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Equipment Specification
Abbott Alinity m System
Fully automated, high-throughput molecular platform for rapid and precise HPV testing.
diagnostic
Cancer Biology and Molecular Diagnostics (CBMD)
Unravelling Genomics: Driving Innovation in Cancer Biology and Diagnostics
Working Hours:Monday to Friday - 8:30 am – 5:00 pm · Saturday – 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
About the department
The Department of Cancer Biology and Molecular Diagnostics at the Cancer Institute (WIA) is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to advancing precision medicine through innovative genomic research and high-throughput molecular diagnostics. Our department serves as a bridge between translational research and clinical oncology, providing critical insights into tumour characterization, risk stratification, and the selection of targeted therapies to improve patient outcomes.
A unique strength of our department is its leadership in women's cancer prevention, having established India’s first HPV DNA testing Centralized Facility in 2019, which has been offered to over 35,000 women. We integrate cutting-edge technologies like Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), automated high-throughput platforms to provide rapid, accurate and scalable diagnostic services for a wide range of cancers.
Message from the Head of Department
At the Department of Cancer Biology & Molecular Diagnostics, we decode the molecular basis of cancer to deliver precise, affordable diagnostics for every patient. By uniting discovery science, genomic testing and global collaboration, we aim to set new standards for equitable precision oncology worldwide.
Dr. Vijayalakshmi R
Professor and Head Department of Cancer Biology
Diagnostic techniques and procedures
Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS)
Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT)
BC 360 Prognostication test
EGFR gene mutation testing including EGFR T790M mutation done by PCR
Quantitative PCR for Viral load
qPCR based tests
AML PCR Panel (Basic and Extended) by qPCR
ALL PCR Panel (Basic and MLL) by qPCR
PML-RARA Qualitative by qPCR
PML-RARA Quantitative by qPCR
HPV testing
Anti-HBC (ELISA)
Serum chromogranin A (CgA)
Services Available
Oncogenomics services available on Illumina, Genexus and ONT, Nanostring platforms, Spatial Transcriptomics, Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, real time PCR, Digital PCR based Digital MLPA based services are available and routinely done for molecular diagnostics and academic research programs namely
Cervical Cancer
- Qualitative HPV DNA screening and extensive genotyping.
Breast and Ovarian Cancer
- NGS based Hereditary gene panel testing and risk-of-recurrence prediction on Nanostring.
Lung Cancer
- Somatic NGS gene panels for targeted therapy including liquid biopsy.
Leukemia (ALL/AML)
- Comprehensive molecular profiling by qPCR and NGS
Endometrial Cancer
- Somatic panel testing and POLE mutation analysis by Sanger Sequencing
Infectious Diseases
- Highly sensitive detection of HIV, HBV, HCV, and CMV.
Infrastructure & Technology
Facilities and equipment
Infrastructure
Equipment Specification
Illumina NextSeq 550
Flexible benchtop next-generation sequencing (NGS) system combining high-throughput sequencing with microarray scanning on a single platform, offering one-day turnaround for whole-exome and transcriptome sequencing.
Equipment Specification
Thermo fisher integrated sequencer Genexus
Ion Torrent Genexus System is a fully automated NGS platform delivering specimen-to-report results in a single day (within 48 hours) with only 20 minutes of hands-on time.
Equipment Specification
P2I (PromethION 2 integrated)
High-output DNA and RNA sequencing device developed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) in a plug-and-play format without separate computing infrastructure.
Equipment Specification
Applied Biosystems SeqStudio Genetic Analyzer
Compact benchtop system for Sanger sequencing and fragment analysis with an all-in-one cartridge integrating capillary array, polymer, and buffer.
Equipment Specification
Flowcytometry
Automated instrument using laser-based flow cytometry to rapidly analyse and characterize cells in blood and biological samples for clinical diagnostics and research.
Equipment Specification
Vizgen spatial transcriptomics
High-resolution technology mapping and quantifying RNA molecules directly within intact tissue sections at single-cell resolution.
Equipment Specification
NanoString nCounter Flex Platform
Precision tool for gene expression profiling and miRNA analysis without amplification.
Equipment Specification
Cobas 5800 Platform
Automated system for highly sensitive Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) and viral load monitoring.
Key achievements
10 Milestones- 01India’s First HPV Centralized Facility: Established in 2019, screening over 35,000 women to date.
- 02NABL Accreditation: Successfully maintained accreditation for medical testing with satisfactory surveillance in 2022.
- 03Ms. Vaishnavi M won best poster on the topic “Development of Dry Smear (DS) paper method for HPV detection: A feasible approach for low-resource settings” - at the 13th National AOGIN Conference, held on 4th–5th October 2024 in Pondicherry.
- 04Ms. Vaishnavi M won best slogan award at the 13th National AOGIN Conference, held on 4th–5th October 2024 in Pondicherry.
- 05Dr. Vijayalakshmi has been elected as an Executive Committee (EC) Member of the AOGIN India Society for the term 2024–2026. This recognition reflects her continued contributions to the field of gynecologic oncology and infectious diseases and further strengthens the laboratory's collaborative network within national and regional professional bodies.
- 06Ms. Vaishnavi M won the "Uncoded 16S Grand Research Challenge" (2025) for her work on cervical microbiota.
