London: London-based Indian researcher Mahaveer Golechha has been selected for an award for his work on a drug to cure Alzheimer’s.
The 27-year-old will be travelling to San Francisco to receive the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s ‘Young Investigator Scholarship Award’ at the 7th Annual Drug Discovery for Neurodegeneration Conference to be held next month.
“I feel very proud that I have proved world class research in the area of medicine can be done in India,” Dr Golechha said on Thursday.
He has been recognized for his outstanding research on ‘naringin’, a bioflavonoid found in grape fruits and citrus fruits. In his study, he found that naringin possesses significant “anti-Alzheimer activity” and will form the basis of further research to develop as a cure for the degenerative disease in old age, which worsens as it progresses.
“Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that generally affects the elderly population. Till date the treatment was symptomatic but naringin will act at pathological level and have lesser side effects,” he said.
“I hope this award creates further avenues for budding scientists in my country to be recognized for their work and facilitated to follow their dreams,” said Golechha, who completed his Master’s and PhD from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, where he was involved in research on Alzheimer’s and epilepsy.
His work on naringin has also been included for a poster presentation at the San Francisco conference. PTI
