YRGCARE CRS (India)

Overview

The Y.R. Gaitonde Medical, Educational and Research Foundation, honours the memory of Yeshwant Raghunath Gaitonde. Founded in 1985, the Foundation implements innovative cross-cultural national public health initiatives through YRGCARE. Established in 1996, by Professor Suniti Solomon, YRGCARE pioneered HIV care and research in India. Since its inception, YRGCARE prides itself in offering customized care for over 20,000 people with HIV and their families. With the overarching aim of mainstreaming HIV care, this setup now offers diagnostics and clinical care for all age groups, with a focus on but not limited to HIV, TB, viral hepatitis, and COVID. YRGCARE also offers outreach prevention services and capacity development in high disease burden settings across India, reaching over 150000 adults and children living with or affected by HIV.

YRGCARE CRS

In June 2024, the foundation inaugurated the Suniti Solomon Clinical Centre (SSCC), an integrated facility for clinical, laboratory, pharmacy, and philanthropic services. The scope of research at YRGCARE has evolved over the past three decades to encompass clinical, laboratory, behavioural, and implementation research with national and international collaborators. YRGCARE Clinical Research Site, nested within the SSCC, is a DAIDS-approved protocol-specific site affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Clinical Trial Unit. The team at the YRGCARE CRS have successfully implemented fourteen ACTG network protocols since 2003 and enrolled over 50,000 research participants in network and non-network research studies.

Laboratory facilities

Established in 2000, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA and Brown University, Rhode Island, USA with a financial grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), YRGCARE Infectious Diseases laboratory has state-of-the-art equipment and is staffed by experienced and qualified professionals, positioned to meet the emerging needs of HIV and other infectious diseases including sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, SARS CoV-2, and viral hepatitis. The ID laboratory conducts biomedical research in the areas of the basic sciences and offer educational programs organized by qualified scientists/faculty, and a PhD program in Medical Microbiology. YRGCARE Infectious Diseases Laboratory is equipped to support diagnostics in diverse epidemic settings in India. Since its establishment, the YRGCARE ID Laboratory has delivered subsidized frontline diagnostics to communities at the peak of two pandemics – HIV and COVID – and continues to investigate pathogens with pandemic potential.

On 25th June 2024, Dr Amita Gupta, Faculty co-chair, Gupta Klinsky India Institute inaugurated the YRGCARE laboratories in SSCC. With over 20,000 sq. ft dedicated to serology, immunology, molecular biology, and virology, the new facility will see faster turnaround times and witness a more cohesive approach to offer timely quality care.

View our video HERE.