Dignitaries and speakers with Dr Mary Verghese, Executive Director, The Leprosy Mission Trust India

NEW DELHI: In the early 1990s, a dream was born in The Leprosy Mission Trust India – to do frontline research to find answers to the questions relating to leprosy which remains unanswered and poses barriers to eradication of the disease. And this dream saw its realisation when Stanley Browne Research Laboratory (SBL) was founded in 1994.

This year, SBL completed 25 years, and to commemorate the occasion, the Lab organised a one-day research symposium, ‘SBL: Frontline Research on Leprosy Elimination’, at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, on May 10. The symposium was organised with the purpose of bringing attention to the urgent need for leprosy research.

Representatives from the government, leprosy research institutes, hospitals, and international not-for-profit organisations (World Health Organization; Central Leprosy Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; Jalma Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, Agra; LEPRA India; Schieffelin Institute of Health Research and Leprosy Centre, Karigiri; the Foundation for Medical Research, Mumbai; Bombay Leprosy Project; All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi; Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi; Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi; Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; GLA University) were invited as speakers and delegates for the event, to share their inputs.

Dr Mary Verghese, Executive Director, The Leprosy Mission Trust India delivered the welcome speech, while the chief Guests, Dr P. L. Joshi (Former Director General, Central Leprosy Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India), and Dr Erwin Cooreman (Team Leader, Global Leprosy Programme, World Health Organization) delivered the inaugural addresses on based on learning from the post-elimination phase of leprosy and the current updates in leprosy research.

Around 11 talks were delivered by eminent speakers, such as Dr V.M. Katoch, Dr U. Sengupta, Dr R.S. Jadhav, Dr P.S.S. Rao, Dr H.K. Kar, Dr Kiran Katoch, Dr Archana Singal, Dr Rupali Roy, Dr V.P. Shetty, Dr V. Pai, Dr Mallika Lavania, and Dr Joydeepa Darlong. The speakers emphasised the need for finding solutions to the challenges faced in eliminating leprosy. They also spoke on other challenges, such as unchecked transmission, drug resistance, prevention of disability, post-RFT care, relapse in leprosy, vaccines, immunotherapy, and the like.

With gifted researchers and scholars leading the team, SBL is sure to play a crucial role in eliminating leprosy in India. And on this occasion, we congratulate the team and wish them good luck!

Check out our Facebook page for photographs of the event: http://bit.ly/2WB5W4B