News & ViewsIssue 21

May 2018

EDITORIAL

2.

India Alliance has a new logo and website address, www.indiaalliance.org, which highlights both our identity as an independent public charity registered in India and our funders Wellcome, UK and DBT, India. This change coincides with India Alliance turning 10 this year and our move towards the next phase of the program. This new identity was unveiled by Prof. K VijayRaghavan at the recently held India Alliance Annual Fellows’ Meeting in Delhi, 17-19 May.

This May issue of the India Alliance newsletter includes our Fellowship announcements, recently published research of our Fellows and updates on our new initiatives aimed at enhancing India’s research ecosystems.

At the outset, our congratulations to Intermediate Fellows, Dr. Mahak Sharma (IISER Mohali) and Dr. Prerna Sharma (IISc, Bengaluru) for receiving INSA Young Scientist Award. We would also like to extend our heartiest felicitations to Margadarshi Fellow, Prof. Anura Kurpad (St. John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru) for getting elected as the Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London.

Next call for applications for the Early Career Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Research will be launched on 2 July 2018 and for Senior and Intermediate Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Research on 27 June 2018. Read more about these schemes in this issue. Check India Alliance website for regular updates on our various funding schemes.

In the Research Highlights section, we bring to you recently published research of the following India Alliance Fellows.

Dr. Abhijit Majumder and his team at IIT Bombay, provide novel insights into cell-cell mechanical interactions that can be employed in tissue engineering.

Dr. Kavita Babu and her team at IISER Mohali, in a series of research papers, provide new insights into how neuronal genes regulate locomotion and how genes and environment control an organism’s exploration of its environment using a worm model.

Using a primate model, Dr. Supratim Ray and colleagues, provide new insights about the generation of gamma rhythm in the brain as well as processing of color along the visual pathway.

Unregulated activation of immune cells can lead to inflammation associated with several diseases, including cancer and autoimmune disorders. Recently published research from Dr.AmitTuli’s research group at IMTECH Chandigarh, show how the activation of immune cells against pathogenic stimuli hinges on an evolutionarily conserved cellular protein. Correlation of this protein to the aforementioned diseases would need to be further investigated.

Chromosomes change their address in response to their environment, shows Dr. Kundan Sengupta’s recently published study. These observations and further research using his approach can provide important clues into how aberrant signals perceived by cells within a tissue are likely to convert normal cells to cancer cells.

Dr. Paulomi Sanghavi and Prof. Roop Mallik, propose models to explain the activity of opposing molecular motors that help transport cargo inside a cell.

Research Matters covers Dr. Farah Ishtiaq’s recent study that reveals that high intensity of blood parasites such as those that cause malaria, destroy red blood cells and reduces the amount of haemoglobin in the migrant birds in the Himalayas. They also observed that the parasite load was higher in these birds in winter season, suggesting that temperature plays an important role in regulating transmission of parasites.

Government of India report on the causes of death country revealed that the deaths in rural India due to communicable diseases (41 percent) were similar to those due to non-communicable diseases, such as stroke, diabetes etc. (40 percent). Intermediate Fellow, Dr. Yogeshwar Kalkonde writes in India Development Review about the urgent need for preventive programs as well as developing new human resources, technology, healthcare delivery mechanisms and financial resources to tackle NCDs in rural areas. You can read this opinion piece in this newsletter.

India Alliance Fellowship program is unique in the way that it allows any scientist wishing to carry out biomedical research in India, irrespective of age and nationality, to apply to any of its funding schemes. One such researcher is Dr. Benedict Weobong, who is a national of Ghana, Africa, and an India Alliance Intermediate Fellow currently working at Sangath, Goa. We feature his interview in the India Alliance Fellow in Spotlight section where he talks about his research focused on drinking behavior among youth in India and the need for promoting mental health research specially in countries like India and Ghana.

India Alliance is pleased to announce the launch of the India Alliance gateway on Wellcome Open Research. As part of its commitment to open research policy, the India Alliance has teamed up with Wellcome Open Research to enable immediate publication of manuscripts of India Alliance-funded researchers.

The India Alliance, with support from European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) organized EMBO Research Leadership course for researchers in India to train them in leadership and management skills that are critical for a successful career in science. Two courses were held from 19-22 March 2018 in New Delhi and 26-29 March 2018 in Hyderabad. Read more about the workshop and the trainer’s experience of organizing first leadership course in India.

In the Public Engagement section, read about the recently held Art and Science program, The Undivided Mind: Edition III, at KhojInternational Association, New Delhi. Also find in this section, latest offering from the Life of Science team in the Women in Science series supported by the India Alliance.

As part of the recently launched program, India Research Management Initiative (IRMI), a sharing session was held at IISER Pune on 19 April 2018, to discuss enablers and challenges of research management in India with a group research managers and scientists from different institutions.

We are currently accepting applications for the Africa-India Mobility Fund (AIMF), an initiative of India Alliance and African Academy of Sciences to promote cross-learning and collaboration between India and African biomedical researchers. More information on this funding has been included in this issue. As always, a massive thank you to all those who have contributed to this newsletter.

Finally, the India Alliance Annual Report 2017-18 was released at the Annual Fellows’ Meeting by Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT. Report can be downloaded here.

Special thanks to Shruti Thapliyal, PhD student at IA Fellow Dr.Kavita Babu’s lab, for sharing a confocal microscopy image of the nematode worm, C. elegans, expressing a neuronal protein CASY-1, labelled green for the cover.

As always, it’s helpful to receive your valuable comments and suggestions for the newsletter so make sure you keep them coming.

Find archives of our past newsletters here.

Sarah Hyder Iqbal, PhDPublic Engagement OfficerWellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance May 2018

CONTENT

3.

4 India Alliance Fellowships

5 New India Alliance Fellows

10 Fellows’ Research Highlights

15 India Alliance Fellow in SpotlightInterview with Intermediate Fellow, Dr. Benedict Weobong Sangath, Goa

17 Rural India faces epidemic of Non-communicable diseasesOpinion piece by Intermediate Fellow, Dr. Yogeshwar Kalkonde, SEARCH, Gadchiroli

19 India Alliance training workshops

* EMBO Research Leadership course

*Research Methodology

21 Public Engagement *Actor and Doctor – Public Health Theatre Festival

* Women in Science

23 New initiatives

* India Alliance Gateway on Wellcome Open Research

* India Research Management Initiative

* Africa-India Mobility Fund

26 Other announcements

India Alliance Annual Report

INDIA ALLIANCE

FELLOWSHIPS

4.

The India Alliance will be accepting applications for its Senior and

Intermediate Fellowship scheme from 27 June 2018. These

Fellowships are available across the full spectrum of biomedical

research from fundamental molecular and cellular studies through

clinical and public health research*. Interdisciplinary projects are

also welcome.

Eligibility

• No age or nationality restrictions. The applicant need not be

resident in India while applying but should be willing to relocate

to and work in India.

• A salaried position or commitment towards a salaried position at

the Host Institution is not required.

• Applicant can have a PhD in any discipline of science.

• This competition is open for basic science/veterinary

researchers between 4 -15 years of post-PhD research

experience.

• Applicants are advised to choose the most appropriate scheme

suitable for them based on their qualification, research

experience, career trajectory and track record. Please refer to

the guidance notes, provisions and mandate of the scheme for

deciding on the scheme you wish to compete for. The Office

reserves the right to advice on the suitability of the scheme

accordingly.

Eligibility guidance notes

Senior Fellowship: For researchers who have demonstrated their

potential to lead an independent research program and want to

expand it further to undertake pioneering research.

Intermediate Fellowship: For postdoctoral researchers who have

been successful in building a track record of pursuing a cutting edge

research and wish to establish their own independent research

program in India.

Provisions

The 5 year Fellowship support provides

• Competitive personal salary support

• Generous and flexible funds for research

• Funds to develop international collaborations

Requirements

The following are essential for the application.

• A research proposal that is based on a hypothesis and seeks to

answer an original biomedical research question

• A not-for-profit Host Institution in India that will administer the

Fellowship for the complete duration of the award

• A sponsor at the Host Institution, who can guarantee space and

resources for the duration of the award

Application forms will be available on the India Alliance online

application System (IASys) on 27 June 2018, 09.00 am IST.

Please visit India Alliance website for further information on these

Fellowships. Queries may be addressed to info@indiaalliance.org

**We encourage Clinicians and Public Health researchers to apply in the separate Clinical and Public Health Research Fellowshipcompetition which would be announced later.

Senior and Intermediate Fellowships in Biomedical Research Preliminary application deadline : 25 July 2018

India Alliance will be accepting applications for its Early Career

Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Research from 2 July 2018. This

is a mentored Fellowship programme that provides a unique

opportunity for promising postdoctoral researchers to carry out

high-quality biomedical research in India towards building an

independent research career.

