IIT Hyderabad to research on how age & ageing are conceptualized in assisted reproduction

Hyderabad: The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad is going to undertake a study on the ways in which ageing is conceptualized within In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) by researching on elderly couples conceiving and birthing children in North India with the help of in-vitro fertilization.

The project has been sanctioned the funding of Rs 25 lakh under the Wellcome UK Small Projects Grant for 2018 and is titled: ‘A Preliminary Study of Ageing and Assisted Reproduction in India.’

The project will commence in April 2018 and includes fieldwork, a conference on ‘Reframing the Biological Clock: Exploring Ethnographic Research on Ageing and Reproduction’ in August 2018 with presentations from academics across the world. The Conference will focus on ongoing research on aspects of the ageing reproductive body and how technology and society imagine childbirth and families in such a context. Research from Europe, USA and Asia will be presented at the conference, which will be hosted by IIT Hyderabad.

Speaking about the project, Dr Anindita Majumdar, Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts, IIT Hyderabad who will be leading the Research, said, “The aim of the research is to contribute conceptually and through field data to ongoing, and future research on assisted conception, infertility and reproduction in India. This would include publications emerging from research, and the development of a larger research project that will look at the impact that societal and environmental factors have on increasing fears of declining fertility in urban India.”

This research firmly embeds itself within emerging issues of the ‘biological clock’, and declining fertility which has long-term significance on demographic and population trends, as well as on the social care and responsibility of an ageing population.

Thanking the Wellcome UK for the grant, Dr Anindita Majumdar said that it would be used to fund preliminary fieldwork in North India amongst couples undergoing assisted reproduction to conceive. Besides that the grant would be utilized to host and organize an international conference at IIT Hyderabad on ‘Reframing the Biological Clock: Exploring Ageing and Reproduction in Contemporary Ethnographies’ in August 2018 with participants from universities in the U.S. and Europe

Wellcome UK  is a global charitable organization that supports scientists and researchers take on big problems, fuel imaginations, and spark debate. It supports over 14,000 people in more than 70 countries and is one of the world’s biggest funders of biomedical research.

Wellcome UK funds research on areas ranging Vaccine development, Public health interventions, such as insecticide-treated bednets for malaria, Behavioural projects, such as training health workers (opens in a new tab) to reduce risk of infection while working on the frontline and Advocacy, encouraging governments and global businesses to take part in building a more secure future for global health