The Inter University Centre for Biomedical Research & Super Speciality Hospital (IUCBR & SSH), Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU), in association with the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC), conducted a distinguished lecture under the Global Perspectives Lecture Series as part of the Brain Gain Programme.

The lecture, titled “Systems Without Silos: Building Full-Stack Pipelines for Translational Discovery,” was delivered by Dr. Nigil Haroon, MD, PhD, Head of the Division of Rheumatology at University Health Network and Sinai Health, Toronto, and Professor of Medicine and Rheumatology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Haroon is also a Senior Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute and the Schroeder Arthritis Institute, Toronto.

In his lecture, Dr. Haroon highlighted the importance of integrated, cross-disciplinary research pipelines in accelerating translational discovery and improving clinical outcomes. Drawing from his extensive experience in translational based research, he emphasized the need to break disciplinary silos and adopt systems-level approaches in modern biomedical research.

Dr. Haroon also shared insights from his pioneering work in ankylosing spondylitis, including functional genomics, inflammatory pathways, and population-scale studies that have reshaped current understanding of disease progression and therapeutic interventions.

Dr. Goutam Chandra, Senior Scientist at IUCBR, expressed gratitude to the Kerala State Higher Education Council for its support under the Brain Gain Programme. He reiterated IUCBR’s commitment to fostering global academic collaboration and strengthening translational research capacity in Kerala.

The programme drew enthusiastic participation from faculty members, researchers, clinicians, postgraduate students and young scientists. The lecture marked another milestone in MGU’s efforts to promote international academic exchange and cutting-edge biomedical research.