Eligibility

Applicant must be in the final year of PhD or have no more than

four years of post-PhD research experience from the date of PhD

viva to the invited full application submission deadline (tentatively

in October 2018 for the current round of competition); due

consideration will be given to justified career breaks

Applicant may have/be pursuing PhD in any discipline of science

There are no restrictions based on age or nationality

Applicant need not be resident in India while applying, but should

be aspiring to launch an independent research career in India

Applicant must choose a not-for-profit host institution in India that

will administer the Fellowship for the full duration (5 years) of the

award in line with India Alliance conditions and policies

Applicant may or may not have a faculty position

Remit

Full spectrum of biomedical science from fundamental molecular

and cellular studies through Clinical and Public Health research**

Interdisciplinary projects are welcome

Provisions: The 5-year Fellowship typically provides:

• Competitive personal support

• Generous research funds

• Funding to work overseas for up to 2 years and develop

international collaborations

Essentials on the preliminary application

Outline (750 words) of a research proposal that seeks to answer an

original biomedical research question

A Fellowship Supervisor who would guide the applicant in the

proposed research and a letter of support to this end; the proposed

research is expected to complement and benefit from the

Fellowship Supervisor’s research interests and expertise

An additional letter of recommendation

Preliminary application forms will be available from 02 July, 2018,

09.00 am IST on the India Alliance online application System

(IASys).

Preliminary applications due by 31 July, 2018, 12 noon IST.

Please visit India Alliance website for further information on

eligibility, remit, provisions, and the application process. Queries

may be addressed to info@indiaalliance.org

**We encourage Clinicians and Public Health researchers to apply in the separate Clinical and Public Health Research Fellowshipcompetition which would be announced later.

Early Career Fellowships in Basic Biomedical ResearchPreliminary application deadline : 31 July 2018

5.

Dr. Deepa Agashe

National Centre for

Biological Sciences (NCBS-

TIFR), Bengaluru

Bacterial evolution in host-associated communities

Bacteria typically live within complex communities composed of

many species, that are in turn associated with other organisms.

For instance, recent research suggests that most animals

harbour (and depend upon) the millions of bacteria that they

carry. What is the impact of this complexity on bacterial

evolution? Specifically, if the host changes its diet, how does the

gut bacterial community change? Such scenarios of dietary

change are likely to be very common in many animals, including

humans. If some gut bacteria cannot live in the new nutritional

environment in the host’s gut, they might go extinct, or they

might acquire mutations that turn out to be beneficial. Ultimately,

some of these changes in the bacterial community may also

improve the host’s ability to survive on the new food. We plan to

test these ideas using flour beetles, which are common pests of

cereal flours and derive a survival advantage from their gut

microbes. In the laboratory, we will allow beetles to adapt to new

flours on which they typically have high mortality, and then

analyse how their gut bacterial communities change across

evolutionary time. Our work will thus help understand how

dietary shifts in animals affect the evolution of their gut bacteria.

NEW INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS

INTERMEDIATE FELLOWS 2017Basic Biomedical Research Fellowships

Dr. Rohit Anthony Sinha

Sanjay Gandhi Post

Graduate Institute of

Medical Sciences

(SGPGIMS), Lucknow

Determining the role of pancreatic alpha-cell autophagy in intra-cellular glucagon turnover and its modulation as an anti-diabetic therapy

My India Alliance-funded research is primarily focused on

understanding the role of lysosomes and autophagy in the

process of hormone secretion. Glucagon is glycoprotein

hormone secreted by pancreatic alpha(α)-cells and plays a

significant role in the pathogenesis of both Type I and Type II

diabetes mellitus (DM). Under normal physiological conditions,

glucagon secretion is increased and insulin secretion is

decreased during starvation to counteract hypoglycaemia in

humans via increasing hepatic glucose output. However, in

diabetes, glucagon secretion becomes insensitive to both high

glucose and insulin inhibition, and contributes to

hyperglycaemia. In my current research, I attempt to understand

and modulate a cellular degradative process known as

autophagy to reduce the amount of glucagon content inside the

pancreatic alpha-cells which secrete them. We believe that the

results obtained from this study would benefit future diabetes

research and treatment.

Figure: Mitophagy as visualized in TEM with a damaged mitochondrial (red) seen engulfed by an electron dense double membrane structure.

Continued on the next page..

Figure: Possible effects of host diet shift on the gut microbiome. The host has low initial fitness on the new diet. As it adapts to the new diet, the microbiome may show (A) Immediate ecological change in composition (B) Longer term evolutionary change or (C) Both ecological and evolutionary changes

6.

Dr. Geetanjali Chawla

Regional Centre for

Biotechnology (RCB),

Faridabad

Post-transcriptional regulators of aging and dietary/caloric restriction

In this project, we will assess the role of age- and dietary

restriction-modulated small non-coding RNAs termed

microRNAs in enhancement of lifespan and reducing risk factors

associated with aging. Understanding how conserved microRNA

mediated networks operate to affect the overall lifespan of an

organism will illuminate the basic principles underlying the aging

process that can be applied to the development of RNA based

therapeutic strategies that would mediate their broad-spectrum

health-improvement by not only triggering the same molecular

pathways that are elicited by long term dietary restriction, but

also, counteract late onset diseases.

My laboratory will utilize genetic, molecular, proteomic and

metabolomics approaches to:

1. Determine how dietary restriction (DR) and age-modulated

microRNAs influence lifespan.

2. Test the ability of DR and age-modulated microRNAs to lower

risk factors associated with aging.

3. Identify and characterize downstream targets of DR and age-

modulated microRNAs.

At the completion of these studies we expect to identify

conserved microRNAs that can mimic the anti-aging effects of

dietary restriction in animals that are fed a normal diet.

Dr. Parveen Goyal

Institute for Stem Cell

Biology and Regenerative

Medicine (InStem),

Bengaluru

Understanding the import of sugar molecules by pathogenic bacteria

Pathogenic bacteria are very clever in using host derived

molecules, not only for their growth, but also eluding the host

defense mechanism and cause diseases. Sialic acid, a nine

carbon sugar, is such a molecule and is found abundantly in

humans. Some bacteria can import this sialic acid and utilize as

a carbon source for energy production or modify their own outer

surface. Sialic acid decorated bacteria will be recognized as

“self” by human immune cells and will thrive well. Thus uptake of

sialic acid can remarkably increase survival of pathogenic

bacteria inside a host.

To import sialic acid, bacteria use specific classes of proteins

present in their membranes. I focus on such a class of the

membrane proteins which help bacteria in scavenging sialic

acid. The main goal is to get a detailed structure of such

membrane protein complexes and use that for drug screening.

The work can result in new drugs for better treatment of

diseases caused by the bacteria.

EARLY CAREER FELLOWS 2017Basic Biomedical Research Fellowships

Figure Legend: Sialic acid transport in bacteria: (A) Bacteria can import sialic acid through proteins present in their membrane. Once internalized, sialic acid can either be used to generate energy, or as a decoration for the bacterial outer surface to evade host immune system. (B) By blocking the membrane transport protein, bacteria will fail to use sialic acid for energy generation or surviving the host defense mechanism. This decreases overall survival fitness of such bacteria inside a host.

NEW INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS

7.

Dr. Masum Saini

Regional Centre for

Biotechnology (RCB),

Faridabad

Receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in skeletal muscle development, regeneration and disease

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) comprise a family of cell

surface receptors that mediate signaling cascades critical to

cellular processes such as survival, proliferation, differentiation

and migration. These processes in turn are essential for organ

morphogenesis, embryonic development and tissue

homeostasis. Previous studies have shown that RTKs crucial for

developmental morphogenesis are also dysregulated in

pathological states. For example the RTKs -FGFR3 and c-KIT

play crucial roles during development and mutations in these

genes cause the developmental disorders dwarfism and

piebaldism. Interestingly, aberrant signaling from these RTKs

cause bladder cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors

respectively. Similarly, signaling through the RTK MET is vital

during developmental skeletal myogenesis, and adult muscle

regeneration; MET is also known to be dysregulated in

Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer related to the myogenic lineage.

Since, MET signaling is crucial to skeletal muscle development

and regeneration, it is important to determine the mechanisms

underlying its regulation that have remained largely unexplored.

My aim is to understand the specific spatial and temporal

regulation of this signaling pathway in skeletal muscle

development, regeneration and disease using mouse as in vivo

model and myogenic cells as in vitro tool. The proposed work

will provide important insights into regulation of skeletal muscle

development and regeneration, which could potentially aid

therapy in muscle diseases such as Duchenne muscular

dystrophy and muscle atrophy during ageing.

Dr. Gagandeep Kaur

Walia

Public Health Foundation

of India, Gurgaon

Evaluating causal relationship between regional body fat distribution and lipid profile in Indian population

The aim of the proposed study is to examine whether regional

body fat distribution is causally associated with lipid levels in

Indian population. We will first identify the genetic variants

associated with adiposity and lipid traits to derive instrument

variables based on allelic scores and then use them as proxy for

exposures and outcomes in examining the causal pathways

using bi-directional Mendelian Randomization approach.

We will be generating genome-wide data on intensively

phenotyped “CARRS cohort study” participants using a recent

GWAS chip named Global Screening Array (~640,000 markers)

to identify India specific markers. We will also utilize the

available cardio-metabochip data (~200,000 markers related to

cardiometabolic traits) on well-phenotyped data from “Indian Migration Study” in order to validate the loci of interest.

Therefore, this will collectively help in deriving allele scores to be

used as genetic proxies for the traits to be examined on the

causal pathway i.e. body fat distribution (exposure) and lipid

levels (outcome).

The findings from the proposed study will provide evidence for

the causality between increased regional adiposity and raised

levels of lipids. This will help in formulating public health

interventions and clinical management of the high risk patients

and will address the growing burden of cardiometabolic

disorders.

