof. Renu John from IIT Hyderabad and Prof. Soni Savai Pullamsetti from ILH, Germany. Designed as a global collaboration hub, the ILH–IITH Bioengineering Centre of Excellence will focus on interdisciplinary research, capacity building, innovation, and talent development in the field of lung health, further strengthening biomedical cooperation between India and Germany.
The partnership brings together engineering expertise and clinical science to develop advanced therapies, non-invasive diagnostic tools, and training programmes for the next generation of lung health researchers. The release highlighted that accurate evaluation of pulmonary and cardiac function remains a major challenge due to the limitations of existing technologies.
To address these gaps, the Centre will work on developing novel, non-invasive methods for lung function assessment, disease modelling, and personalised treatment approaches.
The Centre was formally inaugurated by IIT Hyderabad Director Prof. B S Murty. The event was attended by several eminent speakers, including AIG Hospitals Chairman Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, ILH Director and Chairman of the German Center for Lung Diseases (DZL) Prof. Werner Seeger.