Two distinguished sons of Tripura and accomplished researchers have received international recognition. Dr. Satadru Chakraborty, Senior Program Manager at IIT Bombay, and Dr. Srijib Karmakar, Postdoctoral Researcher at IIT Kharagpur, have been awarded the prestigious Emergent Ventures Grant for an innovative healthcare technology project.
Their proposed project aims to develop a portable diagnostic platform for the rapid and low-cost detection of liver diseases using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and graphene-based technology. The project has the potential to make advanced and effective healthcare services accessible to marginalized and underprivileged populations in the future.
The Emergent Ventures Grant, administered by the Mercatus Center in the United States, supports innovative and high-impact ideas from around the world. Through this grant, the researchers will advance the development of the initial prototype of their project. The Mercatus Center, a globally renowned research-oriented institution affiliated with George Mason University in Virginia, USA, has already released the first installment of the grant to facilitate the rapid progress of their research.
Both Satadru and Srijib, who hail from Agartala, were students of Holy Cross School. Subsequently, through government scholarships and various competitive entrance examinations, both pursued higher education at several leading institutions of technology, science, and engineering in India and abroad.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Satadru was previously crowned the India Zone Champion of the EURAXESS Science Slam Europe and received the Best Junior Engineering Scientist Award from INYAS (Indian National Young Academy of Sciences). He later earned his Ph.D. degree after five years of continuous research on 2-D nanomaterials. He is the only son of journalist and litterateur Pulak Chakraborty and retired college teacher and cultural personality Alokananda Chowdhury.
Meanwhile, Dr. Srijib, currently pursuing postdoctoral research at IIT Kharagpur, has discovered a new class of quantum dots and has also patented the invention. The quantum dot is considered a promising medical imaging probe. Drugs loaded onto these quantum dots can be delivered inside cells. Srijib is the son of the late businessman Jiban Karmakar of Nabannagar, near Agartala Airport. His mother, Bina Karmakar, is a homemaker.