EARLY CAREER FELLOW 2017Clinical and Public Health Research

Figure : Confocal image showing alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma cells labeled by immunofluorescence for MET (red), phalloidin (green) marking the actin filaments and DAPI (blue) staining the nuclei.

Continued on the next page..

NEW INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS

8.

Dr. Arun K

Sree Chitra Tirunal

Institute for Medical

Sciences and

Technology & Rajiv

Gandhi Centre for

Biotechnology,

Trivandrum

Understanding phenotypes in Moya moyadisease: An imaging genomics approach

Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare chronic cerebrovascular

disorder characterized by progressive bilateral occlusion of the

supra-clinoid internal carotid artery (ICA) and its main branches.

This is associated with the development of fine collateral

networks, adjacent to the site of occlusion in the deep areas of

the brain. Epidemiological data have shown strong regional

differences with a high occurrence in Asian countries primarily

Japan, China and Korea. An incidence of approximately 1 per

100 000 has been reported in Japan. The incidence in non-

Asian countries, frequently cited in the literature is 0.1 per 100

000. Recently genome-wide linkage analysis and exome

analysis studies identified the ring finger protein 213 gene

(RNF213) on 17q25.3 as the strongest susceptibility gene for

MMD in East Asian population. Mutational analysis studies

revealed a single missense mutation in RNF213 (p.R4810K).

This mutation was detected in 90% of Japanese, 79% of Korean

and 23% of Chinese MMD cases. It strongly increased the risk

to develop MMD with an OR of 338.9 (p =10-100) in Japanese,

135.6 (p = 10-25) in Korean and 14 in Chinese populations

respectively. The mutated allele occurs in 95.1% of familial

MMD cases and 79.2% of sporadic MMD cases. The

homozygous mutation, was associated with an earlier onset and

a more severe disease course suggesting it a potential

biomarker for predicting prognosis. In addition, MMD presents

with a characteristic angiographic picture which involves the

bilateral stenosis or occlusion at the terminal portion of the ICA

and at the proximal portion of the anterior and middle cerebral

arteries, abnormal vascular network seen in the vicinity of the

arterial occlusion. Moyamoya like angiographic picture occurs in

intracranial atherosclerotic disease, sickle cell disease and

intracranial arterial dissection which may confuse the diagnosis

and management. Vessel wall imaging (VW-MR) is a novel

imaging technique which helps to differentiate the various

aetiologies of distal intracranial arterial occlusion which

demonstrates eccentric arterial wall thickening in intracranial

atherosclerotic disease while smooth, homogeneous, concentric

arterial wall thickening and enhancement in vasculitic disorders.

However, VW-MR imaging studies with MMD found a lack of

arterial wall thickening and enhancement. Interestingly,

clustering of patients with MMD has been observed particularly

from the south eastern region of Indian subcontinent which

Dr. Dorcas B C Gandhi

Christian Medical College

Ludhiana

A computer game-based rehabilitation platform for patients with fine and gross motor upper extremity impairments due to stroke

points towards geographical differences in the distribution of the

disease in the Indian subcontinent itself which indirectly gives a

clue to the possibility of a genetic association.

We plan to conduct an imaging genomics study to explore the

genetics of MMD in south Indian population

RESEARCH TRAINING FELLOWS 2017Clinical and Public Health Research

Figure (left): Axial flair sequence showing chronic infarcts in the left MCA territory with volume loss and gliosis, in addition “Ivy sign” noted (arrow) in the left temporo-parietal region. Figure (right) Digital subtraction angiography showing significantly attenuated bilateral supraclinoid internal carotid artery, MCA-M1, ACA-A1 with basal collaterals simulating puff of smoke typical of Moya moya disease.

Continued on the next page..

We are evaluating the feasibility and efficacy of using a

computer game based rehabilitation protocol for stroke patients

with upper limb impairments. We aim to focus on the functional

abilities of the patients despite their anatomical limitations. To

make therapy more engaging, focused and measurable

quantitatively the platform we have developed will be useful and

will also allow manipulation of various objects used for activities

of daily living by the impaired upper extremity. This would make

therapy functionally oriented and early independence of

patients.

NEW INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS

8.

Dr. Vinnyfred Vincent

All India Institute of

Medical Sciences

(AIIMS), New Delhi

Exploring the role of intracellularly formed sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) in mediating the anti-atherogenic effects of adiponectin on endothelial cells

Despite recent advances in diagnosis, interventional techniques

and pharmacological treatments targeting several risk factors of

cardiovascular disorders (CVD), cardiovascular mortality is one

of the leading causes of death globally. The pathophysiology of

atherosclerosis, which is the hallmark of cardiovascular

disorders is not fully elucidated. Research focus of our lab is

metabolic derangements associated with obesity and

atherosclerosis.

Three major anti-atherogenic molecules in circulation are high

density lipoprotein (HDL), adiponectin and sphingosine 1-

phosphate (S1P). Modulation of these molecules individually

has not provided clinically relevant anti-atherogenic effects,

which shows that the interplay between these molecules may be

important in their impact on the development of atherosclerosis.

The research funded by India Alliance explores how

adiponectin, HDL and S1P provides anti-atherogenic effects on

endothelial cells by acting in a sequential manner.

Understanding the interplay between these molecules could

provide new targets for modulation in order to modify

cardiovascular disease risk in susceptible individuals, especially

in the setting of obesity.

Other ongoing researches in our lab explore the functional

aspects of HDL as a better predictor for cardiovascular risk

compared to the traditional quantitative approach and the

modulation of insulin resistance and HDL quality by adipose

tissue in the setting of obesity.

Figure: Hypothetical pathway explored in the research. AdipoR1: Adiponectin receptor subtype 1, SK1: Sphingosine kinase 1, ABCA1: ATP binding cassette transporter A1, S1P: Sphingosine 1-phosphate, HDL: High density lipoprotein and S1PR1: Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor subtype 1

NEW INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS

Travelling in reverse – new insights into how genes and environment control an organism’s exploration of its environment

Dr. Kavita Babu, Intermediate Fellow

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali

10.

The human brain has billions of neurons that are interconnected

in a complex network. Connection between two neurons is called

a ‘synapse’. Many molecules present at the synapse ensure that

these connections remain stable. Any dysfunction at the synapse

can give rise to a host of neurological disorders such as autism,

dementia, addiction etc. Some of these molecules inside the

neurons that regulate activation and inhibition of these neurons

are called neurotransmitters. Apart from neurotransmitters a set

of small peptides (small chain of amino acids) are also known to

allow for activation and inhibition of neurons

largely via downstream signaling through cell surface proteins

called G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). These peptides are

called neuropeptides and the functioning of these peptides is still

fairly unclear. In our lab, we are interested in studying how these

peptides work so as to get a better understanding of the workings

of neurons and consequently, our brain.

In a recently published study from our group, we used the free-

living soil nematode or worm, Caenorhabditis elegans(C.elegans), to understand how a single neuropeptide, FLP-18,

functions through two sets of receptors to inhibit activity in a

single neuron. C.elegans have long been used by scientists to

study human biology as this organism possesses key biological

features, including a nervous system, similar to humans.

INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS’

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Novel insights into cell-cell mechanical interactions that can be employed in tissue engineering

Dr. Abhijit Majumder, Early Career Fellow

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay

Different parts of our body have different stiffness. While

influence of these varied stiffness on our wellbeing is obvious in

some situations, such as muscle has to be soft to provide

flexibility whereas bone has to be rigid to provide structural

integrity, effect of tissue stiffness on cellular behavior is much

more widespread. Adherent cells measure the stiffness of their

micro-environment by holding and pulling the surrounding

materials and respond accordingly. For example, studies with

mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) or “adult” stem cells have

shown that they do not divide when grown on soft materials.

Substrate stiffness also controls whether a stem cell would

become nerve cell or muscle cell or something else. Other than

that, tissue stiffness is known to influence metastasis and drug

resistance in cancer.

However, most of these observations are made when cells are

cultured at sparse keeping them away from each other. This is

very different from the situation in our body where cells are much

more closely spaced. What happens when cells are so close that

pulling by one cell is felt by its neighbor?

Our research has found that as we reduce the distance between

two cells on soft substrate (such as polyacrylamide gel), they

together can make the substrate stiff simply by pulling it in two

opposite direction similar to making a flexible rope taut in tug of

war. This way, together they can overcome the effect of soft

surface. For instance, even though many adherent cells cannot

divide when on soft substrate, together they can overcome this

effect of soft surface on cell division. Another interesting

observation was that they together form a network holding "hand

in hand" to provide sufficient support for each other which is

lacking on a soft surrounding.

The knowledge gained in this research is useful in tissue

engineering and discovering newer treatment strategies in

addition to enhancing our understanding of how cells work

together in our body.

Reference:

Cell density overrides the effect of substrate stiffness on human

mesenchymal stem cells’ morphology and proliferation. Balu

Venugopal, Pankaj Mogha, Jyotsna Dhawan and Abhijit

Majumder. Biomaterials Science. March 2018

Continued on next page…

11.

C.elegans, unlike humans who can quickly turn clock-wise or anti-

clock-wise, travel in reverse when they need to make a turn.

These movements are critical for worm’s survival – whether it is to

search for food or to move away from potential predators.

