Mysore/Mysuru: Dozens of research groups around the world are racing to create a vaccine as COVID-19 cases continue to grow. They are pursuing different types of vaccines — shots developed from new technologies that are faster to produce but might prove more potent than the traditional inoculations. 

Some researchers are even aiming for temporary vaccines, such as shots that might guard people’s health a month or two at a time while long-lasting protection is developed. Among the groups that are racing against time to come up with the vaccine is the European Task Force for Coronavirus that has a Mysuru connection. A Researcher-Scientist in the team is Dr. A.J. Mahadesh Prasad, who studied in the University of Mysore and has worked here as an    Assistant Professor. 

Mahadesh Prasad’s team is striving to develop the vaccine since over a month following the outbreak of COVID-19 in China’s Wuhan Province and after it spread to other Nations, especially Europe.

Following the pandemic, the European Commission constituted the Task Force to contain the spread of the virus and help patients with a new vaccine.

Targeted research

The Task Force is funding targeted research on Coronavirus and has mobilised Euro 140 million of public and private funding for promising research on vaccines, diagnosis and treatment. 

Dr. Mahadesh Prasad originally hails from Arakalagud in Hassan and was born to late Javarappa and A.R. Rathnamma (Nagarathnamma). He completed his primary education in Kannada medium and completed his B.Sc in Government Science College in Hassan in 2003.
He completed his M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Mysore in 2005 and worked as Principal Investigator or Assistant Professor (Science and Engineering Research Board-Department of Science and Technology SERB-DST), Department of Biochemistry, SBRR Mahajana PG Centre for over 5 years till last year. 

Scientific Researcher in Belgium

At present, Dr. Mahadesh Prasad is working as Scientific Researcher at Katholieke Universiteit, Belgium. He is settled in Belgium with his wife and son. When the Task Force was formed with 10 research teams, the Vice-Chancellor of Linkoping University in Sweden recommended his name to be included in the scientist team. Even his brother Dr. Komal Prasad too is a scientist working to develop an effective cure for cancer. 

As Principal Investigator, some of his responsibilities included leading independent research project to understand DNA damage response pathway in Burkitt’s lymphoma, developing and optimisation of new techniques, working in close collaboration with hospitals and external partners to obtain clinical samples. 

Post-doctoral scientist 

Dr. Mahadesh Prasad had earlier worked as post-doctoral scientist, immunologist at Linkoping University, Linkoping, Sweden. He worked extensively on understanding the role of Early Transcription Factors (ETF) in early Hematopoietic Stem Cells maturation and how altered dose of ETF results in B-Cell leukaemia formation.

He has hands-on experience in Molecular Immunology and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Biology and has developed creative research designs and protocols that provide answers to complex biological challenges. 

Dr. Mahadesh has made a number of research collaborations with various hospitals and colleagues to develop projects on the cause of blood cancer.