The Centre of Excellence in Microbiome (CoEM) was initiated by the Government of Kerala under the aegis of Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment, Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council and the scientific mentoring of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology with the motto ‘Microbes for Life’. The centre is currently housed at the KINFRA Film & Video Park, Kazhakoottam, Trivandrum.
CoEM is envisioned as a world-class microbiome-focused innovation centre committed to highly collaborative and grass-root level translational research that investigate the role of the microbiome in a diverse spectrum, spanning environment, agriculture, animal health to medicine. The Centre aims to provide a platform to promote research and entrepreneurial activitiesacross different domains of microbiome – human, animal,plant, aquatic and environment to gather in-depth knowledge and come up with appropriate solutions for the health and environment related concerns. Understanding the role of microbiota, including their dynamic interactions with hosts and other microbes, can enable the prediction of novel biomarkers, interventional strategies and nutraceuticals. Adhering to the One Health framework, the CoEM shall leverage emerging technologies such as big data to promote a multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder approach towards translational research and development for bringing out products, support innovative start-ups and services to society. The centre strives to combine basic science, translational medicine and cutting-edge multi-omic technologies such as culturomics, genomics, metagenomics, proteomics, metabolomics and data interpretation using bioinformatics, data analytics and artificial intelligence for advancing discoveries in microbiome science across various disciplines. Such discoveries will reach the general public through active entrepreneurial efforts by startup companies mentored by the CoEM.Scientific learning, training and research shall be promoted by fostering more collaborations across industries and academia at the regional, state, national and global levels.