Canada and Spain have agreed to accept referrals from the processing centers, officials said.
News of the centers comes just two weeks before a seismic shake-up in border policy, the lifting of Title 42. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will announce details at a joint press conference Thursday morning at the State Department. The White House will also release a fact sheet about the regional processing centers and other efforts to prepare for the May 11 end of Title 42, the Trump-era border policy that has been used more than 2 million times to expel asylum-seeking migrants on public health grounds.
The processing centers are just one piece of the administration’s multi-pronged response as the White House tries to strike a balance of deterrence with creating additional legal pathways. Officials also announced the expansion of the family reunification parole program to include Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Colombia, a program previously only available to Cubans and Haitians.
“[It’s] a significant plan that is really at a level of ambition and scale that has never been done before,” a senior administration official told reporters. “However, there is far more that we could do if we had the cooperation of Congress. They have really tied our hands, and so we really do appeal to Congress to work with us.”
The White House has been intensely planning for the end of Title 42 since before the New Year, weighing a patchwork of policy solutions. May, already the historically busiest month for migration, is expected to bring one of the greatest policy challenges yet for the White House. And the timing falls at a challenging political moment for President Joe Biden, who just launched his 2024 reelection campaign.
The efforts to expand legal pathways and expedite processing will be paired with deterrence measures — in an effort to build upon the humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, which officials tout as a success story in bringing border numbers down. The program for these groups will continue, officials said, including the expulsion to Mexico of those who try to enter the U.S. unlawfully.
In place of Title 42, officials also plan to rely on a new rule that will bar some migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they cross the border illegally or fail to first apply for safe harbor in another country. The administration has been working to finalize and implement the rule — a version of a Trump-era policy often called the “transit ban” — before May 11.
The administration will also expand expedited removal processes under Title 8, officials said Thursday, which would allow the government to remove from the country anyone unable to establish a legal basis — such as an approved asylum claim.
“With this shift from Title 42 to Title 8, it does not mean that the border is open,” a senior administration official said Thursday. “Returning to regular order under Title 8 means that we will once again be able to impose significant consequences on those who fail to avail themselves of the many legal pathways that we have announced today and that already exist.”
The Biden administration has 24,000 agents and officers at the border and is hiring an additional 300 border patrol agents this year. They’re also prepping Custom and Border Protection facilities to include spaces for interviews with asylum officers, immigration judges and for counsel purposes.
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#Biden #admin #set #migrant #processing #centers #Latin #America #reduce #border #strain
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Srinagar, Apr 08: Most of the studies conducted across the world suggested that individuals who fast experience improvements in their symptoms of depression, anxiety and even stress, said mental health experts.
Dr Yasir Hassan Rather, Professor in Department of Psychiatry, IMHANS, GMC Srinagar told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that research has found that fasting during Ramadan can have a positive psychological effect on individuals due to the feeling of connection with the community and spiritual wellbeing.
“Studies have also shown that fasting can increase feelings of self discipline, self-control, empathy and compassion,” he said.
Additionally, fasting has been linked with improved mental health due to increased gratitude, mindfulness, and improved concentration, Dr Yasir said.
Dr Neelofer Jan Senior Resident at Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences-Kashmir told KNO that several studies have shown that fasting can have positive effects on mental health. It can reduce stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms and also can help improve and decrease progression of various neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia.
“Fasting causes the human body to deplete its glucose stores. With no available glucose, the body converts stored fats into ketones. These ketones work as a fresh fuel to power-up the brain’s processes. Therefore, after the initial “brain fog” experienced during initial days of fasting, mind becomes much clearer and ability to focus is sharper. The neurons in the brain use this new fuel to enter a growth phase and create new synapses, which result in improved learning and memory,” she said.
A study published in Current Neuropharmacology in 2015 found that the short-term calorie restriction from fasting can boost anti-depressant chemicals in the brain. Dr Nelofar said that after a few days of fasting, the body adapts to starvation and starts to release high amounts of happy hormones including endorphins, norepinephrine and dopamine into the brain.
“Some studies have also demonstrated improved sleep patterns in patients with insomnia compared to pre-fasting levels and a possible decrease in migraine due to serotonin levels going up. Depending on the length of the fast, there is also an improvement in chronic inflammation,” she said.
“Chronic inflammation increases the risk of developing illnesses, like cardiovasculardiseases, rheumatoid arthritis,lupus, certain cancers, and also major mental health disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.”
