Hyderabad, March 7 (RAHNUMA):The International Biobanking Conference 2026 was held at the University of Hyderabad under the theme “Technology-Driven Biobanking: Enabling Innovation from Bench to Bedside”.
The conference was organised by the Biobank India Foundation in collaboration with the ASPIRE-BioNEST and the Technology Enabling Centre (DST). It brought together national and international experts, clinicians, researchers and industry representatives to discuss how advanced biobanking technologies are accelerating biomedical research and precision medicine.
Chief guest Guru N. Reddy, Chairman of Continental Hospitals, highlighted the importance of collaboration between hospitals, research institutions and biobanks to advance translational medicine and improve patient outcomes.
Welcoming the participants, Rajagopal, Coordinator of the DST–UoH–TEC and Director of ASPIRE-BioNEST, stressed the need to strengthen technology-enabled biobanking infrastructure to support innovation in life sciences.
Other speakers included Nandini K. Kumar, former Deputy Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research and President of the Biobank India Foundation; Anand K. Kondapi, Dean of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hyderabad; Birendra Kumar Yadav, National Director of the Biobank India Foundation; and Daniel Catchpoole, Chair of the BBIF International Advisory Committee from Australia.
The scientific program featured keynote lectures by Rohit Gupta from Chronicle Bio, USA. The prestigious Prof. Shankar Oration was delivered by Anita Mahadevan from National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences and Annie Hasan from Kamineni Hospitals. Their talks highlighted the increasing role of digital platforms, brain biobanks, and genetic counseling in enabling next-generation biomedical discoveries and translating research from the laboratory to clinical practice.
Experts from Europe, Australia, Africa, Indonesia and India discussed emerging trends in “Biobanking 4.0”, focusing on digital infrastructure, automation and advanced data systems to support next-generation biomedical research under the “One Health” approach integrating human, animal and environmental health.
The conference also saw active participation from University of Hyderabad faculty including Appa Rao Podile and Ch. Venkata Ramana, who spoke on the importance of “One Health” framework, and the role of microbial biobanks in advancing research on microbial diversity, environmental sustainability and biotechnology research.
