St John’s Research Institute Honoured by Waters Center of Innovation Program

At a ceremony at St John’s Research Institute (Bangalore, India), Waters announced the selection of the St John’s Research Institute for its Centers of Innovation Program for research in the field of structural proteomics. It is the first institution in India to receive the designation of a Waters® Center of Innovation.

Under the direction of Professor Dr Amit Kumar Mandal, a Professor of Molecular Medicine and Clinical Proteomics, St John’s has earned a reputation for its research in blood disorders and other diseases that disproportionately affect disadvantaged populations.

“What you see today is a culmination of a great amount of dedication and passion on the part of Professor Mandal. Our relationship with Waters is not just one of a client and vendor; it is a true working partnership and has been ever since this laboratory came into existence in 2009,” said K. Srinivasan, Dean, St. John’s Research Institute in remarks during the ceremony.

On hand to congratulate Professor Mandal and his team was K.V. Venugopalan, President, Waters India Pvt Ltd. “We are proud to be associated with Professor Mandal’s outstanding and pioneering work in structural proteomics,” he said. “Partnering with St. John’s Research Institute is a reflection of our mutual interests in serving society by improving the health of patient communities through science.”

Professor Mandal told his audience that as a physical chemist with a special interest in molecular structure, he came to mass spectrometry in 2005 when his professor encouraged him to learn mass spectrometry. “The boss is always right I guess,” he said. “I did an internet search and found the citation report for Professor John Fenn’s paper on electrospray mass spectrometry of large molecules. The citation index growth of this paper convinced everyone that electrospray mass spectrometry was an important breakthrough in science. So I gradually started learning about mass spectrometry. It’s made all the difference.”