An extremely interesting phenomena discovered during fasting is known as autophagy as the brain breaks down old and damaged cells and recycles them into new ones, Dr Neelofar said.
“Through this self-eating process, the toxins are removed from the brain delaying the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s. Most of these findings have been confirmed on lab animals because controlled studies on human brain is difficult,” she said.
Studies have shown that children suffering from epileptic seizures had fewer incidences of seizures when placed on calorie restriction diet or fasting as it counteracts the over-excited signals exhibited in epileptic brain, she added—(KNO)
SRINAGAR: Studies conducted across the world suggest that individuals who fast experience improvements in their symptoms of depression, anxiety and even stress levels.
Mental health experts note that fasting for a certain number of hours each day have a wide range of mental health benefits.
Dr Yasir Hassan Rather, Professor in Department of Psychiatry, IMHANS, GMC Srinagar said that research has found that fasting during Ramadan can have a positive psychological effect on individuals due to the feeling of connection with the community and spiritual well being.
“Studies have also shown that fasting can increase feelings of self discipline, self-control, empathy and compassion,” he said.
Additionally, fasting has been linked with improved mental health due to increased gratitude, mindfulness, and improved concentration, Dr Yasir said.
Dr Neelofer Jan Senior Resident at Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences-Kashmir said that several studies have shown that fasting can have positive effects on mental health. It can reduce stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms and also can help improve and decrease progression of various neurodegenerative diseases like dementia, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia.
“Fasting causes the human body to deplete its glucose stores. With no available glucose, body converts stored fats into ketones. Ketones further work as a fresh fuel to power-up the brain’s processes. Therefore, after the initial “brain fog” experienced during initial days of fasting, mind becomes much clearer and ability to focus is sharper. The neurons in the brain use this new fuel to enter a growth phase and create new synapses, which result in improved learning and memory,” she said.
A study published in Current Neuropharmacology in 2015 found that the short-term calorie restriction from fasting can boost anti-depressant chemicals in the brain.
Dr Nelofar said that after a few days of fasting, the body adapts to starvation and starts to release high amounts of happy hormones including endorphins, norepinephrine and dopamine into the brain.
“Some studies have also demonstrated improved sleep patterns in patients with insomnia compared to pre-fasting levels and a possible decrease in migraine due to serotonin levels going up. Depending on the length of the fast, there is also an improvement in chronic inflammation,” she said.
“Chronic inflammation increases the risk of developing illnesses, like cardiovasculardiseases, rheumatoid arthritis,lupus, certain cancers, and also major mental health disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.”
An extremely interesting phenomena discovered during fasting is known as autophagy as the brain breaks down old and damaged cells and recycles them into new ones, Dr Neelofar said.
“Through this self-eating process, the toxins are removed from the brain delaying the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s. Most of these findings have been confirmed on lab animals because controlled studies on human brain is difficult,” she said. (KNO)
Ahmedabad: In a respite to lakhs of domestic gas and CNG vehicle owners, Adani Total Gas Ltd and Torrent Gas reduced CNG and PNG prices following the Centre’s decision to revise the domestic natural gas pricing guidelines.
Adani Total reduced CNG and PNG prices to up to Rs 8.13 per kg and Rs 5.06 per scm (standard cubic metre), respectively.
It also announced a reduction in PNG prices for industrial and commercial consumers by Rs 3 per scm, ATGL said in a statement.
Similarly, Torrent Gas, which provides CNG and PNG in 34 districts across the country, announced a reduction between Rs 4-5 per scm in the price of domestic PNG and between Rs 6-8.25 per kg in the retail price of CNG effective from today evening, it said in a statement.
“In line with our policy to prioritize our end consumers, ATGL has decided to pass through the benefit of the New Gas Pricing guidelines announced by the Government of India to our large numbers of Home PNG and CNG consumers,” the ATGL said.
“The GoI’s decision to revise the domestic natural gas pricing guidelines and the consequent reduction in PNG and CNG prices will bring significant respite to millions of households and CNG vehicle owners,” Torrent Gas said.
Price: [price_with_discount] (as of [price_update_date] – Details)
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All stocks belonging to the Adani group — including Adani Enterprises (ADANIENT), Adani Ports (ADANIPORTS), Adani Power (ADANIPOWER), Adani Transmission (ADANITRANS) and Ambuja Cements (AMBUJACEM) — suffered steep losses on Wednesday, in more pain for investors amid a crisis at the embattled conglomerate.