Our research shows that the neuropeptide FLP-18, functions

through two GPCR receptors, NPR-4 which is functional on the

FLP-18 expressing neuron AVA (giving rise to a feedback of

activation and inhibition of the same neuron) and NPR-1 which is

expressed on a subset of sensory neurons. Through the activity of

these two receptors FLP-18 is able to inhibit the activity of the AVA

neuron, which in turn allows for the worm to stop making a

reversal or backward motion. The absence of either flp-18 or its

receptors’ shows increase in the activity of the AVA neuron and a

corresponding increase in the length of the reversals in C. elegans.

We further show that in the absence of food the worm shows

increased levels of FLP-18 and a corresponding decrease in the

reversal length. Our hypothesis is that with shorter reversals,

worms are able to turn and change directions more quickly in their

search for food – they conserve energy under starvation

conditions. Our data is illustrated in the published model shown

below (Bhardwaj et al., 2018).

Reference:

FLP-18 Functions through the G-Protein-Coupled Receptors NPR-

1 and NPR-4 to Modulate Reversal Length in Caenorhabditis elegans. Bhardwaj, A., Thapliyal, S., Dahiya, Y., and Babu, K. The Journal of Neuroscience. May 2018

Role of a calcium-binding neuronal protein in regulating locomotion in a worm model

A functional nervous system requires strength from two pillars

that form the basis of synaptic transmission; excitation and

inhibition. Excitatory signals from presynaptic cells to

postsynaptic cells make the latter more likely to fire, while

inhibitory signals decrease the probability of firing in the

postsynaptic cells. An imbalance in excitatory and inhibitory

signaling has been reported to be a factor in the pathogenesis of

several neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, autism

spectrum disorders and epileptic seizures. The neuromuscular

junction (NMJ) of the tiny nematode worm, C. elegans receives

synaptic inputs from both excitatory and inhibitory motor neurons,

thus making it an excellent system to study the balance between

excitation and inhibition.

We have characterized an isoform specific role for a calcium-

binding protein, Calsyntenin, CASY-1 in maintaining this balance

at the NMJ. The shorter isoforms of CASY-1; CASY-1B and C

contain the conserved C-terminus of mammalian Calsyntenins.

We show that the shorter isoforms regulate the release of the

inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA from GABAergic motor

neurons. CASY-1B/C interact with the motor protein UNC-

104/KIF1A and allow for the normal trafficking of GABA synaptic

vesicles, thus modulating GABA release at the NMJ (Thapliyal et al., 2018b). GABA acts as one of the major inhibitory

neurotransmitters in both vertebrate and invertebrate nervous

system.

We also show that the longer CASY-1A isoform, which contains

all the conserved domains of mammalian Calsyntenins,

modulates the activity of sensory neurons by regulating stable

release of the neurotransmitter, Glutamate (Thapliyal et al.,

2018a). Glutamate release in turn has been shown to maintain

normal release of the excitatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine at

the NMJ (Choi et al., 2013; Choi et al., 2015).

In light of this work, we hypothesize that in the absence of casy-

1, the balance between excitation and inhibition at the NMJ is

disturbed, resulting in altered locomotary behavior. Restoring this

balance by expressing CASY-1B/C in GABAergic motor neurons

or CASY-1A in sensory neurons completely restores the

movement defects seen in casy-1 mutants.

Our study illustrates a novel role for C. elegans ortholog of

mammalian Calsyntenins in regulating excitation-inhibition

balance at the NMJ (see illustration). Mammalian Calsyntenins

have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several neurological

disorders. Thus, future investigations in this area could enhance

our understanding about pathophysiological mechanisms that

trigger Calsyntenin related brain disorders.

References

Analysis of NPR-1 reveals a circuit mechanism for behavioral

quiescence in C. elegans. Choi, S., Chatzigeorgiou, M., Taylor,

K.P., Schafer, W.R., and Kaplan, J.M. Neuron. 2013

Sensory Neurons Arouse C. elegans Locomotion via Both

Glutamate and Neuropeptide Release. Choi, S., Taylor, K.P.,

Chatzigeorgiou, M., Hu, Z., Schafer, W.R., and Kaplan, J.M.

PLoS genetics 2015.

Regulation of Glutamate Signaling in the Sensorimotor Circuit by

CASY-1A/Calsyntenin in Caenorhabditis elegans. Thapliyal, S.,

Ravindranath, S., and Babu, K. (2018a). Genetics . 2018a

The C-terminal of CASY-1/Calsyntenin regulates GABAergic

synaptic transmission at the Caenorhabditis elegansneuromuscular junction. Thapliyal, S., Vasudevan, A., Dong, Y.,

Bai, J., Koushika, S.P., and Babu, K. PLoS genetics. 2018b

INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS’

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

12.

To understand brain function, electrical activity can be recorded

using a variety of techniques, such as using microelectrodes in

monkeys that provide information at a very local scale (one or a

few neurons), to diffuse population measures such as

electroencephalography (EEG) in humans that provide information

at a much larger scale (millions of neurons). At such scales, brain

signals often show oscillations at different frequencies, whose

magnitude or frequency may depend on the cognitive state.

Signals recorded from the brain often show rhythmic patterns at

different frequencies. One such rhythm is called “gamma”, which

occurs between 30-80 Hz, and has been linked with high-level

cognition such as meditation and attention. Interestingly, gamma

can also be induced in the visual cortex (part of the brain that

processes visual information) by viewing certain stimuli, even

when no other task is involved. One stimulus that induces strong

gamma is called a grating, which consists of black-and-white

alternating stripes, but whether natural stimuli (which are typically

not black-and-white) also produce strong gamma is not well

understood.

In our lab, we showed monkeys a variety of natural stimuli while

recording gamma rhythm from their primary visual cortex.

Surprisingly, we found that whenever the monkeys saw a red

colored object, their brain generated an intensely large gamma

wave, almost ~10-fold larger than grating-induced gamma. The

magnitude of gamma was dependent only on the purity of the

color, but largely invariant to overall brightness. This gamma

appeared to be correlated with a specific type of color computation

done in the brain.

These results provide new insights about the generation of gamma

rhythm as well as processing of color along the visual pathway.

Reference:

Long-wavelength (reddish) hues induce unusually large gamma

oscillations in the primate primary visual cortex. Vinay

Shirhatti and Supratim Ray (2018). PNAS, April 9, 2018

Banner image credit: Wellcome Images

A functional immune system enables our vulnerable bodies to

mingle freely with the environment teeming with billions of

microbes. Nothing supports this statement better than diseases

resulting in severe immunodeficiency where even a brief exposure

to “normal” surroundings can be life threatening. Crucial defenders

in our immune system army, macrophages (derived from the

Greek word meaning “large eaters”) are cells that engulf and

degrade pathogens while alerting the other sentinels about the

presence of foreign pathogens. Although required for proper

immune function, unregulated activation of macrophages is

responsible for inflammation associated with several diseases,

including cancer and autoimmune disorders.

In a recent study, we have uncovered a molecular player important

for macrophage function – Arl11, a protein that activates

macrophages in response to pathogenic stimuli (Arya SB et

al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2018). Our study provides the

first clue to the cellular function of Arl11, an evolutionarily

conserved protein that has remained functionally uncharacterized

till date. Our research findings show that Arl11 expression is up-

regulated in macrophages stimulated with pathogen-associated

molecules, such as LPS. Arl11, in turn initiates a cascade of

signaling events, resulting in an “effector” response by the

activated macrophages to clear away the pathogen. In agreement

with this, macrophages lacking Arl11 expression, fail to efficiently

internalize, and degrade pathogenic bacteria. Interestingly, we

found that merely increasing Arl11 levels was sufficient to induce

macrophage activation in the absence of pathogenic stimuli. This

suggests Arl11 expression is tightly controlled to prevent

unnecessary macrophage activation. Since macrophage activation

is not only crucial for defense against pathogens, but also leads to

inflammation that damages the uninfected normal tissues.

Therefore, it will be highly relevant to further investigate whether

Arl11 expression is correlated with inflammatory conditions such

as autoimmune disorders, atherosclerosis, and obesity.

Reference:

Arl11 regulates lipopolysacchride-stimulated macrophage

activation by promoting MAPK signaling. Subhash B. Arya, Gaurav

Kumar, Harmeet Kaur, Amandeep Kaur, and Amit Tuli. Journal of Biological Chemistry. April 2018

Media Report: Scientists uncover a piece in the puzzle of

macrophage activation; could help with understanding functioning

of the immune system. FirstPost. May 23 2017

New insights into color processing in the primate visual cortex

Dr. Supratim Ray, Intermediate Fellow

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru

Activation of immune cells against pathogenic stimuli hinges on an evolutionarily conserved cellular protein

Dr. Amit Tuli, Intermediate Fellow

CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh

INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS’

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

13.

Chromosomes change their address in response to their environment

Dr. Kundan Sengupta, Intermediate Fellow

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune

The human body has many different types of cells which can be

distinguished from one another by their shape and stiffness. The

brain is a very soft tissue; while kidney, liver and intestine are of

intermediate stiffness and bones are very stiff. The stiffness of the

tissue is a combined property of cells and their interaction with the

environment. Most remarkably, changes in the stiffness of the

environment relays information into the nucleus directing gene

expression to cater to the functions of that tissue.

