ICMR - CAR | Irsha | Bharati Vidyapeeth

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Government of India has awarded a Centre for Advanced Research (CAR) to the Mother and Child Health department of Interactive Research School for Health Affairs (IRSHA), a constituent unit of Bharati Vidyapeeth University with a grant of over Rs 7.0 Crore.
This ICMR CAR REVAMP (Research Exploring Various Aspects and Mechanisms in Preeclampsia) study, the first of its kind in the country will help in early identification of pregnant women who are at risk of developing preeclampsia.
The prospective design of the study for the first time will establish the role of LCPUFA in understanding the underlying biochemical and molecular mechanisms involved in preeclampsia and their association with developmental programming in children.
The study is being carried out at the Interactive Research School for Health Affairs (IRSHA) in collaboration with Bharati Medical College and Hospital, Pune; Gupte Hospital and Research Centre, Pune; and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Hyderabad.
The current study is ongoing and the total duration of the study is five years i.e. from 31st March 2017 - 30th September 2022.

This project allows us to form a secure Indian Biobank consisting of the various biological samples collected under this project, and the associated data, and facilitate access to other investigators
External researchers can propose projects, and what the sample resource and/or data they require, and sharing will be carried out following approval by a scientific steering committee.

Investigating Mechanisms Leading to Preeclampsia - PI : Dr. Sadhana Joshi

Every 10 minutes a woman dies from pregnancy complications during child birth
Tops the list of countries with the highest number of child deaths
Non communicable diseases are increasing at an alarming rate
Improving Maternal and Child health - priority area as per the Millennium Development Goal

A hypertensive disorder of pregnancy affects 8–10% of pregnant women in India

A major cause of maternal mortality in developing countries

Leading cause of fetal/neonatal morbidity and mortality

Children are at increased risk for developing neurodevelopmental disorders

11 – 14 weeks

18 – 22 weeks

26 – 28 weeks

At delivery

Children at 2 years of age

Project 1

Association of components of one carbon cycle with factors involved in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia in a rat model

Project 2

Longitudinal changes in metabolites of the one carbon cycle in preeclampsia

Project 3

Role of oxidative stress and metabolites of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) metabolic pathway in preeclampsia

Project 4

Growth factors and regulation of their gene expression in preeclampsia

Project 5

Association of maternal nutrition, biochemical and epigenetic changes with anthropometry and developmental changes in children

Circulating biomarkers - Early prediction of preeclampsia
Insights on epigenetic mechanisms in the placenta
Establish reference baseline for vital nutrients (omega-3 fatty acids) for the Indian population
Establishment of a biorepository - an invaluable resource
Clues for public health interventions to reduce and curtail the burden of NCDs in India

Prof. Caroline HD Fall (University of Southampton, UK)
Prof. C S. Yajnik (KEM Hospital, Pune)
Dr. Anura Kurpad (St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore)
Dr. K. Kumaran (MRC Life course Epidemiology Unit, South ampton & Holds worth Memorial Hospital, Mysore)
Dr. Julian Crasta (St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore)
Dr. Lakshmy Ramakrishnan (All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi)
Dr. Suhas Otiv (KEM Hospital, Pune)
Dr. Arun Kinare (Bharati Medical College and Hospital, Pune)