TOMSK, Dec 4 – RIA Tomsk, Anna Glushenkova. Two projects of TSU scientists won mega-grants of the Russian Government for a total of 180 million rubles; one of them is aimed at creating a new approach for the diagnosis of viral and bacterial infections, the second is at the development of an interface "implant-biological tissue" for reconstructive surgery, the university’s press service said.
According to the press service with reference to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, 465 applications from 57 regions of Russia were submitted for the eighth competition of the mega-grant program. To assess them, 20 expert groups of Russian and foreign scientists were formed. The Grants Council has selected 43 projects, including two initiated by TSU.
"Two projects of Tomsk State University on biomedicine are supported by mega-grants from the government. <...> The projects are designed for three years. The total amount of financing will be 180 million rubles", - is said in the report.
The first of the projects involves the development of methods for screening non-invasive diagnostics of viral and bacterial respiratory infections using laser spectroscopy and artificial intelligence. They will be applicable for the diagnosis of coronavirus infections and will allow to speed up and reduce the cost. The interdisciplinary team of developers, including biophotonics, IT and clinician physicians, is led by Igor Lednev, a senior fellow of the University at Albany (NY).
© РИА Томск. Павел Стефанский
"One of the main approaches for detecting viral and bacterial infections will be the spectral analysis of exhaled air, biological fluids and biological tissues, in particular the oral mucosa, which are the first to react to the invasion of pathogens", - the project participant, Head of the TSU Laboratory for Biophotonics, Executive Director of the TSU Institute of Biomedicine Yuri Kistenev is quoted in the message
The project of the interface "implant-biological tissue" is aimed at solving one of the most serious problems in the creation of new medical implants, namely, to ensure maximum patient safety, treatment efficiency and adequate choice of an implant. Scientists of the TSU Siberian Physical-Technical Institute will work on the project together with specialists in the field of medical materials science from America, Germany, Canada and South Korea.