Basic research is key to app development, says scientist

P. Balaram, former Director IISc, Bangalore and other dignitaries at the inaugural International Cell & Gene Therapy Conference at CMC. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Basic research is the key to developing applications in everyday life, said P. Balaram, former director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

He was speaking at the inaugural 11th International Cell & Gene Therapy Conference (CGTCON 2026) organized by Center for Stem Cell Research (CSCR) at CMC, Vellore.

The former director of IISc told medical researchers to be careful in giving credit for discoveries to one person as every discovery has a long and uncertain history where contributions of different researchers can be found. As described by Abraham Flexner, the founder and president of Princeton University (USA), science is like a river that rises in a distant forest before its volume rises in other streams and becomes a mighty river from countless sources. “His (Flexner’s) research and report must have completely transformed medical education and research in the United States when the country was not a research and science powerhouse in 1910,” he said.

He highlighted the importance of stem cell and gene therapies that have reached a large number of patients worldwide. These therapies are only possible because of the continuous research carried out by leading scientists over many years. In this regard, he said that the famous chemist Linus Pauling showed that sickle cell hemoglobin and normal hemoglobin were different, using electrophoresis technique. “In his study in 1949, Mr. Pauling said that genes are responsible for disease, and genes precisely determine the structure of proteins. So Pauling’s paper was visionary in many ways, because human disorders are now being traced back to very precise structural changes in molecules,” he said.

The biologist also noted that in 2000 he read a research paper titled “Turning Blood into Brain: Neuroantigen-Bearing Cells Generated from Bone Marrow.” “This work revealed that bone marrow-derived cells can provide an alternative source of neurons for patients with neurodegenerative diseases or damage to the central nervous system. In other words, it could be a therapy that could solve the problem of stroke and neurodegenerative diseases,” he said.

CGTCON 2026 aims to strengthen collaboration between clinicians, scientists, industry partners and regulatory bodies. Biju George, Principal, CMC, Professor Nihal Thomas, Head CSCR were also present on the occasion.

Published – 14 Oct 2026 05:30 IST