Infosys co-founder, Kris Gopalakrishnan gives IISc Rs 225 crore

BANGALORE: In one of the biggest philanthropic contributions to the Pure Sciences, Infosys executive vice-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan has set aside Rs 225 crore to develop a Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. It's also one of the single-largest donations the 105-year-old institute has received from an individual.

Kris, a co-founder of the Bangalore-based IT giant, will give the money under the banner of the Pratiksha Trust, a charitable organization he has set up with his wife Sudha. The trust funds education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

As part of the collaboration between IISc and the Pratiksha Trust, the latter will give the money over 10 years for the establishment and functioning of the research centre. It'll also be supported by the Centre for Neuroscience and other facilities at IISc and collaborate with hospitals across the city.

An international scientific advisory board chaired by Nobel laureate Prof Torsten Wiesel will guide the centre. Stanley Fahn (Columbia University), Sangram Sisodia ( University of Chicago), John Morris (Washington University, St. Louis) and Giovanni Frisoni (University of Geneva) are among the members who will help start operations at the centre, set research goals, and guide it.

Kris will also fund the setting up of three chairs each in the departments of computer science, IISc and at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

"The broad goal of the centre is to understand the functioning of the brain," said Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath, chairperson, Centre for Neuroscience, IISc. "We'll study how a normal brain ages and what factors lead to neurodegenerative conditions and diseases like dementia which are accelerated by old age. We'll work on whether it's possible to have an early diagnosis, better quality of life for those diagnosed with the problem and ensure treatment. The centre will also look at links between brains and computers and leverage existing understanding of brain functioning to create better models of computing," she said.

With its focus on clinical research, the centre is expected to have 50-75 faculty as well as visiting faculty and post-doctoral students. The centre will be an autonomous body in the institute.

"There are around 10 institutes in India which do work in these areas. But never has there been an institute which focused on one aspect. Therefore, this is an important initiative because the number of ageing people. In India is rapidly increasing," she said.