ICMR to Establish India's First
High-Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research Centre in Keylong
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Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) is establishing India’s first dedicated Centre for High
Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research at Keylong, Lahaul and Spiti
district, Himachal Pradesh.
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The new centre will upgrade
the existing ICMR field station into a multidisciplinary research hub.
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Keylong is the
headquarters of Lahaul and Spiti district and is located in the Western
Himalayas at a high altitude.
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The centre will function
under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India’s apex body for
biomedical research.
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It will focus on
research, innovation, and capacity building in high-altitude medicine and
public health.
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Research areas include
altitude physiology, acclimatisation, mountain medicine, climate-sensitive
diseases, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, maternal and child
health, nutrition, mental health, occupational health, and disaster medicine.
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High-altitude medicine
studies the effects of low oxygen levels, cold climate, and environmental
stress on human physiology.
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The centre will use
digital health platforms, telemedicine, drone-based delivery of medicines and
diagnostics, and real-time disease surveillance.
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These technologies will
improve healthcare services in remote mountain regions where road connectivity,
emergency transport, and specialist healthcare access are limited.
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The centre will
collaborate with the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), Himachal Pradesh Government, and academic
institutions.
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The collaboration will
strengthen civilian health research, defence medicine, mountain logistics, and
field-based scientific studies.