Ratan Tata joins US nanotech firm's advisory board
New York, September 17, 2008 (IANS)

Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata group, has joined the global advisory board of Nanobiosym, a leading nanotechnology company in the US. Nanobiosym, based in Medford, near Boston in Massachusetts, developed Gene-RADAR, a portable nanotechnology platform that can rapidly and accurately detect genetic fingerprints from any biological organism.

The company aims to give patients worldwide real-time access to their own diagnostic information through low-cost handheld devices that could detect disease from a single drop of blood or saliva. Welcoming Tata to the board, the firm's chairman and CEO Anita Goel said: "I am inspired by his example, which provides us with a practical roadmap for bringing cutting edge technologies into emerging global economies and extending our reach to broad markets at the 'bottom of the pyramid'."

Tata, who hit international headlines with his Rs.100,000 ($2,500)Nano car, said: "Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionise the way we tackle key issues facing the world today, and Nanobiosym is working at the forefront of this revolution."

"Dr. Goel has forged a bold model for driving technological innovation and commercialisation, while maximising global humanitarian impact. I look forward to working closely with her and her team," Tata, named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, was quoted as saying in a company release.

Goel is a Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-trained physicist and physician as well as a nanotech expert and entrepreneur. She was named one of MIT Technology Review's top 35 science and technology innovators in the world.

Alfred Ford, director of the Ford Motor Company Fund and also a member of Nanobiosym's board, said: "Behind this vision is game-changing technology which can revolutionise healthcare globally. In the face of growing world health crises and transnational epidemics, Dr.Goel and Nanobiosym are redefining the rules in the battle to diagnose disease and save lives."