The nucleus houses DNA as chromosomes, that are organized as

specific territories in the 3-dimensional space of the nucleus.

Chromosomes find their address inside the nucleus reproducibly

across cell division cycles. Chromosomes containing more genes

(gene-rich) are located in the nuclear interior, while chromosomes

with less genes (gene-poor) are closer to the edge of the nucleus.

Does the stiffness of the tissue affect the organization of

chromosomes in the nucleus and does this in turn affect gene

expression?

In the lab, cells are typically grown on stiff plastic dishes or glass

coverslips. To assess the impact of substrate stiffness on the

genome, we exposed colon cancer cells to two extremes of

stiffness - soft gels and stiffer glass coverslips. Interestingly, we

found that gene-poor chromosomes moved from their otherwise

peripheral position into the nuclear interior simply by exposing cells

to softer matrices for ~90 minutes. Chromosome locations

responded very quickly to changes in stiffness of the environment,

as they returned to their original locales in ~90 min, in cells

transferred back to glass. These results highlight the remarkable

plasticity of our genomes and its rapid response to changes in the

mechanical properties of its external milieu. Further, we discovered

that a protein - Emerin, which resides in the inner nuclear

membrane undergoes a modification (phosphorylation) in cells

exposed to soft gels and serves as a key relay signal to activate

changes in chromosome locations.

The relative location of chromosome territories determines the type

and quantity of gene expression in the form of RNA – a chemical

cousin of DNA. Our studies show that RNA levels are directly

altered by the interaction of a cell with its environment, which is cell

type specific. Our studies require further investigation of tissue type

and cell type specific location and expression of chromosomes in

response to changes in the stiffness of their external environment.

This approach will provide tantalizing clues of how aberrant signals

perceived by cells within a tissue are likely to convert seemingly

normal cells to cancer cells.

Reference :

Emerin modulates spatial organization of chromosome territories in

cells on softer matrices. Pradhan R, Ranade D and Sengupta

K. Nucleic Acids Research. April 2018

Banner image credit: Dr. Kundan Sengupta. Description: Cells exposed to softer gels or matrices begin to spread as shown by cells producing extensions or cable like projections (green). This shows how changes in the properties i.e stiffness of the external environment affects cell shapes, which in turn affects locations of chromosomes in the nucleus.

Coin tossing explains the activity of opposing molecular motors that transport cargo inside a cell

Dr. Paulomi Sanghavi, Early Career Fellow

Corresponding author : Prof. Roop Mallik, Senior Fellow

Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai

INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS’

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Microtubules are hollow tubes made up of proteins that are part of

the cell's overall skeleton and are responsible for maintaining the

cell shape, transporting material inside the cell and cell division.

Microtubules are used by eukaryotic cells to segregate their

chromosomes during cell division. Microtubule motors Kinesin and

Dynein are required for localization of many different organelles

inside the cell. Most Kinesins transport cargoes towards

microtubule plus-ends towards cell periphery while Dynein is a

minus-end motor, which transports molecules towards cell center.

How opposite polarity motors present on a cargo work together to

achieve bidirectional transport is hotly debated. Some reports

suggest that opposite motors are engaged in a Tug-of-War

scenario where both motors pull against each other. Thus, the

direction of motion is dictated by the winning motor. On the

contrary, another model proposes that motor activity is highly

coordinated and only one motor is kept active at one given time.

In this study, we addressed how back and forth motion of early

phagosomes is achieved by Kinesin and Dynein motors.

Interestingly, we find that activity of Kinesin and Dynein motors on

early phagosome is stochastic. Unlike the proposed models, we

showed that inactivating one set of motors does not affect the

activity of the opposite motor suggesting that both Kinesin and

Dynein function independently of each other. Using mathematical

modeling, we also showed that the choice between Kinesin and

Dynein could be explained by tossing a hypothetical fair coin.

Thus, our model provides a conceptual framework for

understanding bidirectional transport. We believe that the choice

between Kinesin and Dynein motors can be affected by regulatory

proteins or lipids or other molecules, which bias the coin hence

allowing one motor to predominate and drive cargo transport to

their respective sub-cellular sites.

Reference:

Coin Tossing Explains the Activity of Opposing Microtubule Motors

on Phagosomes. Paulomi Sanghavi, Ashwin D’Souza, Ashim Rai,

Arpan Rai, Ranjith Padinhatheeri, Roop Mallik. Current Biology.

April 2018

By Paramananda Barman

Mountains are harsh, hostile terrains where life does not come

easy. But, there are a few plants and animals, including humans

(think of the Sherpas of Nepal) that call these lofty peaks home,

braving the biting cold! At such heights, oxygen—our essential

requirement to live—is scarce too, resulting in hypoxia—a

condition where body tissues are starved of oxygen. Hence, these

plants and animals have evolved specific adaptations that help

them thrive. For example, the Tibetans and Sherpas are bestowed

with 'super athlete' gene, which regulates the production of

haemoglobin to help them breathe in air that has reduced oxygen.

Birds in the mountains have a greater misery. They are prone to

infections by various blood parasites that attack their blood cells,

reduce the concentration of haemoglobin and the oxygen-carrying

capacity of their blood. So how do they deal with such infections?

A Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance funded new study by Dr.

Farah Ishtiaq and her team from the Centre for Ecological

Sciences, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, have explored

answers to this vital question. The study was conducted on 18

species of passerine birds (birds belonging to the order

Passeriformes) across seven elevations in the western Himalayas

during the breeding season (April-May) and the non-breeding

seasons (January- March).

The birds in the western Himalayas follow two migration strategies.

A few of them stay in the higher elevations all year. The others,

called ‘elevational migrants’, move to breeding grounds in higher

elevations only during the summer and return to the plains during

the harsh winter. It is during this time that they are at a higher risk

of contracting infections since the birds in the lowlands are loaded

with blood parasites, which could compromise the capacity to

regulate haemoglobin and cope with hypoxia.

“An earlier study on Himalayan birds showed that they modulate haemoglobin in the blood to increase its oxygen-carrying capacity. In this study, we wanted to understand how these birds deal with the increased demand for oxygen with decreased haemoglobinlevels due to infections by parasites”, says Dr. Ishtiaq, talking

about the motivation behind this study.

The researchers analysed the parasite DNA in bird blood samples

of the 18 species to screen if parasites like Plasmodium,

Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon causing avian malaria were

present in them. They also measured the haemoglobin and the

percentage of red blood cells in the blood. “Each parasite has a specific vector group. For example, Plasmodium is transmitted by mosquitoes, Haemoproteus by biting midges (Culicoides), and

black flies transmit Leucocytozoon. The sexual phase of the parasite takes place in the vector species, and the asexual phase happens in the birds”, explains Dr. Ishtiaq.

The study reveals that high intensity of these blood parasites

destroy the red blood cells and reduce the amount of haemoglobin

in the migrant birds. When a bird is infected with more than one

type of the parasite, it could turn lethal. The researchers found that

Leucocytozoon was present in most of the samples, with 40%

prevalence, followed by Haemoproteus and Plasmodium. They

also found that the probability of infection by Plasmodium was high

in the plains and the risk of infection by Leucocytozoon increased

with the height.

An interesting finding of the study was that the researchers

observed an increased parasite load, a measure of the number

and virulence of the parasites in a host, in the non-breeding

(winter) season. “This is in stark contrast with previous studies conducted in temperate regions where the intensity of infection was reported to be higher during the breeding season. This contrast for Himalayan birds could be either due to cold weather or poor food availability,” explains Dr. Ishtiaq. They also observed

that the intensity of infection decreased with elevation in the

breeding season.

Measuring the parasite load is vital to evaluate the role of

infections on host fitness and physiology, say the researchers.

“Our finding brings a new perspective to disease ecology in high elevation environment where birds are infected with fewer or inactive blood parasite infections”, says Dr. Ishtiaq. “Previous studies have shown that high parasite load is correlated with high mortality rates in human malaria. It is quite possible that a heavy-load of blood parasite infections cause excessive damage to the red blood cells of the seasonal migrants, leading to anaemia, and our experimental result supports the same” she adds.

So, what does the future hold for these birds, considering climate

change is affecting the Himalayan ecosystem? The future seems

to bleak according to Dr. Ishtiaq. “Temperature plays an important role in regulating the transmission of parasites. With increasing global temperature, the range of mosquitoes and blood parasites might expand to higher elevations. Such a situation might exacerbate hypoxic stress experienced by high elevation birds,” she warns.

This article was originally published on Research Matters.

14.

INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOWS’

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Is malaria sucking up oxygen in the Himalayan

birds?

Please tell us what you are working on and what impact do you

hope it will have.

My passion to help address some of the myriad of problems has

led me to this crazy but exciting idea of leveraging technology

such as simple mobile messaging to help adolescents cease to

drink in risky ways! This ‘magic pill’ is called POWERTXT, and it’s

about harnessing the POWER in a TEXT message to deliver a

brief intervention in order to address a behavioural problem that is

beginning to assume very alarming proportions. Almost 1 out of

every 3 adolescents currently drink at risky levels, and if this is

not checked, it could lead to many health, social, and economic

problems later in life. Children and adolescents are the future and

we have an obligation to help guarantee this future in an

increasingly volatile world. POWERTXT is trying to do this, and I

am very optimistic that in the next 4 years we may just have

‘discovered’ a ‘cool’ approach (yes, cool because adolescents

don’t like to be judged and a bot offers exactly this!) to help

adolescents cease to drink in risky ways.

