How Computational Microbiology drives disease research & treatment | Prof Karthik Raman | BP2B S2 E8

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

September 12, 2025

Duration

1h 9m

Channel

Best Place To Build

Watch on YouTube

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📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

How do you go from analysing online datasets to sequencing 10,000 Indian genomes? 🧬 In this episode of Best Place to Build, we sit down with Prof. Karthik Raman, faculty at the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI (WSAI), IIT Madras, to explore the incredible journey of the Center for Integrative Biology and Systems Medicine (IBSE). IBSE began in 2015 as the Initiative for Biological Systems Engineering under the mentorship of Prof. Ashok Venkitaraman (Cambridge). The goal: bring bright, quantitatively skilled minds at IIT Madras into the world of biological systems engineering and bioinformatics. By leveraging freely available biological data online, IBSE pioneered work in systems biology long before generating its own datasets. Today, IBSE is a key player in Genome India — India’s ambitious national project to sequence and analyse the genetic data of thousands of people. With over 10,000 genomes sequenced, the center is uncovering critical insights into genetic diversity, disease mutations, personalized medicine, and healthcare innovation. 💡 In this conversation, Prof. Raman discusses:

• The origins of IBSE and its transformation into a center for integrative biology and medicine
• Why bioinformatics and data science are central to the future of genomics research
• The role of IIT Madras and WSAI in shaping India’s contribution to global science
• How genome sequencing can impact public health, diagnostics, and personalized medicine

This episode is not just about the science of genomics — it’s about the future of healthcare in India and beyond. 🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more conversations on innovation, technology, and research from IIT Madras. Jump straight to what makes you curious here: 00:00 – Intro 00:41 - Welcome to the best place to build 01:13 - Introducing Prof. Karthik Raman 04:37 - What exactly is modelling? 06:53 - The math behind a pandemic 08:25 - What’s a digital twin? 09:00 - You wanna start with a spherical cow 15:19 - Introduction to the omic studies 22:32 - Scope of Prof. Karthik Raman’s work 30:20 - Levels of microbiology 34:05 - IBSE & Genome India 46:00 - Debunking gut microbe supplement marketing 49:00 - Prof Karthik Raman’s journey from Chemical Engineering to Computational Engineering 52:53 - The intersection of maths and biology 55:00 - AI in microbiology 58:00 - Closing thoughts & reflections

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Karthik Raman

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Best Place To Build, featuring Karthik Raman, How Computational Microbiology drives disease research & treatment | Prof Karthik Raman | BP2B S2 E8 explores computational systems microbiology: modeling microbes to understand disease and health Systems biology uses simplified mathematical models to understand and manipulate complex biological systems, much like engineering models, while acknowledging that all models are imperfect but still useful.

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