Foreign secretary Misri underlines importance of BRICS collaboration at SGBC symposium

CHENNAI: Positioning India at the centre of emerging global collaborations in brain science and neuro-technologies, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras hosted the third edition of the BRICS Neuroscience Symposium 2026, bringing together leading neuroscientists, clinicians, researchers and policymakers from BRICS nations and extended partner countries.

Held from June 5 to 7 at IIT-Madras and hosted by the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC), the symposium focused on expanding international cooperation in neuroscience research, technology development and capacity building at a time when neurological disorders are posing growing public health challenges worldwide.

The event, held in India for the first time, featured scientific sessions, keynote lectures, policy discussions and the release of the Human Brainstem Atlas developed by SGBC.

Addressing the gathering, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the present global landscape had made international cooperation more critical than ever. "The problems are multiplying faster than before, while some of the solutions themselves are creating new challenges. It is in such a world that the value of collaboration becomes even greater, and that spirit is what BRICS symbolises," he said.

Noting that India is chairing BRICS this year ahead of the summit scheduled in September, Misri said the deliberations at the symposium would contribute to the larger agenda of scientific cooperation among emerging economies.

Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Ajay Kumar Sood, who addressed the event virtually, described SGBC as a model of multidisciplinary and multinational collaboration supported by government, industry and philanthropy.

Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, the SGBC head, said multinational and interdisciplinary teams were essential to drive breakthroughs in complex areas such as neuroscience.

Launched in 2022, the SGBC has developed a high-throughput whole-brain imaging pipeline to map human brains at cellular resolution.