2026 Monthly Updates

2026 Monthly Updates

2026

Monthly Update
 
Publications: 
Articles accepted:
 
  1. Elizabeth Vinod, Ganesh Parasuraman, Abel Livingston, Daniel Jonathan Roy, Jeya Lisha J, Mariya Sneha Rani J, Deepak Vinod Francis, Noel Naveen Johnson, Anjali Goyal, Grace Rebekah, Solomon Sathishkumar, Alfred Job Daniel, Boopalan Ramasamy. Distinct Reparative and Immunomodulatory Signatures of Extracellular Vesicles from Human Cartilage-Derived Chondroprogenitors, Chondrocytes, and Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Rat Osteoarthritis Model. Cartilage. Accepted 17th July.
     
  2. Joyce Angel Jayakumar, Ganesh Parasuraman, Sandya Rani, Soosai Manickam Amirtham, Suma B Srinivasaiah, Deepak Vinod Francis, Abel Livington, Elizabeth Vinod. Morphometric Maturation of Human Articular Cartilage: A Quantitative Histological Study from Fetal Development to Adulthood. The International Journal of Developmental Biology. Accepted 9th July.
     
  3. Vijayalekshmi Balakrishnan "Pediatric Intestinal Enteroids Derived from Very Early Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease Reveal Differences in Growth, Morphology, and Barrier Function” Scientific reports, July 10,2025.
     
Articles published:
 
  1. Agarwal K, Joy AA, Veerappan M, Rallapalli SS, Peter J, Sahu S, Kandagaddala M, Asha HS, Kapoor N, Cherian KE, Rebekah G, JebasinghFK, Thomas N.  Dysthyroid Optic Neuropathy in Graves’ Orbitopathy: Insights from a Single Centre and Limitations of the Radiological Indices. Indian J Endocr Metab 2026; 30:251-7.
 
  1. Yadav P, Singh A, Thomas V,  Cherian Aj, John AO, Joel A, Thumaty DB,  Georgy JT, Varghese D , Thomas S, Sen S, Backianathan S, Rekha A., Danda S, Thomas A, Paul MJ,  Thomas N, Chapla A . Family-based cascade screening in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: Identification of asymptomatic carriers and a 15-year window for risk reduction. J Clin Oncol 44, 2026,19.  
     
  2. Verma S, Dasgupta R, Anoop S, Jebasingh FK, Chowdury SD, Jose A, Varghese G, Christudoss P, Venkatesan P, Rebekah G, Horowitz M, Thomas N. Distinctive patterns of glucagon and incretin responses to oral and isoglycaemic intravenous glucose load in fibrocalculous pancreatic diabetes.  Sci Rep. 2026 doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-55406-y. PMID: 42321243.
Awards:
Dr. Elizabeth Vinod received the Recipient of the ICRS–Sachdev Translational Innovation Fellowship, International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society (ICRS), New York, USA | June 21–27, 2026
Thesis Awarded:
Mr. Manoj Kumar, working under the guidance of Dr. Saravanabhavan successfully completed his PhD viva on July 20, 2026. Thesis Title: “ Enhancing homology - directed Gene Editing in Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor cells”.
Invited Lecture:
Dr. Nihal Thomas, Delivered a talk in "Kannan-Rastogi Oration on Diabetes in South Asia: Diagnosing the Undiagnosed – Insights into the Pathogenesis and a Clinical Approach at the 14th Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry Endocrine Conference (TRENDO-2026)- At Salem, 19th -21st June- 2026.
Dr. Nihal Thomas, delivered a talk in the AJ Ajgaonkar Oration on Differential Diagnosis of Diabetes in the Young in South Asia- The not so Super Six, at the CID (Challenges in Diabetes Conference) At Mumbai. 26th June- 2026.
Dr. Nihal Thomas, delivered a talk in Differential Diagnosis of Diabetes in the Young in South Asia The Not so Super Six, at the CME at Gadag, Karnataka. 5th July- 2026.
Dr. Nihal Thomas, delivered a talk on Endocrine Hypertension- A Clinical Approach. at the CME at Gadag, Karnataka. 5th July- 2026.
Dr. Nihal Thomas, attended The Global Science Summit 2026, hosted by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, took place on June 22–23, 2026, in Koge, Denmark
Dr. Vijayalekshmi, delivered a talk on Organs in a Dish: Liver and Gut Organoids for Human Disease Modelling, Event: DHR-sponsored workshop on “3D Bioprinting for Interprofessional Research” held on from 22- 25 July at DBR, MAHE, Manipal.
 