In order to restore confidence among investors, Adani Group is taking several measures. One such measure was repaying the loans. Adani group firm Adani Ports & SEZ paid Rs 1,500 crore loan and promised to repay more as the group makes a comeback strategy after a sellout triggered by a damning report by US-based Hindenburg Research.
Reportedly, in another measure to stop the further stock price fall, Gautam Adani has requested the market regulator, SEBI (Security Exchange Board of India) to reduce the trading time.
In his letter to SEBI, Gautam Adani requested SEBI to keep the trade timing for 15 mins only, 9:15 to 9:30. Citing a report by HiddenBurg, Gautam Adani said trading is consuming a lot of time of youth which can be utilised in a better way.
“It’s a zero sum game, someone’s loss is someone’s gain, giving so much time to it is not worth. 15 mins is enough for that” said Gautam Adani.
[ Disclaimer: With inputs from The Fauxy, an entertainment portal. The content is purely for entertainment purpose and readers are advised not to confuse the articles as genuine and true, these Articles are Fictitious meant only for entertainment purposes. ]
SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta on Tuesday exuded hope that in near future the travel time across different Districts and Divisions of J&K would get drastically reduced with the completion of different National Highway projects currently at different stages of execution.
Dr Mehta made these remarks in a meeting with different stakeholders called for reviewing the progress of land acquisition and other issues pertaining to construction of a number of National Highways across the UT
In addition to the Principal Secretary, PWD the meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Forest; Principal Secretary, PDD; Divisional Commissioners; Secretary, Revenue; concerned Deputy Commissioners, Director, representatives from NHAI, NHIDCL, BRO, and many other concerned officers.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Secretary stressed upon the executing agencies to complete all these road projects providing enhanced connectivity to different regions in a fixed timeframe. He enjoined upon them that the significance of these roads is eminent and deserves all efforts to be made to complete them on time.
He directed the Deputy Commissioners to facilitate the executing agencies in performing their work smoothly. He observed that these highways are directly linked with the economic upliftment of people as the trade and commerce would also see growth by enhanced movement of people. He pointed out that tourism sector is going to be the biggest gainer by their completion.
Dr Mehta enquired from the executing agencies about the bottlenecks affecting the pace of their work. He instantly passed on directions to the concerned government departments for taking the measures to address them. He made out that both the executing agencies and different government departments should work in coordination with each other and held regular deliberations for resolving issues without wasting time. He asked them to own these significant national projects and show eagerness in seeing them completed well on time. He fixed timelines for each of the road project for its completion.
The Principal Secretary, PWD, Shailendra Kumar provided details of progress made so far in constructing different National Highways. He also informed the meeting about the nature of issues confronted in implementation of these projects. He assured the executing agencies of unhindered support from his department and about different steps taken by PWD in coordinated redressal of the pending issues. He also highlighted several guidelines of MORTH for seeking approvals and advised the DCs to observe these while making the land acquisitions for these projects.
It was given in the meeting that the Jammu-Akhnoor Highway would be opened in a phased manner for the ease of public. It was revealed that in next 15 days the 30 km stretch would be opened as per the directions of Chief Secretary and by May 15 the remaining stretch would be finished reducing the travel time to just about half an hour to reach Akhnoor. The work on the beautification of the Flyover and parking underneath is also going to be taken in hand shortly, as was added in the meeting.
Similarly regarding the Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri Highway it was apprised that the land acquisition process is going on smoothly and large stretches of land already been compensated. It was also given out that the process of construction of Bye-passes to Pattan, Baramulla and Uri towns is being expedited with a Fly over near Sangrama town. The Executing agency was told to take work in hand on the stretches handed over to it by the district administration.
Moreover the Bye-passes for the important towns of Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian were also deliberated upon in length for their early completion under the National Highway project of Srinagar-Pulwama-Shopian-Kulgam(NH-444). The travel time by completion of this highway would be half as that taken at present. The extension of this Road to the tourist destinations of Yousmarg-Doodhpathri in district Budgam came also under discussion and its early completion.
Regarding the Katra-Amritsar-Delhi Expressway it was said that the shifting of some religious structures and commercial establishments is in final stage in district Jammu. In addition the Srinagar Ring Road, Akhnoor-Poonch Road were also discussed. The issues faced were sought resolution for and the concerned directed to work earnestly for making these projects end with desired outcomes as laid for each of them.
