ARVO Foundation Collaborative Research Fellowships for 2 LVPEI Researchers
Published 5th May 2026
Dr Saumya Jakati, Associate Pathologist at LVPEI’s Ophthalmic Pathology Laboratory, and Dr Amithavikram R. Hathibelagal, Scientist and Optometrist at LVPEI’s Visual Functions lab, were awarded two of the three 2025 ARVO Foundation Collaborative Research Fellowships.
Drs Jakati and Hathibelagal were felicitated at the ongoing the Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in Denver, Colorado, at a formal event on 4th May.
The collaborative research fellowship, “pairs early-career researchers from developing countries with collaborating scientists in well-established research laboratories. The Fellows will be awarded up to $10,000 in funding, based on their submitted budget, to support a one-year project that can include additional training in specialty equipment or research methodologies.”
Dr Hathibelagal has a PhD in optometry and has an abiding interest in visual-function markers that help characterise retinal diseases impact on how people see.
This grant will help him study and describe how people with diabetic retinopathy continue to see well despite evident damage to the retina as found by standard vision tests. Understanding this phenomenon will help clinicians better account for brain adaptation/compensation for retinal damage when testing and assessing such patients.
Dr Jakati, MD and a consultant pathologist, has been working on ophthalmic oncopathology at LVPEI. This grant will help her work on identifying biomarkers and therapeutic targets for conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma, a common ocular cancer among elderly who live in the tropics.
She will be exploring the proteomic landscape of this condition to help with early diagnosis, better management, and potentially, new drug targets.
Dr Prashant Garg, LVPEI’s Executive Chair, was at the ceremony to cheer them and celebrate their success.