What are some of the challenges you have faced so far in

carrying out this research? Are some of these challenges specific

to India or would these be similar in other countries, including in

your home country Ghana?

It has largely been quite smooth-sailing- thanks to the fantastic

support from my host institution Sangath, Goa. There are always

challenges with getting the personnel with the right caliber and

this is a ubiquitous challenge in most LMICs and particularly

pronounced in the field of mental health. Mental health research

capacity and leadership is lacking in LMICs and this presents

considerable challenges to mid-career researchers hoping to

build and sustain teams necessary for achieving independence.

To buttress this, my fellowship provided (or actually encouraged)

me to recruit post-doctoral researchers but this has been very

challenging. There is also the issue of research management and

being able to navigate and fulfil administrative requirements whilst

at the same time keeping your eyes locked on the science and

project timelines.

Why is Mental Health research not a priority, specially in LMICs

and how can we promote it more actively in our countries?

I would place this squarely on the over-dominance of the

biomedical model/conceptualization of disease and causation! To

many it’s much easier to connect with the notion of a pathogen or

germ etc. that can be isolated and shown to cause a disease, and

which can be treated with a simple pill or injection. Indeed, I

would dare say as a direct consequence, the health system in

many low-and middle-income countries (the world over perhaps!)

– is based on models of care designed for acute illness, maternal

and child ill health and communicable diseases. As a result, it

fails to contribute as much as it should to saving lives or

alleviating suffering related to mental and neurological conditions.

Closely related to this is the very dangerous role of ignorance- to

many the interconnectedness between mental ill health and

physical health is a mirage and does not exist, plus they don’t

know the disease burden from mental health conditions. I

remember vividly, many years ago, being told by a colleague that

mental health issues/research is ‘the icing on the cake’! This

posturing means potential change agents or effector institutions

would find it very challenging to take bold decisions in favour of

mental health programmes. Basically, mental disorders are

considered invisible in most societies.

15.

Continued on next page…

INDIA ALLIANCE

FELLOW IN SPOTLIGHT

Dr. Benedict WeobongIntermediate Fellow

Sangath, Goa

There are always ways around these challenges and it’s gratifying

to note that the landscape has improved considerably over the last

decade and there is now very credible momentum in pushing the

mental health agenda. We are beginning to see deep-seated and

collective interest from funding agencies, governments, and world

bodies such as the UN. This is largely due to the efforts of the

movement for global mental health

(http://www.globalmentalhealth.org) whose philosophy is the

prioritisaton of mental health and equity in mental health for all

people worldwide. Knowing that mental disorders are invisible in

most societies, the strategy to put mental health on the global

agenda has been to make the cause visible to everyone by

providing clearly synthesized data on the state of the world’s

mental health, the economic consequences (annual global cost

attributable to depression alone is estimated at USD 1·15 trillion),

and more importantly evidence of effective and cost-effective

treatments. In parallel to these strategies, there is an urgent need

to develop much-needed research leadership and capacity within

LMICs and one innovative strategy is to harness the strength of

established centres/institutions of excellence within the global

south through South-South collaborations. This is something close

to my heart and I have the unique opportunity to initiate/build this

bridge between my host institution Sangath and the School of

Public Health University of Ghana.

Is there a research area other than yours that interests you

deeply?

I guess that would mean I’m probably not in the right place? No,

not really as I really do enjoy being an epidemiologist, and even

more exciting to be doing this in the field of mental health research.

But I guess there are always other interests and the areas of

artificial intelligence and economic evaluation in mental health that

fascinates me.

How has Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance funding helped you

and your research?

Opportunity to rack up my track record and be able to be

competitive and independent- it’s an open secret that the quality of

our research and thus, our career growth, is mainly measured by

the number of publications we produce, number of citations we get,

and the amount of grant money we obtain. Fellowships are by far

the best catalyst to achieve these and the India Alliance is offering

this. Also guaranteed funding (if you work hard!) and offers the

opportunity to conduct focused research without any

dependencies!

What keeps you going everyday?

That there are still unanswered questions! Oh….and I take much of

this inspiration from Bradford Hill because “All scientific work is incomplete and liable to be upset or modified by advancing knowledge, yet this does not give us a freedom to ignore the knowledge we already have, or to postpone the action that it appears to demand at a given time! Indeed, as Robert Browning asked; who knows but that the world may end tonight? True, but on available evidence most of us make ready to commute on the 08:30 next day whether it be observational or experimental”

Finally, if you were not a researcher, you would be?

Patience…. there are often prolonged time scales to reward. And

critical thinking are key attributes of a researcher. I think, I would

do pretty well practicing law or professional acting!

Find out more about Benedict’s scientific journey and current research here.

16.

INDIA ALLIANCE FELLOW IN SPOTLIGHT

DR. BENEDICT WEOBONG

Benedict with participants at a recent intervention development workshop

By Paramananda Barman

A 46-year-old male labourer with high blood pressure and

diabetes, a 55-year-old male farmer who has recently suffered a

heart attack, a 52-year-old woman with anxiety and depression, a

56-year-old woman with chronic back pain… A day at my clinic is

full of cases that one would be surprised to find in a rural and tribal

region of Gadchiroli, one of India’s most backward districts.

My friends—doctors and non-doctors alike—are puzzled when I

talk about the increasing incidence of chronic non-communicable

diseases (or NCDs, for lack of a better word) in rural and tribal

regions of India. “But these are the diseases of people who live in

cities!” they argue. This dangerous myth needs to be countered.

India’s disease pattern is shifting.

Unbeknown to most of us, the disease pattern in India in general

and particularly in rural India has undergone a significant shift over

the last 15 years. An early inkling of this change was evident in a

2001-2003 Government of India report on the causes of death in

the country. The report revealed that the deaths in rural India due

to communicable diseases (41 percent) were almost matched by

those due to NCDs (40 percent).

A follow-up study on the causes of death in rural India for the

years 2010-13 showed that NCDs accounted for 47 percent of all

deaths while communicable, maternal, peri-natal and nutritional

conditions together accounted for 30 percent, indicating that NCDs

have unquestionably become a healthcare priority.

The pattern of NCDs in rural India looks largely similar to that in

urban India. High blood pressure, the biggest risk factor for death

worldwide, now affects one in five adults in rural India, while

diabetes affects about one in 20 adults. We are already in the

midst of an NCD epidemic in rural India!

The growing burden of disease

Certain chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease, strokes,

lung diseases and cancers lead to deaths as well as disability;

however, there are several NCDs—such as chronic low back pain,

mental health and neurological disorders, anaemia, cataracts and

hearing loss—that do not cause death but lead to significant

disability.

A key metric to measure the burden of a disease on a community

is disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost. It is the sum of years

of life lost due to premature deaths and years lived with disability.

A recent report released by the India State-Level Disease Burden

Initiative shows that three of the top five leading causes of DALYs

lost in India were NCDs: coronary artery disease, chronic lung

diseases and stroke.

The burden of disease is immense. Due to their chronic nature, the

significant disability and premature death, NCDs lead to chronic

expenditure on health and, thereby, worsen poverty. Loss of

productivity and purchasing capacity could lead to slowing of

economic growth and development. It is estimated that India is

likely to lose USD 4.58 trillion before 2030 due to NCDs.

It’s time to take rural NCDs seriously.

Given the havoc they threaten to wreak on rural lives, it is time that

NCDs are addressed on priority. All the stakeholders, including

civil society, businesses, academia and policymakers, need to

take a serious note of this new health challenge in rural India

where a majority of India’s population lives.

17.

Is malaria sucking up oxygen in the Himalayan birds?

Rural India faces epidemic of

non-communicable diseases

Dr. Yogeshwar Kalkonde, Intermediate Fellow

Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH), Gadchiroli

OPINION

Continued on next page…

But why are NCDs becoming a problem in rural area? The prime

reason is epidemiological transition, which is a shift towards

chronic non-communicable diseases along with socio-economic

development. Increasing life expectancy and urbanisation of

lifestyle in rural India have led to this transition.

Since Independence, the life expectancy at birth has increased

substantially in India; from 32 years in 1947, it had more than

doubled to around 68 years in 2017. The life expectancy in rural

India is not very different from that in urban India. This means that

more people in rural India are surviving to an age where diseases

related to ageing—such as high blood pressure, diabetes and

cancers—catch up.

The challenges of tackling rural NCDs

There are multiple challenges to managing NCDs in rural India:

1) NCDs in rural India are affecting a relatively younger

population—about a decade younger—compared to that in the

developed countries. This is likely to be due to malnutrition early in

life, which paradoxically increases the risk of NCDs and an

unhealthy lifestyle in early adulthood. This means younger

population in rural India needs to be screened for chronic

diseases.

2) There is very low awareness about these diseases in rural

India, leading to further challenges to inculcating lifestyle changes

and prevention methods.

3) Facilities for diagnosing and treating these disorders are often

not available in rural areas, resulting in late diagnosis and

treatment.

4) NCDs lead to chronic expenditures on healthcare and, many

times, catastrophic health expenditures, which push the families

into poverty. There is no financial safety net to help people absorb

the negative economic consequences of NCDs.

