Marking a significant milestone in ophthalmic research, India’s first retina biobank has commenced operations at Amrita Hospital, Kochi. This state-of-the-art facility is equipped to store aqueous and vitreous samples at ultra-low temperatures of -70° Celsius, enabling groundbreaking research into complex eye diseases and advancing genetic and biological studies.

The retina biobank was inaugurated by Prof. Shantikumar Nair, Dean of Amrita School of Nanosciences & Molecular Medicine, during the 'Metares 2025' national conference on medical research. The three-day event, organized by the Department of Ophthalmology at Amrita Hospital in collaboration with the Clinical Trial Network, brought together leading experts and researchers from across the country.

In addition to the biobank launch, the “Indian Retinal Image Bank,” India’s most comprehensive ophthalmic clinical imaging repository, was inaugurated by Dr. D. M. Vasudevan, Associate Dean of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. This resource aims to facilitate advanced studies and improve diagnostics in ophthalmology.

Another key highlight of the event was the introduction of the ‘Metares Online Training Platform’ , designed to enhance clinical research training initiatives. The platform also launched India’s first GCP accreditation program for researchers, in collaboration with the Clinical Trial Network.

Dr. Gopal S. Pillai, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at Amrita Hospital, Dr. Prathapan Nair, Senior Medical Administrator, Dr. Beena K. V., Additional Medical Superintendent, and Dr. Merin Dickson, Chief Research Officer, were among the key leaders who played pivotal roles in organizing the conference.

The event featured a variety of activities, including poster and paper presentation competitions and a quiz competition. Sessions were led by expert researchers from diverse fields such as pharmacology, statistics, data management, animal research, artificial intelligence, telemedicine, biotechnology, and hematology, providing valuable insights and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration.