Solan: Shoolini University has inaugurated a new BioAI and Advanced Bioinformatics Lab at its Cancer Research Centre to support research in biotechnology, artificial intelligence and healthcare. The high-tech facility brings together Artificial Intelligence (AI), high-performance computing, bioinformatics and biotechnology to support advanced research in biology, healthcare and biomedical sciences.
The laboratory was inaugurated by Dr Anthony Callanan, Senior Lecturer and Director of Internationalisation, and Dr Rhiannon Grant, Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Prof. Atul Khosla highlighted the growing importance of Artificial Intelligence in scientific research and its potential to transform research across disciplines.
“AI is changing the way research is conducted across disciplines. With the BioAI laboratory, we aim to strengthen the use of computational intelligence in biotechnology and biomedical research and provide our students and researchers with the skills needed for the future,” he said.
Prof. Dinesh Kumar, Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, said AI and computational skills would play an increasingly important role in shaping the next generation of biotechnology professionals. He noted that biotechnology is becoming increasingly data-driven, making an understanding of AI and computational methods essential for future researchers.
Prof. Pankaj Kumar Chauhan said the new laboratory would complement the university’s academic programmes and research ecosystem. The School of Bio-engineering and Food Technology offers B.Tech and M.Tech programmes in Bioinformatics, PhD programmes and biotechnology courses, enabling students to develop expertise spanning biological and computational sciences.
Prof. Lokender Kumar, Professor, School of Biotechnology and Coordinator of the BioAI and Advanced Bioinformatics Lab, said the integration of biological knowledge with computational intelligence would be crucial to the future of biotechnology.
The laboratory is equipped with advanced computing infrastructure, including NVIDIA GPU Blackwell systems, to support computationally intensive research. It also has advanced iMac systems for programming, machine learning, AI model development and computational research.
The facility will facilitate research involving large-scale biological data analysis, molecular modelling, biomolecular simulations, computational biology and AI-assisted biological prediction. Its potential applications include cancer biology, genomics, molecular interaction studies and drug discovery.
A key focus of the laboratory will be interdisciplinary collaboration among biologists, biotechnologists, bioinformaticians, computational researchers and AI scientists. By bringing these disciplines together, the facility is expected to help researchers develop innovative approaches to complex biological and biomedical challenges.