Outreach Activities:
CSCR conducted the Road show organized by Krishgen Biosystems, on 29/06/2026 This was coordinated by Mr. Rajesh, Research Development Office
CSCR conducted the Road show organized by Brand Scientific & Gene Technologies, on 02/07/2026 This was coordinated by Mr. Rajesh, Research Development Office
CSCR organized a scientific talk on “Stem Cell culture and differentiation” organized by Dr. Saravanabhavan and coordinated by Mr. Rajesh, Research Development office
Speaker:
Dr Edward Wong,
Senior Manager, Gene Writing & Editing – APAC
Integrated DNA Technologies, Singapore.
Date:15/07/2026.
Article Accepted:
Dr. Mohan Kumar, Manuscript entitled "Targeted inhibition of Nuclear factor-κB pathway using recombinant adeno-associated virus 5 in 2D and 3D Glioblastoma models" has been accepted for publication in Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering.
 Article Published:
Yilmaz B. Mohan, VR, John S, Kang G, Jebasingh F, Thomas N, Sonawane M, Kolthur-Seetharam U, Koshy B. Double burden of malnutrition by mid-childhood in an Indian birth cohort: a longitudinal study (2010–2021). The Lancet Regional Health - Southeast Asia June, 2026;50: 100784.
Hari KR, Purushothaman V., Srujan M. Enhancing the fitness of NK cell via olfactory receptor OR7A10: a novel strategy to improve immune therapy for solid tumors, Targetome 17 June 2026.
  
Hari KR, Ramcharan SA, Srujan M. The endosomal escape problem solved? New insights into lipid nanoparticle delivery efficiency, Materials Today, 26 May 2026, DOI 10.1016/j.mattod.2026.103398
Book Chapter in Press:
Dr. Mohan Kumar, Protocol for Prime Editing in human erythroid cell lines using lentiviral delivery in Springer; Methods in Molecular Biology
Invited lecture:
Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk on The Differential Diagnosis of Low BMI Diabetes a Global Perspective at the Proceedings of the 86th Congress of the American Diabetes Association(ADA) at New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. June 5th - 8th , 2026.
Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk on Differential Diagnosis Diabetes in the Lean and Young in South Asia: Undernutrition and the Road to Type 5 Diabetes, at the CIHSR 2nd Annual Research Day at Dimapur, Nagaland, 22nd May 2026.
Outreach Activities:
CSCR conducted the Road show organized by ROSS Biotech, on MXT platform A new Age non-viral genome delivery system on 16/06/2026. This was coordinated by Mr. Rajesh, Research Development Office.

 

Article Published:
  1. Anoop S, Jebasingh F, Pedrosa H, Kunyiha N, Tahapary DL, Hawkins M, Thomas N. Type 5 diabetes: a disorder associated with undernutrition: the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical features and differential diagnosis. Best Practice & Research Clin Endocrinol & Metab  May 2026. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1521690X26000400. 
  2.  NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). NCD Obesity rise plateaus in developed nations and accelerates in developing nations. Nature May 2026, 653, 510–518. 
  3. Chandran T, Hussain MA, Patel B,  Dasgupta R, George AA, George L,  Peter D , Jebasingh FK , Thomas N.  Discordantly Low HbA1c in Patients Receiving Dapsone: Prevalence and Associations with Hemolysis and Methemoglobinemia. Int J Endocrinol Metab. April 2026, 24(3): e166723.
Others:
Thesis awarded:
Ms. Smitha I, working under the guidance of Dr. Shaji RV successfully completed her viva on April 30, 2026. Thesis Title: “ Understanding the mechanisms of Human Erythropoiesis”.
Outreach Activities:
CSCR conducted the Road show organized by Ultra Bio instruments PVT LTD, promoted their new range of products and Technology platform on 20/05/2026. This was Coordinated by Dr. Mohan Kumar and Mr. Rajesh.
CSCR conducted the Road show organized by Molecular Devices & Labosys PVT LTD, jointly, promoted their new range of products and Technology platform on 15/05/2026. This was Coordinated by Dr. Saravana Bhavan and Mr. Rajesh.
Paper accepted:
Agnes Selina, Madhavi Kandagaddala, and Vrisha Madhuri.Type V Osteogenesis Imperfecta in an Indian Cohort: Phenotypic Variability and Radiological Insights in IFITM5-Related Bone Fragility” has been accepted for publication in the Indian Journal of Orthopedics on March 31, 2026.
 
Article Published:
 
Jebasingh F, Sundaramoorthy SAS, Thomas N. Orphanet Review for: Thyrotoxic Peroidic Paralysis. https://www.orpha.net/en/disease/detail/79102?name=79102&mode=orpha.
 
