Dr. Siddharth Jain
Dr. Siddharth Jain has been selected as a winner of the 2025 Sun Pharma Science Foundation Clinical Research Fellowship for his research project titled “Evaluation of humoral ovarian autoimmunity in premenopausal lupus patients with reduced ovarian reserve”
While fertility in women with SLE is influenced by factors such as age and cyclophosphamide therapy, a large part of it remains unexplained; whether SLE has a direct impact on fertility is unclear. We have previously shown impaired ovarian reserve in Indian SLE patients in the absence of known risk factors. However, the mechanisms remain unclear. Through this project, we will holistically study humoral ovarian autoimmunity in SLE. Study design: Case-control study involving cases (premenopausal lupus patients with premature ovarian insufficiency or reduced ovarian reserve), disease controls (premenopausal lupus patients with preserved ovarian reserve), and healthy controls. Serum of all participants will be tested for anti-ovarian antibodies, anti-LH, anti-FSH, anti-estradiol, anti-progesterone, anti-21-alpha-hydroxylase, anti-p450-scc, and anti-aromatase antibodies. Expected outcomes: assessment of prevalence of anti-ovarian antibodies and burden of infertility and subfertility in SLE. Translational value: A high burden of ovarian autoimmunity, if present, would make a case for immunosuppressive treatment of subfertility/infertility in SLE.
Dr. Ayush Agarwal
Dr. Ayush Agarwal has been selected as winner of 2025 Sun Pharma Science Foundation Clinical Research Fellowships, for his research project titled “Diagnostic Utility of Cerebrospinal Fluid Kappa Free Light Chain Index in patients with Multiple Sclerosis in India: A Cross-sectional Study”
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, immune-mediated demyelinating disorder of the central nervous system that requires early and accurate diagnosis to initiate timely treatment. The CSF kappa free light chain (KFLC) index is an emerging quantitative biomarker for MS that reflects intrathecal immunoglobulin synthesis. Several international studies have demonstrated that the KFLC index has diagnostic accuracy comparable to oligoclonal bands while offering advantages such as faster turnaround, reproducibility, and automation. However, there is limited Indian data validating its diagnostic performance. This study aims to assess the diagnostic performance of the KFLC index for identifying patients with multiple sclerosis. Other objectives include comparison of the KFLC index between MS patients and control groups (inflammatory and non-inflammatory neurological disorders), concordance with OCB positivity and IgG index, and comparison amongst different subtypes of MS.
Dr. Saranya B Gomathy
Dr. Saranya B Gomathy has been selected as winner of 2025 Sun Pharma Science Foundation Clinical Research Fellowships, for her research project titled “Clinical, Imaging, and Genetic Landscape of Non-Inflammatory Myopathies: The MyoGENIC Cohort Study.”
Non-inflammatory myopathies (NIMs) are genetically and clinically heterogeneous disorders with frequent diagnostic delays. This prospective cohort study aims to characterize the clinical, imaging, and genetic spectrum of NIMs in an Indian population and evaluate the diagnostic yield of an integrated approach. Consecutive patients with suspected NIMs will undergo standardized clinical assessment, muscle MRI, and next-generation sequencing. Genotype–phenotype–imaging correlations will be established, and variants of uncertain significance will be reclassified using integrated data. The study seeks to identify population-specific mutations, define MRI-based predictive patterns, and develop a practical diagnostic algorithm to improve early diagnosis, genetic counseling, and precision neuromuscular care in India.