Ms. Shruptha Padival secured the First Prize for her research work at Bengaluru Tech Summit 2023

The 2023 edition of Bengaluru Technology Summit (BTS), Karnataka's annual exposition, was attended by nearly 1 lakh people from more than 30 countries, the highest-ever footfall engagement to date. BTS 2023 had a multi-track conference covering the entire technology space gamut. The conference saw participation by 553 exhibitors, of which 228 were startups. The conference had thought-provoking and inspiring keynotes, engaging panel discussions, and informative presentations from 400+ global domain experts. There were 83 sessions with 401 speakers via five tracks. The tracks encompassed Startups, Biotech, IT & Deep Tech, and two global innovation alliance tracks with participants from 20 countries, including Australia, Denmark, South Korea, Japan, NRW city of Dusseldorf, Thailand, British Deputy High Commission, Finland, Israel, and Russia.

Out of the special programs of BTS 2023, BIO POSTER - WALKWAY OF DISCOVERY was a platform for young researchers to showcase their breakthrough ideas in Biopharma, Agritech, Medtech, and Services sectors. Ms. Shruptha Padival, PhD. Scholar, SDM Centre for Cellular and Molecular Sciences, Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara University, under the guidance of Dr. K. Satyamoorthy, Director (Research), presented and won the 1 st prize out of 85 posters on the research work entitled "Monitoring Cervical Microbiome dysbiosis and AMR genes with Hybridization-capture-detection (HCD) using species- specific multicopy molecular beacons." The study highlighted the widespread use of broad- spectrum antibiotics, which has driven the rise of multi-drug-resistant microbes, with 2.6 million antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and 44,000 mortalities reported annually. This exacerbates antibiotic efficacy loss in cancer therapy. Hence, the research work showcased rapid analysis of the associated microbiome and antibiotic profiling, a significant requirement for devising evidence-based interventions in cervical cancer. With this rationale, we proposed developing a unique molecular beacon-driven technology to help detect the cervical microbiome and AMR genes for patient-centric cancer therapeutics. This assay outcome would help in improved methods for the prediction, prevention, and treatment of dysbiosis associated with cervical cancer, which may lead to better therapeutic outcomes. Dr. Ekroop Caur, IAS, Secretary to Government, Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, presented the first prize at the award ceremony of the 26th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2023 in the presence of Shri. Darshan H.V, IAS.