Nihal Thomas. Soul Study Group. Oral Semaglutide and Change in Cardiovascular Risk Factors in High-Risk Type 2 Diabetes: A Post Hoc Secondary Analysis of the SOUL Randomized Clinical Trial JAMA Cardiol. 2026.
 
 
Invited Talk:
Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk on Lean Diabetes in Preganancy and insights into the usage of Metformin., hosted by the Weil Cornell University and KEM, Pune on April-2026
Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk on Primary Hyperaldomsteronism- A Diverse Spectrum, Matching the Clinical and Radiological Features. At the Symposium on Endocrine Hypertension, At AIIMS, New Delhi. March-2026.
Dr. Shaji RV. Delivered a talk on Gene Therapy for Inherited Marrow Failure Syndrome- DBA, FA  at Hemotopoietic Cell and Gene Therapy symposium, CMC vellore, Ranipet Campus on 28th March 2026.
Dr. Mohankumar delivered a talk on Gene Therapy for Hemoglobinopathies at Hematopoietic Cell and Gene Therapy symposium, CMC on 28th March 2026.
Dr. Mohankumar delivered a talk on "Gene Editing Solutions for Disease Interventions: An Indian Perspective" at Indo-French Workshop on Gene Therapy on 16th April 2026.
 
Dr. Saravanabhavan deliverd a talk on "CRISPR based gene Therapy", at the Hematopoietic Cell and Gene Therapy symposium, CMC vellore, Ranipet campus on 28th  March 2026.
 
Dr. Saravanabhavan delivered a talk on "Stem Cell Research in Neonatology" NeoCore-2026, CMC Vellore on 20th March 20.
 
Dr. Saravanabhavan delivered a talk on “Delivering functional proteins to Hematopoietic stem cells"  EVOLVE-2026, BRIC-ILS, Bhubaneshwar on 02 April 2026. 
 
Dr. Thiyagaraj Mayuranathan delivered a talk on Advancing Off-the-Shelf CAR-T-Cell Therapy in Hematological malignancies IMMUNO-THON 2.0 at VIT, Vellore on 07th April 2026..
Dr. Gurbind Singh delivered a talk on “Stem Cells and Their Applications” during the industrial visit session held at CSCR on 21st April 2026.
 
Others:
Dr. Nihal Thomas Chaired a session on: CART Cell Therapy. at the Haemopoetic Cell and Gene Symposium, CMC Vellore, Ranipet campus on 28th March- 2026.
Dr. Nihal Thomas prepared a Lecture for Diploma in Diabetes Indus Group, Karachi, Pakistan. Recording on Genetic and Inherited causes of Diabetes Mellitus, April, 2026.
Dr. Nihal Thomas nominated as Permanent Member, National Stem Cell Research Regulation Committee. March -2026. 
 
Grant:
Dr. Thiyagaraj Mayuranathan received a Prime Minister's ANRF Early Career Grant (PM ANRF ECRG) for the year 2026.
Events Held:
In observance of World Day for Laboratory Animals on April 24, CSCR organized a scientific talk. Organized and coordinated by Dr. Srujan and Dr. Vigneshwar
Title of the Talk: Ethical Issues Relating to Use of Animals in Biomedical Research
Speaker:
Dr. Joe Varghese
Professor & Head, Department of Biochemistry,
Scientist in-charge, Laboratory Animal Services Unit (LASU)
Christian Medical College, Vellore-02 
Date: April 24, 2026
 
CSCR organized a scientific talk on “Stem Cell culture and differentiation” organized and coordinated by Dr. Grubind Singh and Mr. Rajesh.
Speaker:
Dr. Maria Rosaria Imperato,
Scientist,
Stem Cell Technologies.
Date:   April 15, 2026
Outreach Activity:
Elective postings were successfully scheduled and completed for 10 MBBS students from Government Medical College, Vellore, and 1 MBBS student from Christian Medical College, Vellore, during the period from 23 September 2025 to 10 October 2025. The students were given exposure to all core facilities and scientific laboratories, including Lab-1, Lab-2, Lab-3, Lab-6, Lab-7, Lab-8, and Lab-9. The program was organized by CMC and coordinated by Mr. Rajesh from the Research Development Office, CSCR.
M.Sc. Biochemistry students from Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore, visited CSCR as part of an academic industrial visit on 21 April 2026. During their visit, the students explored all the core facilities at CSCR, gaining valuable insights into advanced research infrastructure and laboratory practices.
 

