Jhaveri Microbiology Centre and Saroja A Rao Immunology Laboratory
The Jhaveri Microbiology Centre, established with a generous donation from the Late Shri L D Jhaveri, a pearl merchant from Japan, and the Saroja A Rao Immunology Laboratory, which was set up with initial funding from Dr Narsing Rao of USA, are an integral part of the Prof Brien Holden Eye Research Centre.
Research activities at both laboratories are supported through research grants received from national agencies and industries, including the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) under the CSIR, as well as international agencies such as The Thrasher Foundation.
The Jhaveri Microbiology Centre is engaged in investigating a range of infectious diseases of the eye that are caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites. The research has led to several conference presentations and publications in national and international journals.
The centre has a team of three microbiologists and five technicians who work in the area of diagnostic microbiology.
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for the diagnosis of viral retinitis caused by Herpes Simplex, Varicella Zoster and Cytomegalo Viruses
Investigators: G Ashok Kumar Reddy, B Praveen Kumar, Inderjeet Kaur, Rajeev Kumar Reddy, Annie Mathai
Support: Department of Science and Technology, India
This project aims at developing a novel nucleic acid amplification method called loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for the diagnosis of viral retinitis, caused by Herpes Simplex, Varicella Zoster and Cytomegalo Viruses. The most significant advantage of LAMP is the ability to amplify specific sequences of DNA under isothermal conditions between 63°C and 65°C, thereby obviating the need for a thermal cycler. Detection of the amplification is achieved simply by a change of color with the addition of SYBER green dye.
Molecular characterization of nonsporulating flamentous fungi isolated from microbial keratitis
Investigators: G Ashok Kumar Reddy, Prashant Garg, Usha Gopinathan, Chitra Kannabiran
Support: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, India
Microbial keratitis remains a leading cause of blindness worldwide. Among severe infective forms of keratitis, fungal keratitis is the most common in many developing countries like China, India, Ghana and Nepal. More than 105 species of fungi, classified in 56 genera, have been reported to cause mycotic keratitis. Of the different filamentous fungi isolated from mycotic keratitis there were a significant number of unidentified fungi due to lack of sporulation. Accurate identification of these fungi is essential for the selection of appropriate antifungal drugs for treating these infections. The aims of the study are to assess the species distribution of nonsporulating molds isolated from patients with mycotic keratitis by molecular methods and to study the treatment outcome of keratitis caused by nonsporulating molds.