Department of Biotechnology is inviting Letters of Interest (LoIs) for setting up Image Informatics Centers. This initiative aims to foster the creation of imaging bio-banks, facilitating the development and validation of imaging biomarkers. The ultimate goal is to establish a comprehensive network integrated with existing bio-banking infrastructures, enhancing medical research and healthcare through advanced imaging and artificial intelligence.

Introduction to Image Informatics Centers

Imaging bio-banks are envisioned as organized databases of medical images and associated imaging biomarkers. These resources will be shared among researchers to accelerate the generation and validation of imaging biomarkers. The long-term vision includes integrating these centers into a broader bio-banking network. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medical imaging is increasingly important. AI applications, including deep learning models, have the potential to significantly improve medical diagnostics and treatment. These technologies can enhance medical screenings, improve precision medicine, and assess patient risk factors, making accurate diagnoses more accessible. These centers will focus on collecting, storing, and retrieving diagnostic images along with associated clinical data. The goal is to create high-quality, annotated image databases that can be used to develop powerful AI algorithms. Proposals should focus on creating detailed datasets of images showing healthy and diseased states, comprehensively annotated by clinical experts.

Purpose of the Call

The primary objective of this call is to establish Image Informatics Centers to collect, store, and retrieve diagnostic images and associated clinical data. This initiative seeks innovative proposals to create Imaging Biobanks focused on curating high-quality, annotated image databases. These datasets will serve as the foundation for developing powerful AI algorithms. Prioritized projects will combine diverse clinical expertise to improve image metadata and develop sophisticated AI tools for image analysis. The focus should be on creating detailed datasets of images showing both healthy and diseased states, comprehensively annotated by clinical experts. This approach is favored over simply collecting images and devising AI algorithms for their analysis. Successful proposals must demonstrate a clear plan to advance biomedical research, enhance disease diagnosis and treatment, and leverage the power of imaging and AI. The scope includes collecting images of the human body (healthy and pathological), establishing secure databases, making data accessible, and driving algorithm development for disease prediction.

Proposal Guidelines

Proposals should be in a network mode, involving multiple institutions with a hub-and-spoke model. Research goals must be precise and realistic, with clearly identified deliverables. The proposals should not be overly broad or exploratory; they should include detailed methodologies and algorithms. All data must be made publicly available in accordance with the BIOTECH-PRIDE guidelines and FeED protocols, following all regulatory and ethical clearances. The data will also be deposited in the IBDC database as a mirror copy, aligning with the Imaging portal of IBDC. Selected proposals are expected to collaborate with the IBDC team from the outset to facilitate data transfer. The host hub organization must possess the necessary infrastructure, including data centers, IT manpower, and experience in handling complex databases. They should be capable of hosting the proposed database and providing data access to the research community. Proposals should cover additional requirements to execute the project, rather than establishing a facility from scratch.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility requirements include:

• Any Indian National holding a regular position in an Indian academic and scientific research institution (Govt./Private) may apply.

• Research institutions must be recognized by DSIR as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO).

• Private institutions/NGOs must have proof of registration at ‘NGO DARPAN’ of NITI Aayog and a valid DSIR-SIRO certificate.

• The research team should be multi-disciplinary, with expertise in areas such as radiology, pathology, oncology, physicians, and data science. They should be capable of handling large amounts of data and have expertise in building prediction tools involving computational biology, statistics, machine learning, and deep learning.

• Preference will be given to researchers with existing preliminary datasets or clinical trial datasets. The use of free and open-source software is encouraged to ensure the usability of the data to the broader research community. A plan for long-term sustainability must be presented in the proposal.

Financial Support

The Department plans to support up to ten (10) ambitious, multi-institutional projects for up to 5 years. The budgetary requirement per project should not exceed INR 15 Cr. Non-recurring costs should not be more than 30% of the total proposed cost and should mainly include compute and storage infrastructure-related budget. Grant components include GIA-Capital (Non-Recurring Budget) for equipment and accessories, and GIA-General for manpower, consumables, contingencies, travel, and overheads as per DBT guidelines. Grants-in-aid support to private R&D institutions shall be up to INR 2.5 Cr, and grants to profit-making institutions will be limited to Rs. 50 lakh. DBT’s contribution to private R&D institutions and profit-making & Not-for-profit NGOs will be 75% of the grant cost for their respective component. The remaining 25% should come from the partnering private R&D institutions and Not-for-profit NGOs.

Submission Details and Deadline

Interested investigators must submit Letters of Interest (LoIs) online through the DBT ‘eProMIS’ portal. LoIs not submitted through the eProMIS portal will not be considered. The deadline for LoI submission is 31st August, 2025. The LoIs will be screened based on the scheme guidelines and the merit of the proposal. Successful LoIs will be invited to submit a full proposal through DBT eProMIS. Project investigators may be invited to make a detailed presentation before the Expert Committee. For any queries related to this call, contact Dr. Richi V Mahajan, Scientist 'D', Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi- 110003. Phone: 011-24363029, Email: rv.mahajan@dbt.nic.in.