Papers Accepted:

  • Susan Jehangir, Preethi R Navaneethan, Reka Karuppasami, Manisha Madhai Beck, Benjamin J Ross, Manish Kumar, Sridhar Santhanam, Sundeep Kisku, John Fletcher, Large population-based assessment of SARS-CoV-2 teratogenicity by profiling congenital anomalies during COVID-19 Pandemic.Journal of the Turkish-German Gynecological Association on March 16, 2026.

Published articles:  

Invited Talk:  

  • Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk titled “Differential Diagnosis Diabetes in the Lean and Young in South Asia- Undernutrition and the Road to Type 5 Diabetes”. At the Seminar of the: Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI). Online with Melbourne University.February-2026. 
  • Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk titled “Where we Stand in Gene and Stem Cell Research” at Neocon. Vellore, March-2026. 
  • Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk titled “Lipodystrophic diabetes- the Spectrum and the Diversity”, At the Global Obeisty Conclave. At New Delhi, March- 2026.
  • Dr. Mohan K M delivered a talk titled “Therapeutic genome editing for hematological disorders" at Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, Bengaluru, India on Feb28, 2026. 
  • Dr. Srujan Marepally delivered a talk titled “mRNA in lipid nanoparticles: Road to translation” in a seminar on “Exploring regenerative medicine, stem cells and gene therapy” held at IPGMER-Kolkata on 16th February 2026.  
  • Dr. Srujan Marepally delivered a talk titled “mRNA in lipid nanoparticles: New frontier in nucleic acid therapeutics” on 28th February at 3rd Annual conference of Society for Paediatric cellular Therapy and Transplant conducted by SPCTT, Bengaluru 
  • Dr. Srujan Marepally delivered delivered at talk on “Nanotechnology in Cell and Gene Therapy” as a resource person in Refresher Course on Materials Science and Nanotechnology - UGC-MMTTC CU Kerala, held on 21st February 2026. 
  • Dr. Saravanabhavan Thangavel delivered a talk on "Gene editing" at 3 rd Annual Conference of the Society for Pediatric Cellular Therapy & Transplant (SPCTT 2026), held from February 28 - March 01, 2026 at Taj Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru, 
  • Dr. Sandya Rani B delivered a Technical talk on "Introduction to Advanced Microscopes" on National Science Day on 27th February 2026, held at CSCR.
  • Dr. Gurbind Singh delivered a Scientific Talk on “Stem Cells and their Applications” on National Science Day on 27th February 2026, held at CSCR.  

Events Held:

The Centre for Stem Cell Research (CSCR), celebrated National Science Day on 27th February 2026 paying tribute to commemorate Dr. C.V. Raman and his groundbreaking discovery of the Raman Effect on 28th Feb 1928. To celebrate the event, School children from various schools in and around the Vellore were invited to participate in scientific activities at CSCR. The event was organized with the objective of promoting scientific awareness and inspiring young minds and to develop an enquiring and problem-solving attitude in the students. A total number of 98 students from various schools in and around Vellore were participated in the scientific activities at CSCR, Organized by Research and Development office, CSCR.

On March 02, 2026, the Center for Stem Cell Research (a unit of inStem, Bengaluru) hosted a lecture by Prof. K Felix Jebasingh, Professor, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Associate Medical Superintendent, Christian Medical College Vellore, India.

Title of Talk: Cure for Type 1 Diabetes – Is It a Reality? 

Published articles

  1. Hawkins M, Schwarz P, Yajnik CS, Bajaj M, Powers AC, Boyne MS, Wild S, Christensen DL, Bahendeka S, Jones AG, Mukhopadhyay S, Ramaiya K, Phillips D, Kehlenbrink S, Kibirige D, Bavuma C, Somasundaram NP, Thompson DS, Abodo J, Alemu S, Katulanda P, Pathan F, Selim S, Mathai S, Joseph M, Sonawane M, Mathur S, Anoop S, Kamalanathan S, Mondal P, Naik D, Kolthur-Seetharam U, Dasgupta R, Jebasingh F, Thomas N, Wadivkar P, Vaag AA, Recognising type 5 diabetes. Lancet Global Health. February 2026, 12.
  2. Ghoshal A, Sharma P , Sudhakaran D, Dutta E, Connor S, Ali Z, Thomas N, Rajagopal MR. Integrating Palliative Care Into the Noncommunicable Disease Framework in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Advances in Public Health. February 2026.

