Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) and Dr Lal PathLabs Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the ‘Dr Lal Pathlabs Chair in Healthcare’. Professor Errol D’ Souza, Director of IIMA, and Dr Om Manchanda, Managing Director of Dr Lal PathLabs, signed the MoU at the IIMA campus on July 7, 2022. The Chair has been set up for an initial period of three years and has been facilitated by the IIMA Endowment Fund.
While highlighting the importance and objective of this Research Chair, Professor Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA said, “The healthcare and allied sectors are evolving rapidly notably in the last few years. The advancements in this field are truly remarkable as they have had the potential to impact multiple stakeholders – people, industry, and governments worldwide as the healthcare ecosystem today operates across geographies.”
He further added, ” Our faculty have built a rich repository of research in the healthcare space and this collaboration will create more opportunities for us to contribute in ways that will benefit academia and the world of practice. I am especially pleased that Dr Om Manchanda of Dr Lal PathLabs, an IIMA alumnus, is supporting us in this important endeavour.”
The objective of the Dr Lal Pathlabs Chair in Healthcare is to complement the Institute’s existing research being done by its faculty members in the healthcare and allied sectors. The research conducted by this Chair will further strengthen the collaboration between academia and industry, optimize the forward and backward linkages in the healthcare ecosystem and promote thought leadership in this domain.
Dr Om Manchanda, Managing Director, Dr Lal PathLabs while sharing his views on partnering with IIMA, said, “Healthcare, in general, saw a great boost during the COVID pandemic – and the need for high-quality research was re-established. The ever-evolving healthcare sector presents a great opportunity to make meaningful contributions that directly impact our community. We are excited to support research through a dedicated Chair at IIMA – which will potentially serve as a catalyst in the confluence of academia, industry, and society at large.”
The Chair has been supported by Lal PathLabs Foundation as a part of its CSR-related activities of Dr Lal PathLabs.
Chhavi Moodgal, Chief Executive Officer, IIMA Endowment Fund said, “The global pandemic has brought to fore the need for healthcare knowledge building and thought leadership as the world saw unparalleled uncertainty. Every adversity presents an opportunity, and we believe that massive investments in healthcare from pharmaceutical companies, governments, think tanks and multilateral agencies will require tremendous inroads in healthcare research, advisory, consulting, and public policy. We at the IIMA Endowment Fund are proud to support the Institute in setting up the Chair in Healthcare in collaboration with the leading diagnostics player in India – Dr Lal PathLabs, to carry out research in this space. This is the third Chair to be set up courtesy of our efforts and we are grateful to Dr Om Manchanda and his team and Board for their support.”
The IIMA Endowment Fund was established in 2020 by ten like-minded alumni to support IIMA’s global leadership in thought, research, and academic excellence. It is now the Institute’s exclusive philanthropic and fundraising arm for all donations to IIMA. Through a formal, open, and expertly managed arrangement, the IIMA EF recognises and promotes corporate and alumni donations to the Institute.
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