Also stresses on sticking to fixed timelines for completion of these vital projects
New Delhi, Feb 14 (GNS): Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta today exuded hope that in near future the travel time across different Districts and Divisions of J&K would get drastically reduced with the completion of different National Highway projects currently at different stages of execution.
Dr Mehta made these remarks in a meeting with different stakeholders called for reviewing the progress of land acquisition and other issues pertaining to construction of a number of National Highways across the UT
In addition to the Principal Secretary, PWD the meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Forest; Principal Secretary, PDD; Divisional Commissioners; Secretary, Revenue; concerned Deputy Commissioners, Director, representatives from NHAI, NHIDCL, BRO, and many other concerned officers.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Secretary stressed upon the executing agencies to complete all these road projects providing enhanced connectivity to different regions in a fixed timeframe. He enjoined upon them that the significance of these roads is eminent and deserves all efforts to be made to complete them on time.
He directed the Deputy Commissioners to facilitate the executing agencies in performing their work smoothly. He observed that these highways are directly linked with the economic upliftment of people as the trade and commerce would also see growth by enhanced movement of people. He pointed out that tourism sector is going to be the biggest gainer by their completion.
Dr Mehta enquired from the executing agencies about the bottlenecks affecting the pace of their work. He instantly passed on directions to the concerned government departments for taking the measures to address them. He made out that both the executing agencies and different government departments should work in coordination with each other and held regular deliberations for resolving issues without wasting time. He asked them to own these significant national projects and show eagerness in seeing them completed well on time. He fixed timelines for each of the road project for its completion.
The Principal Secretary, PWD, Shailendra Kumar provided details of progress made so far in constructing different National Highways. He also informed the meeting about the nature of issues confronted in implementation of these projects. He assured the executing agencies of unhindered support from his department and about different steps taken by PWD in coordinated redressal of the pending issues. He also highlighted several guidelines of MORTH for seeking approvals and advised the DCs to observe these while making the land acquisitions for these projects.
It was given in the meeting that the Jammu-Akhnoor Highway would be opened in a phased manner for the ease of public. It was revealed that in next 15 days the 30 km stretch would be opened as per the directions of Chief Secretary and by 15th of May the remaining stretch would be finished reducing the travel time to just about half an hour to reach Akhnoor. The work on the beautification of the Flyover and parking underneath is also going to be taken in hand shortly, as was added in the meeting.
Similarly regarding the Srinagar-Baramulla-Uri Highway it was apprised that the land acquisition process is going on smoothly and large stretches of land already been compensated. It was also given out that the process of construction of Bye-passes to Pattan, Baramulla and Uri towns is being expedited with a Fly over near Sangrama town. The Executing agency was told to take work in hand on the stretches handed over to it by the district administration.
Moreover the Bye-passes for the important towns of Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian were also deliberated upon in length for their early completion under the National Highway project of Srinagar-Pulwama-Shopian-Kulgam(NH-444). The travel time by completion of this highway would be half as that taken at present. The extension of this Road to the tourist destinations of Yousmarg-Doodhpathri in district Budgam came also under discussion and its early completion.
Regarding the Katra-Amritsar-Delhi Expressway it was said that the shifting of some religious structures and commercial establishments is in final stage in district Jammu. In addition the Srinagar Ring Road, Akhnoor-Poonch Road were also discussed. The issues faced were sought resolution for and the concerned directed to work earnestly for making these projects end with desired outcomes as laid for each of them.(GNS)
A Shah Rukh Khan film on the big screen is nothing short of a celebration for his fans, and when Shah Rukh returns in a full-fledged role after four long years, it’s a carnival of sorts. However, the recent update about the movie is likely to upset Shah Rukh Khan fans.
Sources suggest that Pathaan is likely to get postponed as the theatre owners aren’t ready to reduce the shows of Brahmastra and give those slots to Pathaan. Theatre owners claim that even after two months, Brahmastra shows are getting housefull and reducing the shows will be a loss of opportunity cost.
Yash Raj Films have written a letter to Karan Johar requesting him to reduce the number of shows of Brahmastra until Pathaan break evens its cost. Karan Johar hasn’t replied to the letter yet but is likely to agree since the Brahmastra is already on OTT.
Yash Raj Films letter to Karan Johar is yet another proof that Brahmastra did a lot better than what was claimed by movie critics and is a slap on the face of people who trend Boycott Bollywood on social media.
