Amaravati, December 25: The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati has set up a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory as part of its Centre for Infectious Disease Research.
This high-containment facility allows safe handling of airborne pathogens, including those causing tuberculosis and viral infections. It includes advanced tools for pathogen culture, infection modeling, microscopy, and cell sorting, plus an animal facility and GLP-compliant spaces.
The lab builds on IISER Tirupati's COVID-19 response, when its earlier BSL-2 setup tested over 200,000 samples. Funding came from the Ministry of Education (Rs 25 crore) and Anusandhan National Research Foundation (Rs 10 crore for equipment).
Initial work targets tuberculosis and viruses, with plans to expand into organoid models and imaging. Collaborations with hospitals, universities, and industry are in progress.
