Two CSIR-CDRI scientists selected for prestigious ICMR awards

New Delhi: Dr Anuradha Dube and Dr Satish Mishra, the two scientists from the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow have been selected for the award by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The Kshanika Oration Award is given by ICMR annually to the eminent Indian women scientists for outstanding contributions in Biomedical Sciences. For the year 2018, Dr Anuradha Dube, INSA Senior/Emeritus Scientist and Sir JC Bose National Fellow, Division of Molecular Parasitology and Immunology, has selected for this ICMR award.

Dr Anuradha has made significant contributions in the area of immunobiology of visceral leishmaniasis, a fatal neglected tropical disease if not treated properly. Using the immuno-proteomic approach, she has identified Leishmania parasite proteins/molecules with Th1-stimulatory property as potential vaccine targets.

Presently, she is working in the direction of designing polyvalent synthetic and recombinant chimeric vaccines that include promiscuous T-cell epitopes derived from the potential Th1 stimulatory proteins of Leishmania as effective intervention measures (prophylactic as well as therapeutic) to control the disease in endemic areas. With comprehensive as well as differential proteomic analysis of Leishmania clinical isolates she identified some key biomarker proteins which may have crucial biological functions in Leishmania pathogenesis and may serve as new targets for therapeutic interventions against the disease.

Another CDRI scientist, Dr Satish Mishra has been selected for The Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize is given by ICMR. Dr Mishra is the Senior Scientist in Division of Molecular Parasitology and Immunology. He has been selected for this prize for the year 2018 for his significant scientific contributions in the field of biomedical sciences.

Dr Mishra has dedicated his career to studying malaria liver stage biology, including target-based drug discovery and development of a malaria vaccine using state-of-the-art technologies for inducing multi-stage immunity. The vaccine has been developed in a mouse model by knocking out a gene required by the parasite to complete development in the liver. This gives more time to the host immune system which can then prepare itself to fight against future infections.

He has been working in the field of malaria liver stage biology and contributed significantly to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie Plasmodium liver stage development. He has also been instrumental in the identification of host factors that influence the parasite’s development in host liver which would have therapeutic value aimed at eliminating malaria liver stage forms.