✨ We are excited to share that the 1st cohort training workshop IMPACT 2025 (Integrated Monitoring of Pathogen and AMR from Clinical WasTewater), jointly organized by Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) was successfully conducted from May 5-7, 2025, at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore.
This advanced 3-day hands on workshop brought together Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) staff across the country to build capacity for pathogen and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) monitoring through clinical wastewater — a critical step in advancing public health surveillance under the One Health framework.
Key highlights:
· Inaugural talks by Dr. Rakesh Mishra (Director, TIGS), Dr. Nivedita Gupta (Head, Division of Communicable Diseases at ICMR), Dr. L.S. Shashidhara (Centre Director at NCBS), emphasizing the importance of wastewater surveillance in tackling AMR and emerging infectious diseases.
· An insightful session by Dr. Shivranjani Moharir, TIGS on the scope of AMR surveillance through wastewater, highlighting the need for spatiotemporal monitoring and data-driven action plans.
· Field visit to the Jakkur Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), demonstrating best practices for wastewater sample collection and inactivation, followed by hands-on training on nucleic acid extraction and qPCR assay protocols.
· Lab tours including BSL-2, Insectary, and Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) facilities.
· Strategic discussions with Dr. Jitendra Narayan, (ICMR-HQ) throughout the three days of the workshop.
· The workshop concluded with a session on scaling up clinical wastewater surveillance across VRDLs, led by Dr. Siddharth Bhatia, and interactive engagement activities by Dr. Sufia Sadaf.
Together, we are laying the groundwork for a robust, nationwide AMR surveillance network rooted in environmental monitoring. A heartfelt thanks to ICMR for their continued support and funding, and to NCBS and Alliance for Pathogen Surveillance Initiative (APSI) for the knowledge partnership. ✨
Snippets from the workshop ⬇️
