Roche Pharma India Announces 3rd Edition LEAP Scholarship Recipients

Roche Pharma India announced the winners of the third edition of Leading Engagements to Advance Patient Care (LEAP) program.

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: 

• Dr. 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 

• Dr. 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 

• Dr. 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 

• Dr. 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  

• Dr. Krishna Khushiram Ratanchandani from Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru, whose automated CARG risk assessment approach aimed at enabling safer and personalized cancer care for older adults, stood out for its potential to transform cancer care with AI 

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Each winner was awarded a scholarship of INR 3 lakh, a certificate, and a medal for their contributions to advancing academic excellence in oncology. This year’s felicitation event was graced by deans of medical colleges and renowned oncologists, creating a highly engaging experience. 

LEAP is a unique program 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.

LEAP also creates a space for students to network, collaborate, and develop practical solutions to real-world challenges in oncology and cancer care. Through this program, Roche Pharma India aims to inspire students to drive positive changes in the world of cancer care.   

“Addressing India's growing cancer burden requires bridging the critical gap in skilled oncology resources beyond metro cities and fostering experts who can develop new, unique solutions to meet this demand. LEAP provides young oncologists with the opportunity to reimagine how cancer care can be delivered across India. By nurturing the next generation of clinical leaders, we hope to strengthen an ecosystem that can make cancer care more accessible and patient centric to deliver better outcomes,” said Roche Pharma India CEO & Managing Director, Rajwinder Mehdwan  

Entries were evaluated by a distinguished jury comprising Dr. Amit Rauthan, Head of Department (HOD) & Consultant, Medical Oncology, Manipal Hospital; Dr. Surinder Kher, Industry Expert and Consultant, Aster Hospitals; Dr. Geeta Kadayaprath, Senior Consultant, Breast Surgical Oncology and Oncoplastic Surgery Lead, Apollo Women’s Cancer Centre, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals; and Dr. Aju Mathew, Consultant, Ernakulam Medical Centre, with assessments centered on originality, practicality, strategic insight, and potential to improve patient outcomes.  

“LEAP gave me an opportunity to look more closely at a challenge we often see in cancer care and think about how we can better support patients at risk of interrupting treatment. Developing this idea and receiving perspectives from experienced oncologists has been a valuable learning experience. This recognition encourages me to take the idea further and explore how it can help more patients stay on course with their treatment,” said Dr. Himaprathyusha Parupalli, LEAP 2025-26 winner from MNJIORCC Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad. 

Dr. Amit Rauthan, HOD & Consultant, Medical Oncology, Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru, said, “LEAP has brought fresh thinking into the oncology ecosystem by encouraging young doctors to look beyond and explore ideas that have potential to create a much wider impact. It was heartening to see the breadth of ideas this year, including perspectives that we, as experienced clinicians, may not have considered ourselves. I hope every participant continues to build on their ideas, as they have the potential to make a meaningful difference to cancer care.” 

Dr. Geeta Kadayaprath, Senior Consultant, Breast Surgical Oncology and Oncoplastic Surgery Lead, Apollo Women’s Cancer Centre, Delhi, said, “I really enjoyed being part of LEAP and was truly impressed by the ideas the students brought forward. What stood out was their ability to think beyond their immediate clinical settings and develop solutions relevant to a much larger population. As doctors, our responsibility extends beyond treatment to areas such as prevention and early detection, and it was encouraging to see students address these challenges in thoughtful ways. Programs like LEAP are important because they give young doctors the opportunity to turn their ideas into action.”  

Reflecting on his experience with LEAP, Dr. Surinder Kher, Consultant, Aster Hospitals, Bengaluru said, “Interacting with the participants gave us an opportunity to understand the thinking behind their ideas and how they approached challenges within the healthcare system. It was encouraging to see students use LEAP as a platform to learn, build on their ideas and explore how they could work in a real-world setting. I hope more oncology students participate in the program, continue developing promising ideas and turn them into practice.” 

“Tackling cancer demands our full attention and abundant creativity. LEAP gives young oncologists the space to innovate, access expert feedback and find support to take promising ideas forward. Having been part of the jury, I was inspired by the caliber of ideas we saw. While only a few participants receive the top recognition, the real measure of LEAP’s success is seeing young doctors continue to pursue these ideas and turn them into meaningful projects early in their careers,” said Dr. Aju Mathew, Consultant, Ernakulam Medical Centre, