January 24th, 2007 -- Belfast, UK & Mumbai, India -- The award was made under the UK-India Education and Research Initiative which supports joint research by academics from both countries and is part of the biggest ever education initiative between the UK and India.
The award was announced in London by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. A total of £5m was awarded to more than 70 institutions in the UK and India for a range of research projects such as environmentally friendly aeroplanes, climate change and human genetic make-up.
Researchers from the University of Ulster's Nanotechnology and Integrated Bio-Engineering Centre (NIBEC), led by Professor Jim McLaughlin, and the Centre for Research in Nanotechnology and Science at IIT Mumbai, led by Dr Sushanta Mitra, will work together on the development of low-volume whole-blood sensors.
The sensors will monitor cardiac enzymes to aid in the diagnosis of a cardiac attack, determine its severity and monitor recovery afterwards. Eventually such sensors could be used to test for a range of possible diseases or clinical conditions.
The collaboration will also involve the exchange of staff and students and follows on from the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions in April last year. The two institutions agreed to research co-operation in nanotechnology, wireless technology, network communications and modeling of micro-fluidics.
Announcing the award winners, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said: "Each of these winners - and the many other excellent candidates - are evidence of the strength of the education links, research partnerships and learning collaborations between our two countries.
"These are themselves a sign of the strength of the much broader economic, political and cultural relationship between our two countries that I have had the privilege to witness for myself on my recent visit".
The UKERI standard award was one of 25 awarded and was chosen from 250 proposals throughout the UK and India
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