5) Lack of systematic mechanisms to collect data on NCDs from

rural India could hamper efforts at measuring the problem, guiding

interventions and monitoring them effectively.

6) NCDs are typically treated by physicians with advanced level of

training; since such physicians are not accessible to villagers, the

best way to treat NCDs at the village level needs to be understood.

NCDs, thus, create a big challenge for healthcare systems—public

as well as private—in rural India. The government-run healthcare

system in rural India largely focuses on maternal and child health

and infection. For instance, of the total health budget of INR

47,343 crore in 2017-18, only INR 955 crore was allotted to the

NCD programme. This system now faces the dual burden of

tackling not just infections but NCDs as well.

This would require healthcare policymakers to focus on developing

new human resources, technology, healthcare delivery

mechanisms and financial resources to tackle NCDs in rural areas.

Needless to say, prevention needs to be a priority.

This article was originally published in India Development Review

18.

RURAL INDIA FACES EPIDEMIC OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Dr. Yogeshwar Kalkonde

Dr. Yogesh Kalkonde is an India Alliance Intermediate Fellow, a neurologist and public health researcher at Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH), a non-government organization working in rural and tribal parts of Gadchiroli district in India. Find out more about Yogesh’s current research here.

INDIA ALLIANCE

WORKSHOPS

“The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.” —Rabindranath Tagore

One way we sometimes define the task of the leader is this: It is

his or her job to prepare the next generation for the challenges

they will meet when their time to lead arrives. Naturally, passing

along the knowledge we elders have gained over time also has its

more immediate rewards. These include seeing the faces of

younger colleagues light up with understanding when our

message connects with them. And the feeling of satisfaction that

arises when we note our charges’ increasing self-confidence and

willingness to accept greater responsibility in their teams and

institutes.

Nonetheless, it is also true that many of the seeds today’s leaders

plant will only come to fruition at some remote point in the future.

This is the truth implied in the above quotation. When asked,

“Why lead?” a veteran of the job might thus answer, “Because I

have started to understand the meaning of life!” This multi-layered

answer would seem to be typical of India, where the edifice of

modern science is being built on an ancient foundation of deep

insights into human existence.

We recently had the privilege of facilitating two workshops for

research group leaders in Delhi and Hyderabad. These followed

the familiar format of the EMBO research leadership workshops

that we have been conducting for many years in Europe and,

more recently, in the United States. This initiative, undertaken as

a joint venture with The Wellcome Trust / DBT India Alliance, was

part of EMBO’s continuing efforts to promote high-quality training

and research among scientists around the world.

One ancillary goal of these two workshops was to learn how to

transfer the good leadership practices discussed in the existing

EMBO workshops to the research settings found on the sub-

continent. Hofstede’s model provides a framework to understand

India’s culture. At each step in the process, we made the required

minor adjustments, together with the participants, so that the

material fit to their environment, which is both more hierarchical

and more male-dominated. Based on the response of the

participants, it seems clear that the tentative answer to the

question of the workshop’s suitability for India is “yes.” Granted, it

is in the nature of leadership training that its true utility only

becomes apparent after the workshop is over.

Before issuing a final judgment, the workshop participants must,

therefore, return to their work environments, begin implementing

the new concepts and strategies they encountered during our four

days together and collect data on the observable effects. Only

then will truly reliable information exist.

This being said, our experiences with some of India’s best and

brightest make us optimistic about the positive ripple effects that

may be expected. The eagerness with which the participants

threw themselves into the work at hand, the insights revealed via

their countless probing questions, their willingness to share openly

of their own experiences — both happy and unhappy — make

clear that they were not just there as spectators, but as co-

creators of a deeply meaningful learning experience and

promoters of useful change “back in the lab”.

Two moments stand out in particular. During the EMBO module

on team dynamics—which includes building a series of dioramas

on the floor using colourful plastic figurines – the group became so

engrossed in the emerging team sculptures that they slid from

their seats and crept, one by one, up to the display. Eventually,

virtually the whole group was gathered around the dioramas,

sitting cross-legged on the floor, listening to a captivating story.

This was a priceless moment and a novum in our experience as

facilitators.

Eat, Pray, Lead – Our First Experiences With Scientific Leadership in IndiaCJ Fitzsimons

EMBO Research Leadership Course19-22 March 2018, New Delhi & 26-29 March 2018, Hyderabad

The India Alliance, with support from European Molecular Biology

Organization (EMBO) organized EMBO Research Leadership

course for researchers in India to train them in leadership and

management skills that are critical for a successful career in

science. Two courses were held from 19-22 March 2018 in New

Delhi and 26-29 March 2018 in Hyderabad and were attended by

32 early and mid-career academic researchers from 27 institutions

from across India. These were attended by researchers who are

not India Alliance fellows as well with a view to strengthening the

ecosystem.

“The leadership course was one of its kind. To run a scientific lab or an organisation, one needs to go through similar outstanding Leadership courses. Especially the course sculptors were highly engaging and learned. They were experts in the area of scientific leadership and made us aware about the operational skeleton of day to day interactions with our business group in areas related to scientific leadership etc. I rate this course 10 on a 10 point scale.”Course participant

This was the first time EMBO Leadership Course was organized

in India. CJ Fitzsimmons, who delivered the workshop along with

his colleague Mr William Uber, has designed this course

(Leadership Sculptor®) which he has been conducting in various

parts of the world for the last 15 years. He shares his experience

below of holding his first-ever Research Leadership course in

India.

19.

INDIA ALLIANCE

WORKSHOPS

And, at the end of the workshop, the taking of group selfies

(apparently, an inviolable Indian tradition) lasted a good ten

minutes, since nearly everyone wanted their own personalized

souvenir of the occasion. We now have evidence you can just

about squeeze eighteen people into a selfie!

Another first for us was the cake of gratitude that suddenly

appeared at the end of the course in Hyderabad – evidence of

Southern hospitality.

Google #EMBOIALSLabLead for more tweets and selfies from the

Eat, Pray, Lead – Our First Experiences With Scientific Leadership in India

CJ and Billy with course participants in Delhi. Photo credit: Dr. Sandhya Koushika

Research Methodology Workshop 12-13 and 14-15 March, 2018, THSTI, Faridabad

The India Alliance established the Clinical and Public Health

(CPH) Fellowships program in 2014. In order to make up for a

lacuna in understanding of research methodology in clinical and

public health researchers, the CPH Committee suggested that a

training workshop on Research Methodology would be useful in

order for the India Alliance Fellows to perform high quality

research. However, it was decided later that the training would be

open to basic researchers as well. Consequently, India Alliance

organized two 2-day workshops on Research at Translational

Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad.

The workshops were open to all active India Alliance Fellows. The

aim of the workshops was to provide structured training that would

help in improving the quality of data collection. The workshops

were coordinated by Clinical Development Services Agency

(CDSA), which is an extramural unit of THSTI. Prof. J P Muliyil,

former Principal of Christian Medical College Vellore, facilitated

these workshops.

Following feedback was received from some of the attendees of

these workshops:

“Had to be the best epidemiology/statistics class ever! Thank you Professor Muliyil for making this course so interesting and interactive.”

“I have been introduced to these concepts previously but the way sessions are conducted is an indeed a great learning on how difficult concepts can be put across via enjoyable environment.”

“The best thing is the course started from very basic ideas and everything is explained with examples and previous studies of real life clinical situation.”

courses.

Before closing, we’d like to offer a special vote of thanks to Luis

Valente (EMBO) and Shahid Jameel (India Alliance) for making

this exciting new venture possible, and our on-site coordinators,

Sarah Iqbal and Saritha Vincent, for all their organisational magic

to ensure a smooth and most enjoyable visit. Their advance work

contributed greatly to the successful execution of the workshops

and ensured that we “innocents from abroad” arrived safely and

on-time at the appropriate location to carry out our duties — Delhi

and Hyderabad traffic conditions notwithstanding.

Finally, another quote from India’s great Nobel laureate,

Rabindranath Tagore:

“Reach high, for the stars lie hidden in you. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.”

This expresses beautifully our wishes and hopes for all our new

friends in India. You have much to offer the world of science and

the world beyond science. Reach high, dream deep, and make it

so.

With fondest regards from Baden-Baden,

CJ and Billy

Read this article on Leadership Sculptor®

20.

The Art + Science program aims to promote a dialogue between

artists and scientific concepts, phenomena and technology through

practice. Instituted by Khoj International Artists’ Association and

supported by Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance, the Art +

Science programme is designed to advance projects that explore

artistic applications of emerging thoughts and technologies with

the help of partners from the scientific industry and academia. This

year the Art + Science Grant funded a small number of projects

that engaged emerging themes around science and technology.

The grant consisted of a six month research and development

period culminated into a four-week residency and Open Studio at

Khoj Studios on 29 March 2018. During the research period,

selected artists interacted and collaborated with scientists and

technologists to develop their project.

The selected residents for programs were: Darya Warner and

Puneet Kishore; Sonia Mehra Chawla; Bodhisattva

Chattopadhyay, Goutam Ghosh, and Susanne Winterling; and

Tulika Aasma, Kaushal Sapre and Abhinav Gupta.