Invited talk:

  1. Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk titled “Type 5 Diabetes – What, How, Why, and What Not” at the Malabar Endocrine Society Meeting (MENDOS 2026) in January 2026.
  2. Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk on “Perspectives of GDM Prevention and Clinical Care in India” at the Workshop on Prevention and Management of Gestational Diabetes: Lifestyle, Nutrition, and Integrated Care Approaches, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in January 2026.
  3. Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk titled “Deciphering the Diagnosis of Young-Onset Diabetes in South Asia: The Road to Type 5 Diabetes – The Vellore Story” at DKM College, Vellore, in January 2026.
  4. Dr. Nihal Thomas delivered a talk on “Lipodystrophic Diabetes – Congenital and Acquired: Recent Advances and Insights from India” at the Diabetes India Conference 2026, held in 13th - 15th February 2026.
  5. Dr. Mohan KM delivered a talk on “Advanced genome editing strategies for the treatment of hematological disorders" at IPGMER on 16th February, 2026.
  6. Dr. Saravanabhavan Thangavel delivered a talk on Exploring regenerative medicine, stem cells and gene therapy, from lab to life., IPGMER, Kolkata (online), 16th  February, 2026. 

Others:(Conferences/Seminars/Outreach/Meetings/Events, etc.):

  1. Dr. Nihal Thomas was invited as the Chief Guest – BLS programe Annual Day held at Springdays Junior School in Vellore in January- 2026.
  2. Dr. Nihal Thomas was invited as the Chief Guest at the Annual Conference held at DKM College for Women in Vellore in January 2026.
  3. Dr. Nihal Thomas was appointed as DM Viva Examiner at Christian Medical College Vellore for the January 2026 examination session.
  4. Dr. Saravanabhavan Thangavel chaired a session at ClinViCON-2026, Indian Society of Clinical Virology, Vellore, February 5-7, 2026. 

Thesis Awarded:

  1. Ms. Sevanthy S, working under the guidance of Dr. Srujan Kumar Marepally successfully completed her PhD viva on February 19, 2026. Thesis Title: “Therapeutic Application of Genetically Modified Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells”.

Outreach Activities:

  1. DM students from clinical Virology department from CMC have visited CSCR facilities and Dr. Srujan Kumar Merapally (lab-8) and completed their training from 09/02/2026 to 14/02/2026. Total no. of the students = 2. This was coordinated by CSCR Core facility.

 

Paper published

  1. Azhagiri M, Verhoeyen E , Murugesan KM , Marepally S, Venkatesan V &  Thangavel S. HLF and hTERT cooperatively enable partial immortalization of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology .Volume 13 – 2026.
  2. Merin M. Zachariah, Ganesh Parasuraman, Christo Jeyaraj, Mariya S. Rani J, Grace Rebekah, Elizabeth Vinod. Evaluation of the chondrogenic potential of human articular chondrocytes, fibronectin-adherent chondroprogenitors, and migratory chondroprogenitors using a tri-coculture in vitro system. European Journal of Anatomy. https://doi.org/10.52083/HKKE5986   November 2025
  3. C. Ayshath Ruksana, Archa Suresh, Christo Jeyaraj, Mohana Priya, Ganesh Parasuraman, Grace Rebekah & Elizabeth Vinod. Assessing the Potential of CD11c as a Biomarker for Identifying Ideal Donors in Hyaline Cartilage Repair. Indian Journal of Orthopaedics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43465-025-01577-1 October 2025
  4. Mohana Priya, Ayshath Ruksana C, Christo Jeyaraj, Archa Suresh, Ganesh Parasuraman, Grace Rebekah, Elizabeth Vinod. Exploring BMP9 and Integrin Alpha 10 as Novel Chondrogenic Markers in Human Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Chondroprogenitors, and Chondrocytes: An Immunohistochemistry Study. The Knee. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.knee.2025.09.005 October 2025.
  5. Rallapalli SS, Cherian KE, Hephzibah J, Jebasingh FK, Kapoor N, Asha HS, Thomas N, Paul TV. Women with Graves’ Disease Have Altered Proximal Hip Geometry, Trabecular Bone Score and Body Composition Parameters: A Case–Control Study from Southern India. Calcified Tissue International (2026).117. //doi.org/10.1007/s00223-025-01472-9.
  6. Yashodha R, Ramya A, Sevanthy S, Gokulnath M, Rajesh KS, Mohanraj R, Ilavarasan R*, Srujan M* Combination of transfection incompetent lipids having strikingly different aliphatic chain lengths in a liposome demonstrates superior transfection and produces high titre lentivirus. Colloids Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 2026 Jan 2;260:115402.

Awards

 Dr. Thangavel has received Prof. B.K. Bachhawat International Travel Grant-2026