Network Objectives
The ICMR Brain Bank Network India operates towards two core objectives, with a robust vision for future neuroscience research.
Establish Satellite Brain Banks
To establish satellite Brain Banks across India for promoting research in neuroscience.
Protocol Development
Develop, standardise, and harmonise protocols for collection, freezing, and neuropathological diagnosis among all satellite biobanks.
Gold Standard Preservation
Establish gold standards for tissue handling, safety, quality control, and ethics; evaluate cost-effective tissue preservation methods for India.
Capacity Building
Manpower development through workshops and short-term training programs in modern biobanking practices.
Awareness & Donation
Popularise tissue and organ donation among professionals and the community to promote research and reduce the donation deficit.
Networking Satellite Banks
Networking of satellite brain banks with NIMHANS as the nodal centre.
Centralised Database
Develop a common database of cases with standardised minimal clinical information. Data will be centrally held at NIMHANS Brain Bank server for all satellite banks to access.
Researcher Portal
Build a dedicated website for researchers to search the database and submit tissue requests online — streamlining access to specimens.
Ethics Guidelines
Establish transparent guidelines and protocols for the exchange of tissues and fluids with other biobanks, in full compliance with ICMR guidelines.
International Networking
Register the network with international bodies such as ISBER (International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories) for global recognition.
Brain Museums
Establish and develop satellite Brain Museums at each centre as national resources for medical and public education in neuroscience.
Future Research Perspectives
Priority research areas that the network aims to enable through its biobanking infrastructure.
Neurodegenerative Diseases
- • Explore mechanistic links behind dementia in the ageing process
- • Spatial transcriptomic atlas of human brain ageing in Indian populations
- • Standardise serological diagnostic tests for CNS infective diseases
- • Codon mutations in CJD in Indian population
Molecular Biology
- • Transcriptomic analysis of human Rabies cases
- • Transcriptomic profiling of haemorrhagic stroke
- • Development of cDNA library in normal and neurodegenerative diseases
- • DNA bank for genetically transmitted neurological diseases
Neuro-infections
- • Neuropathological evaluation of tubercular meningitis in the Indian context
- • Immuno-profiling in neuro-infections and epilepsy
- • Proteomics/genomics of CNS infections for biomarker discovery
- • Registries and database of neuro-infections for policy planning
Stem Cell Biology
- • Mapping the resting stem cell pool in the human brain at different ages
- • Response of resting stem cells following head injury
- • Identifying tumour stem cells in human brain tumours
Technology & Methods
- • Retrieve brain tissue from frozen state for histological processing without freezing artefacts
- • MRI imaging of human brain specimens for neuroanatomical and pathological correlation
- • Developing museum and teaching sets for medical colleges