The artists presented their work at Open Studio in Khoj on 29

March 2018. The team of Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay, Goutam

Ghosh, and Susanne Winterling for their project, took off from the

two interlinked futurist descriptions of anthropogenic impact on the

planet: the desert planet and the drowned world, focusing on

investigating the former through a geo-cultural, the biological, and

the science fictional lens. Sonia Mehra Chawla’s project Salt Lab

reflected on the urgency to develop salt-tolerant and drought

resistant crops in India. The project continues to explore both

indigenous saline tolerant rice varieties in India, as well as recent

developments in transgenic rice. Darya Warner, a bioartist,

collaborated with engineer and science researcher, Puneet Kishor,

to develop MycoPrinter, an open source 3D bioprinter that prints

mycelium substrate ready for inoculation with various types of

fungi. The printer brings together engineering, biological sciences

and art under the umbrella of open citizen science. The team of

young artists and engineers, Kaushal Sapre, Tulika Aasma and

Abhinav Gupta, worked with air monitoring data to explore the

ideas around sentience, affect and memory by looking at

atmospheric envelopes as the primary material for investigation.

For more information on this year’s program, visit

http://khojworkshop.org/programme/art-science-iii/

INDIA ALLIANCE

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

21.

REPORT

The Undivided Mind: Art + Science Program September 2017- March 2018, Khoj, New Delhi

Bioartist Darya Warner

INDIA ALLIANCE

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

22.

Women in Science series The Life of Science

India Alliance is supporting the “Women in Science series” an

initiative of The Life of Science (TLos) that aims to highlight the

work and challenges faced by women scientists in India and to

showcase these scientists as role models for young girls. TLoS is

a science media platform currently focussed on women scientists

in India.

Through this series, TLoS will feature around 30 India Alliance

women Fellows through writing pieces, photo features, podcasts,

etc. on their website and other popular media channels over the

next few months.

Below are some of the latest offering from this series. Click on the

photo or the text link to read the fascinating science and journeys

of some of India Alliance Fellows.

Nano-pollution is real, warns Madhu

A biologist in Chandigarh who studies the darker shades of nanotechnology shares

her thoughts on her scientific life and raising a child in one.

A taste of fruit fly research with Pinky

A neurobiologist talks about her interesting research with fruit flies, dealing with

retraction and the realities of Indian science.

Sreelaja goes fishing for embryos

A photoessay featuring an embryologist exploring how much our mothers influence

the very initial moments of our life

Comic: Sucharita’s Guide to Preventing Diabetes

In a research unit in Bengaluru, Sucharita Sambashivaiah and her team of

researchers are looking into an unconventional aspect of Type 2 Diabetes, and

studying how the disease can be better managed in Indians. This is her story in

illustrations.

INDIA ALLIANCE

NEW INTIATIVES

23.

The India Alliance Gateway on

Wellcome Open Research

India Alliance is pleased to announce the launch of the India

Alliance gateway on Wellcome Open Research. As part of its

commitment to open research policy, the India Alliance has

teamed up with Wellcome Open Research to enable immediate

publication of manuscripts, followed by open invited peer review,

of its funded research.

Wellcome Open Research is an online platform that publishes

research output funded or co-funded by Wellcome. On this

platform, all articles are published rapidly as soon as they are

accepted, after passing an in-house quality check. Peer review by

invited experts, suggested by the authors, takes place openly after

publication. An article remains published regardless of the

referees’ reports. Articles that pass peer review are indexed in

PubMed and other bibliographic databases.

Authors are encouraged to respond openly to the referee reports,

which are published with the article, and can publish revised

versions of their article, if they wish. Read more about Wellcome

Open Research’s post-publication peer-review model.

Find India Alliance Fellows’ open research at

https://wellcomeopenresearch.org/gateways/IA and a list of

gateway advisors that are championing the brave new practice of

open access publishing.

India Research Management Initiative (IRMI)

Good research management is crucial for research and enables

researchers to access new funding opportunities, navigate

changing schemes and policies at agencies, receive support for

team science programs and effective grant management and

helps ensure that research findings are used effectively.

A Scoping Study on research management in India commissioned

by the Wellcome Trust in 2016 and a panel discussion on

professional research development offices at Indian institutions,

hosted at the India Alliance Annual Fellows Meeting in 2017,

highlighted the need for developing this part of the Indian research

ecosystem. IRMI, the India Research Management Initiative, was

subsequently launched by the India Alliance in February 2018, for

building capacity in research management at organizations in

India.

IRMI will be developed along a framework that encompasses four

themes:

• Generating leadership support for research management in

India

• Making research management offices sustainable

• Identifying common standards and good practice for research

management

• Individual capacity development: ensuring recognition of

research management as a profession and developing a pool

of qualified staff

IRMI is initially being implemented as a pilot phase aimed at

establishing a detailed account of research management at Indian

research institutions and identifying gaps in the system. There are

now 17 research institutions and Universities registered with IRMI

and this has allowed the India Alliance to develop a baseline of

research management in India, guided by the IRMI framework.

With an increasing number of institutions registering for IRMI, this

knowledge-base is expected to become more comprehensive.

Early conversations suggest that universities and research

institutes have the staff, processes and management in place to

receive core funding from specific arms of government. However,

systems to help researchers compete for, negotiate, manage and

make use of competitively won external resources appear to have

been slower to develop in India.

An IRMI sharing session was recently organized at IISER Pune on

19 April 2018, which included attendees from the scientific

leadership at participating institutions along with research

managers. The format of the workshop allowed for in-depth

sharing of ideas on the benefits of research management along

with a detailing of the barriers to implementation, from the varied

perspectives of institutions and individual research managers.

More such workshops are planned in other parts of India during

the IRMI pilot phase in 2018. This would provide a comprehensive

view of research management in India, which in turn is expected to

guide future policy and specific funding opportunities via the India

Alliance.

Institutions wishing to participate in IRMI should complete a

registration form available on the Wellcome Trust/DBT India

Alliance website via the link

https://www.indiaalliance.org/news/203 and completed forms

should be sent to IRMI@indiaalliance.org.

IRMI in the media - Research management critical for Indian labs

to become competitive

- Dr. Savita Ayyar, Lead, IRMI

24.

IRMI sharing session at IISER Pune

Participants at the IRMI sharing session at IISER Pune

INDIA ALLIANCE

NEW INTIATIVES

The Africa-India Mobility Fund (AIMF) is a two-year programme

designed to provide researchers from Africa and India with

opportunities for short visits in either direction to explore

opportunities for building and strengthening scientific

collaboration.

The AIMF initiative by the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance

(India Alliance) and the African Academy of Sciences intends to

encourage South-South collaborations and learning between the

two ecosystems. This is in recognition of the fact that Africa and

India face similar challenges, both in the diseases that affect their

populations and socio-political issues as well as the leadership

required to address these. The exchanges are expected to

enhance their skills and contribute to the growth of knowledge

and leadership towards common health challenges.

In Africa, the travel grants will be administered by the Alliance for

Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and in India

by the India Alliance.

The AIMF comes on the heels of the Third India-Africa Forum

Summit held in October 2015 and where Heads of State adopted

the Delhi Declaration renewing their commitment to work with

each other, and outlining the priority areas and ways in which

Africa and India can work together to improve the lives of their

people. It is also one of many efforts to exploit the synergistic

relationship between Africa and India outlined in the India Africa

Health Sciences Summit held in 2016. Over the last two years,

the India Alliance and AESA have also hosted African and Indian

biomedical researchers, respectively, at their Annual Grantees

Meetings.

These travel grants will be supported by the India Alliance (for

Indian researchers) and the Wellcome (for African researchers,

administered through AAS and AESA).

Purpose, Objectives and Scope of the Initiative

Purpose

To establish links and cultivate a culture of collaboration between

African and Indian researchers that will serve as a vehicle to

improve research capacity and build leadership in biomedical and

clinical research for Africa and India.

Objectives

• To strengthen research & innovation capacity and knowledge

exchange

• To strengthen scientific collaboration between Indian and

African teams

Scope

Applications broadly focused on infectious and non-

communicable diseases of relevance to local, national, or global

health will be accepted every month. The scope of the

collaborative opportunity may include but is not limited to

HIV/AIDS, TB, dengue, malaria, vector-borne diseases, parasitic

infections, emerging infections, cancer, diabetes, hypertension,

health systems research, antimicrobial resistance, drug

development, microbiome and general biomedical sciences.

While applications that involve existing collaborations will be

considered, applications that target new collaborations and

encourage diversity especially female and young applicants are

particularly encouraged.

Application Process, Review and Deadlines

All application forms should be submitted through the AAS Grants

Management System (Ishango). Register as a user to apply. See

sample application form here

Click here to find out more about these travel grants.

References:

Why it’s time African researchers stopped working in silos. The Conversation. May 2016Health research: Africa–India health-science

partnerships. Nature. September 2016

Outwards to Africa. The Hindu, September 2016

Bringing together African and Indian Biomedical Researchers. India Alliance Newsletter, September 2016

India meets Africa again: Recognising common research goals and mapping

the road ahead. India Alliance Newsletter, September 2017

25.

INDIA ALLIANCE

NEW INTIATIVES

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

26.

Download India Alliance Annual Report 2017-18

Please send your feedback, suggestions and contributions to

public.engagement@indiaalliance.org

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www.indiaalliance.org