Roche Pharma India awards Rs 15 L to winners of 3rd Edition of LEAP Scholarship Programme

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Roche Pharma India has announced the winners of the third edition of Leading Engagements to Advance Patient Care (LEAP) programme. The felicitation ceremony celebrated five outstanding oncology students, whose solutions addressed challenges in the field of cancer care. 

The third edition of LEAP invited all streams of final-year oncology students enrolled in super-specialty courses such as DM/DNB/MCh to provide solutions across clinical care, patient care, and other areas such as innovation and access.

This edition attracted participation from 60+ leading medical colleges and hospitals nationwide, with 355 innovative solutions being submitted. The five winners from this year include:

• Himaprathyusha Parupalli from MNJIORCC Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, whose solution focused on using a rapid Default Risk Score to identify patients at risk of treatment interruption and enable targeted navigation to improve chemotherapy adherence and patient outcomes, earning jury recognition for its patient-centric approach to improving compliance
• Rajdeep Bose from Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, proposed integrating risk-based cancer screening with community-based support interventions and streamlined referrals to improve uptake and enable earlier, equitable cancer detection, and was lauded for his structured, evidence-driven approach for cancer care
• Reshma Abraham from Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru, whose multilingual, AI-enabled cancer navigation platform aimed to bridge rural-urban care gaps, earning recognition for bringing compassion and ethics to cancer management
• Shah Abhinav Sanjiv from Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, who proposed integrating clinical milestones, MDT decision-making and AI-assisted documentation into hospital systems, to enable equity and accessibility in cancer treatment
• Krishna Khushiram Ratanchandani from Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, awhose automated CARG risk assessment approach aimed at enabling safer and personalised cancer care for older adults, stood out for its potential to transform cancer care with AI

Each winner was awarded a scholarship of Rs 3 lakh, a certificate, and medal for their contributions to advancing academic excellence in oncology.

LEAP is a unique programme empowering final-year DM/DNB/MCh oncology students in India with a platform for learning, collaboration, and innovation in oncology care. The program is designed to foster innovative thinking and creativity in students, as they prepare to step into clinical practice. Through this programme, Roche Pharma India aims to inspire students to drive positive changes in the world of cancer care.