[ Disclaimer: With inputs from The Fauxy, an entertainment portal. The content is purely for entertainment purpose and readers are advised not to confuse the articles as genuine and true, these Articles are Fictitious meant only for entertainment purposes. ]
Dr Muzaffar A Macha has been a ‘golden boy’ throughout. At AIIMS and abroad and now home as head of IUST’s Watson-Crick Centre for Molecular Medicine, after working extensively on head and neck cancers, he has been able to identify an antidote for managing the excruciating pain during all cancers. In a freewheeling conversation with Masood Hussain, the young scientist talks about his research career and the immediate goals he has set for himself and the centre
KASHMIR LIFE (KL): How was your journey from Kashmir to the USA and then back to Kashmir?
DR MUZAFFAR A MACHA (MAM): I have done my schooling at Madrassa Taleem-ul Islam (MTI), Tral. Then I did my bachelor’s in Biochemistry and Environmental Sciences from SP College Srinagar. After that, I went to the Jamia Hamdard for my master’s, which I completed in 2005. I topped there and also received a gold medal.
Then, I applied to various universities including Jawaharlal Nehru University, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, CCMB Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, and Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics for PhD. I was selected by three Universities, but I choose AIIMS, because of my personal preference and because of the good translational (applications to humans) research work that was being carried out at AIIMS.
There, I joined the laboratory of Dr Ranju Ralhan. Then I was shifted to another mentor, Sham Singh Chauhan who is the head of AIIMS’s biotechnology department.
I completed my PhD in 2010 and was awarded with a Gold medal called Gita Mittal Award for the best PhD student with the best publications. My PhD work was mostly about head and neck cancer.
After that, I went to the University of Nebraska Medical Center for my post-doctorate. There, I joined Dr Surinder Batra, a scientist and a pancreatic cancer specialist. I worked extensively there on cancer biology. Since I had worked on head and neck cancers during my PhD, because of the fact that India has the most cases of this cancer, I started a group to work further on this.
We continued to work for four and a half years till the completion of my Postdoc. After that, I was inducted there as an Assistant Professor in the same department. I continued there until 2019 and moved back home because of certain family reasons and eagerness to serve my own society.
After coming back, I applied for the Ramanujan Fellowship and Ramalingaswamy Fellowship and I was selected for both fellowships. I joined the Central University of Kashmir (CUK) as a Ramanujan Fellow.
A year after working there, I moved to the Watson-Crick Centre for Molecular Medicine of the Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST). Soon joining as a Ramalingaswami fellow, I was selected as an Assistant professor for Molecular Medicine in the Centre. Presently I am heading the centre.
KL: Cancer is among the most life-threatening diseases. Where the science is right now in the understanding of cancer?
MAM: In the last 10 years, the technology that has emerged to identify cancer, to know the cause of cancer and to understand the basic molecular biological concepts proved to be useful and convenient. To a very large extent, we have conquered the battle against cancer. The immunotherapy that is often used these days is yielding good results in treating cancer. Recent studies and clinical trials all over the world proved that immunotherapy is good among all methods for treating cancer.
The Awantipora Molecule
KL: You have worked extensively on Head and Neck Cancer during your PhD. What were the major takeaways from the research?
MAM: As per the studies and statistical data, India has a huge consumption of tobacco products. Head and neck cancer is mostly because of the consumption of tobacco-based products. My research project during my PhD was based on “How cancer is caused by the consumption of Tobacco based products?” I identified cancer development at the molecular and cellular levels. I identified the novel signalling pathways that get activated and lead to cancer.
Along with this, I identified the usage of natural compounds like Curcumin and Guggulsterone to nullify the effects of smokeless tobacco. These compounds can largely reduce the effects of cancer-causing smokeless tobacco.
KL: Has there been any kind of comparative study? I mean is the pattern different for cancers caused by smoking and non-smoking cancer agents?
MAM: It has been studied and is widely accepted all over the world that smokeless tobacco agents mostly cause mouth cancer but smoking usually causes lung cancer. Still, there are cases of people in India and even in Kashmir who have lung cancer even though they had not consumed any smoking or non-smoking product. Thus it is not only the eating habit, which may lead to cancer, although in the majority of cases, it is true but there are genetic causes also. The off-springs of individuals suffering from cancer are more susceptible to cancer because of certain mutations.
KL: Were your findings accepted by the market and what was the response from academia?
MAM: During my PhD days, we ran a clinical trial in the department of biochemistry and the department of head and neck Surgery of AIIMS. Patients with head and neck cancer were given Curcumin and the effects were studied. I found out that curcumin prevents cancer to some extent. It also reduces the size and recurrence /regrowth of cancer.
