University of Leicester and The Apollo University launch global research centre for digital health and precision medicine

The University of Leicester has joined forces with The Apollo University and Apollo Hospitals in India to launch a global centre for digital health and precision medicine research.

The Centre for Digital Health and Precision Medicine (CDHPM) officially opened the India hub today (Monday 20 January) at The Apollo University campus, in Chittoor, where the centre’s headquarters will be based. The hub at the University of Leicester will be based at the BHF Cardiovascular Research Centre at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester. 

The centre brings together the research expertise and resources of the partners to revolutionise patient care, by developing novel digital and personalised solutions using advanced analytical approaches. Clinical Medicine research at the University of Leicester was ranked joint 2nd in the Times Higher Education (THE)’s analysis of the national Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.
The Co-Directors of the centre will be Professor Sir Nilesh J Samani, Professor of Cardiology at the University of Leicester, and Dr Sujoy Kar, Adjunct Faculty, The Apollo University, Chief Medical Information Officer, Apollo Hospitals.

The centre’s vision

The centre aims to become an internationally recognised hub in precision medicine and digital health across multiple domains of health with a key focus on three areas: cardiovascular diseases, acute and emergency medicine and multi-morbidity. The centre will harness the expertise of resources of The University of Leicester, Apollo and their partners, to deliver its mission.

Outcomes will include better disease prediction and prevention, and improved and earlier detection, diagnosis and management of multiple acute and long-term conditions in hospital and community settings. 

Leicester-Apollo programmes launched

The partnership will also see a raft of courses set to open in 2025, including one designed to address the shortage of specialist nurses in India, and another to help junior doctors from India progress their careers. Some of the students will also have the opportunity to work in the NHS, which will help to address a shortage of skilled healthcare professionals.

Two Masters programmes will launch in 2025 aimed at junior doctors from India who wish to go on to specialise in clinical education or healthcare management roles. As part of a Junior Clinical Fellowship programme, offered by the BAPIO Training Academy (BTA), the junior doctors spend two years working at Apollo Hospitals in India followed by two years in an NHS hospital in the UK, with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust among the potential locations. They will combine this with studying for their Masters via distance learning with the University of Leicester.

Two full-time healthcare Masters programmes will also be introduced in 2025, in computational health data science and mental health nursing.

Designed for internationally qualified general nurses, the MSc in mental health nursing is needed to help address a dearth of specialist nurses in India. During the programme, students will undertake a placement at an NHS mental health hospital in the UK, which will, in turn, help to address a shortage of nurses in the NHS.

President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, said: “The establishment of the centre will allow Leicester and Apollo to build the healthcare of the future with the potential to transform lives, not only in India and the UK, but around the globe.

“Combining the world-leading expertise of both institutions means we can find new and novel ways to solve the biggest challenges in health. We have also taken the first steps to provide cutting-edge degree programmes designed to address the current and future shortages of expertise in healthcare services, both in the UK and India.”

Commenting on the launch of CDHPM, Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chancellor of the Apollo University and Founding Chairman, Apollo Hospitals, said, “At Apollo we have always been pro-health, and the Centre for Digital Health and Precision Medicine (CDHPM) sits at the core of that belief. With the CDHPM, we aspire to transform healthcare delivery by bettering disease prediction, prevention, diagnosis, and management for acute and chronic conditions and are committed to profoundly impacting global healthcare. I am certain that such advancements will benefit patients globally and shape the future of personalised and data-driven medicine. I am happy to have launched the research centre in my birthplace in partnership with the University of Leicester.”

Dr Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor of The Apollo University, said: “The launch of the Centre for Digital Health and Precision Medicine marks a monumental step forward in The Apollo University’s commitment to revolutionising healthcare through innovation and collaboration. By integrating cutting-edge medical research with advanced technology, the centre aims to redefine patient care and create a global benchmark for precision medicine. This partnership with the University of Leicester strengthens our academic and research capabilities and paves the way for transformative healthcare solutions to create new academic benchmarks.” 

The Apollo-Leicester partnership so far

Leicester and Apollo initiated a partnership in 2023, when they signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore collaborative education and research programmes, particularly in the fields of healthcare management, healthcare and data science.

The relationship between the institutions progressed in 2024, when they announced their first collaborative course: a computer science undergraduate degree programme which sees students study for two years at TAU in Chittoor, with the opportunity to progress to their final year and graduation at the University of Leicester. This week, Apollo and Leicester also announced the creation of two further non-health-related undergraduate degree programmes in business and management, and electrical, electronic and information engineering.