The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved a grant of ₹12.84 crore to the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) to set up the ICMR-MAHE Centre for Advanced Research (CAR) at the Manipal Hospice and Respite Centre.
The new Centre will focus on improving care for patients with serious and terminal illnesses in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). It aims to develop a model that combines palliative care with critical care to ensure treatment is compassionate, ethical, and evidence-based.
Dr. Naveen Salins, Head of the Department of Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care at Kasturba Medical College (KMC), Manipal, will lead the Centre as Principal Investigator, with Dr. Arun Ghosal as Co-Principal Investigator.
The inauguration event was attended by several dignitaries, including Dr. Ashoo Grover and Dr. Roopa Shivashankar from ICMR, along with MAHE leaders Dr. H. S. Ballal, Dr. Sharath K. Rao, Dr. Anil K. Bhat, and Dr. Cherian Varghese.
Dr. Ballal said the ICMR grant is “a strong recognition of MAHE’s research excellence” and its commitment to “science that heals and research that transforms.”
The new centre will expand MAHE’s existing BLUE MAPLE framework, which has already improved end-of-life care standards at Kasturba Hospital and KMC Manipal. The project will involve a network of 10 clinical centres and 7 technical partners across India.
The ICMR-MAHE Centre for Advanced Research will bring together experts in medicine, nursing, law, ethics, and public health to improve ICU care nationwide and support India’s healthcare goals under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