KL: After completing the successful clinical trials, things usually move to the pharma sector. Is there any such thing based on clinical trials that the market was triggered by your findings?
MAM: In India, clinical trials were done for curcumin and there are even curcumin derivative compounds in the market that are used as cancer-preventive agents. In the advanced and late stages of cancer, these compounds are not effective but they help in preventing the occurrence of cancer at the early stages.
KL: You did your Postdoc in the USA, What was your research about, and what were the major takeaways from that?
MAM: Initially I worked on pancreatic cancer under the mentorship of Dr Surinder Batra. There, I recapitulated the findings of my PhD work, that is how the natural compounds can prevent the development of cancer and decrease cancer-causing active signalling pathways present in head and neck cancer. I attempted to use the same for pancreatic cancer. My other colleague was working on a molecule called Mucin (MUC4). The findings of my PhD proved that Guggulsterone decreases the expression of Mucin/MUC4.
Expression of Muc4 in the cells increases the tendency of having more aggressive and proliferative cancer. My research study was to reduce the proliferation (Metastasis) and aggressiveness of cancer cells using Guggulsterone.
After that, I created a group of dedicated people to study head and neck cancer. I also came to know that MUC4 is expressed in around 90 per cent of cancer patients, and it causes drug resistance against cancer with time. I came to know that MUC4 is an important factor in the development and metastasis of both pancreatic as well as head and neck cancer.
Dr Muzaffar A Macha (WCCMM-IUST)
KL: What was the follow-up of your research? You must be in touch with the labs still because the scientific community remains in touch with each other. Has there been any kind of formal movement to what you did during your Postdoc?
MAM: No one worked on the MUC4 for quite a long time, but when I was inducted as an Assistant Professor, I started to work on one more molecule called NR4A2 (a transcription factor). I concluded that this molecule has a major role in causing intense pain during cancer. I along with other colleagues are working to design an inhibitor against it. We have identified three inhibitors and we are going to publish this very soon. Inhibitors reduce pain across all cancer patients to a very large extent.
Besides, we found that the pain in pancreatic cancer due to the Perineural-invasion (i.e., Cancer cells penetrate into the nerve cells), is also because of the NR4A2 molecule and can be cured with the help of inhibitors.
KL: You are currently working at the Watson-Crick Center for Molecular Medicine of the IUST. What is your individual research focus there?
MAM: In Kashmir particularly, gastrointestinal tract cancers like oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer, and colorectal cancer are more common in people among all the cancers. Kashmir has the third highest number of oesophageal cancer patients all over the world after China and some areas of Iran.
Although there has been a lot of research work on colorectal cancer and oesophageal cancer, but the actual biology and high throughput technology have not been used here in Kashmir until now. We still do not have the cell-line models and animal models which are necessary to study cancer.
My current project under the Ramalingaswami Fellowship is to develop in-vitro models in order to better study oesophageal and gastric cancers. These models can be used to study the underlying biology and molecular biology of cancer.
KL: Since your Centre is newly established, what is the present state and status of its infrastructure?
MAM: The Watson-Crick Centre for Molecular Medicine started in 2018 but the faculty recruitment was done in 2020. I along with my colleagues like Dr Rais and Dr Arsheed joined in 2020. We started from zero. There was very little infrastructure around and within less than two years, we achieved a great feat. It is all with the help from the higher authorities at the IUST. We now are at the stage of working at an extensive pace and for longer durations. Earlier we had the limitation of culture rooms here but now we almost have everything to do full-fledged research.
KL: Do you have the limitation of any major equipment because high-end research essentially needs sophisticated machinery?
MAM: We do not have high-end and high-throughput machinery, but we have basic instruments. We have procured many instruments and machines and we are in the process of procuring many other. We have an allotment of around Rs 6 crore of funding grants of which Rs 1 crore is for procuring instruments. Projects that require high-end instruments are mostly being done in collaboration with other departments or are outsourced.
KL: Many times more than one university work on the same research topic, but every university has a different vision and different priority. Is any other institution in Kashmir working on the same topic as you do?
MAM: As such, there is only one scientist at Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences working on the in-vitro models, but I do not know what stage has he reached. Importantly it is worth knowing whether you have the expertise for the research or not. During my Postdoc and Assistant professorship, I have personally made many in-vitro models, so I have the expertise to carry forward that work in our Center at the IUST.
