Lucknow: The 33rd National Congress of Parasitology (NCP-2025) entered its second day of scientific deliberations today at the CSIR–Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow. This prestigious event commemorates the Golden Jubilee of the Indian Society for Parasitology (ISP) and celebrates 75 years of CSIR-CDRI’s pioneering contribution to biomedical research and drug discovery.
The day opened with Session VI: Drug Discovery & Translational Research for Parasitic Diseases, featuring distinguished speakers from research institutions across India. A major highlight was the Plenary Lecture delivered by Dr. Jeremy Burrows, Vice President and Head of Research & Drug Discovery, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), Geneva, he talked about, Antimalarial Drug Discovery focused on Next-Generation Antimalarial.
Dr. Burrows outlined the urgent need for next-generation malaria treatments as resistance to existing Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs) continues to rise across endemic regions. He showcased significant progress from MMV’s antimalarial development pipeline, including long-acting drug candidates, optimized single-dose and injectable treatment strategies, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in accelerating drug design and precision pharmacology.
He emphasized that global partnerships, equitable access, and translational innovation are critical to delivering effective, affordable, and sustainable antimalarial solutions to vulnerable populations worldwide.
Further in second day’s sessions, multiple invited lectures, flash talks, and poster presentations showcased advances in Fundamental & Translational Parasite Biology, Biochemistry and Cell Biology of Parasites and Emerging diagnostics, therapeutics, and public health interventions
The Flash Talk Series provided a platform for promising young scientists to present frontier research in parasitology.
Prestigious oration awards were conferred during Session X, including:
• Dr. B.N. Singh Memorial Oration Award was conferred to Dr Krishnapal Karmodiya from IISER Pune.
• Dr. B.P. Pandey Memorial Oration Award was conferred to Prof. Sukhbir Kaur from Punjab University Chandigarh and
• Dr. K. Hanumantha Rao Memorial Oration Award was conferred to Prof. Harpreet Kaur from Punjab University, Chandigarh.
These lectures honoured senior researchers making transformative contributions to parasitology research in India.
The day concluded with a cultural performance by Mr. Abhishek Borkar and Mr. Yashwant Vaishnav, followed by a gala dinner, offering participants a platform for informal networking and collaboration.