Ongoing projects and recently completed projects
| Title and scope of the project | Sponsoring Agency | Project Leader | Start Year | Completion year | Duration in months | Total Project Cost (in lakhs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development of a therapeutic resistance and relapse prediction model for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia using artificial intelligence techniques | ICMR AI | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (PI) | 2023 | 2025 | 24 | 51 |
| Development of Spectro-Cytology Screening Technology for Detection of Grades of Cervical Cancer Lesions by Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) and Artificial Intelligence | ICMR INTERMEDIATE | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (PI) | 2024 | 2028 | 48 | 800 |
| Rapid and Affordable DIagnostics for stratifying Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia (RADICAL) | ICMR INTERMEDIATE | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (PI) | 2025 | 2029 | 48 | 800 |
| Intrinsic subtyping using high throughput quantitative gene expression profiling and SERS based approach to predict pathological response in triple-negative breast cancer patients (TNBC) | ICMR SMALL | Dr. Arvind Krishnamurthy (PI) Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (Co-PI) | 2025 | 2027 | 24 | 82 |
| Evaluating the role of addition of low-dose nivolumab and concurrent radiation in patients with triple negative breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT): a 4 arm, phase II Randomized controlled trial (RCT) | ICMR SMALL | Dr. Priya Iyer (PI) Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (Co-PI) | 2024 | 2027 | 36 | 150 |
| Cervical cancer screening program for community | CPCL | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (PI) | 2019 | 2023 | 60 | 250 |
| Development of dual color plasmonic immunoassay for visual detection of salivary vimentin for early diagnosis of oral cancer | SERB CRG | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (PI) | 2023 | 2026 | 36 | 49 |
| Study of Impact of Air Pollution on non smoker associated Lung Cancer with EGFR driver mutations and preventive health care application with a novel air pollution tracking device | BIRAC GCI | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (PI) | 2025 | 2028 | 36 | 65 |
| IN VITRO DIAGNOSTIC KIT DEVELOPMENT (LOLLIPOP ASSAY) AGAINST SOLUBLE SALIVARY CD44 ISOFORM FOR RAPID DIAGNOSIS AND DISEASE MONITORING FOR ORAL CANCERS AND ORAL POTENTIALLY MALIGNANT DISORDERS | CSIR ASPIRE | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (PI) | 2025 | 2028 | 36 | 30 |
| Design of a salivary miRNA panel as a tool for predicting malignant transformation risk in oral potentially malignant disorders | DBT BIOCARE | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (Co-PI) | 2023 | 2026 | 36 | 50 |
| Development of Novel Nano-Silymarin Gel for Therapeutic Efficacy in Oral Submucous Fibrosis | ICMR ADHOC | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (Co-PI) | 2023 | 2026 | 36 | 40 |
| Genetic and Proteomic Expression Profiling in Clinical Stages of Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF) Patients | ICMR ADHOC | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (Co-PI) | 2021 | 2024 | 36 | 23 |
| Development and Clinical Validation of STAT3-HPV FlowFISH Assay for Detection of Progressive Cervical Lesions with Persistent HPV16 Infection | ICMR SMALL | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (Co-PI) | 2026 | 2029 | 36 | 120 |
| Design and evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of bimodal multispectral high-resolution micro endoscopy imaging of premalignant oral lesion in comparison to visual inspection in screen-positive patients | ICMR SMALL | Dr. Arvind Krishnamurthy (PI) | 2026 | 2029 | 36 | 95 |
| Evaluating diet, essential minerals, oral bacteria, and body fat for head and neck cancer treatment: A prospective study in two large cancer centres in India | ICMR SMALL | Dr. Arvind Krishnamurthy (PI) Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (Co-PI) | 2026 | 2029 | 36 | 130 |
| Re-purposing of Anti-hypertensive Drugs (Beta blockers) and NSAIDS in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma | DST TARE | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (Co-PI) | 2018 | 2022 | 36 | 40 |
| Early Detection of Cancers from Blood Samples by Raman Spectroscopy and Artificial Intelligence: Multicentric Clinical Validation of a Cutting-edge Diagnostic Technique | TATA ELXSI | Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar (PI) | 2026 | 2029 | 36 | 60 |
Intellectual Property & Research
Patents, Publications & Innovations
Translational clinical research, patented therapeutic processes, and licensed innovations originating from the department.
Patent Granted
Registered Intellectual Property & Research
- Publication / Patent RecordPublishedPatent No. 202141028755A process of preparation of Silymarin-based oral topical mucoadhesive gel for oral mucosal diseases and product thereof. Date of publication: 09.07.2021
- Publication / Patent RecordPublishedNucleic Acid Detection System ” A system for detecting nucleic acids using a paper-based substrate and a method thereof” in collaboration with Dept of Biotechnology, IIT Madras.
- Publication / Patent RecordPublishedPREPARE ALL (Software Copyright) The copyright for the application and idea titled PREPARE ALL has been filed in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Management (IPM) Cell of IIT Madras. Diary Number: 22753/2024-CO/SW (Dated: 18th July 2024)
Patent Applied
Registered Intellectual Property & Research
- Publication / Patent RecordPublishedApplication No. 0012NF2026A surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and artificial intelligence-based classification for human papillomavirus subtyping process in collaboration with CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram.
Our Team
Contact Cancer Biology and Molecular Diagnostics (CBMD)
contact@cancerinstitutewia.org
Working HoursMonday to Friday - 8:30 am – 5:00 pm · Saturday – 8:30 am – 1:00 pm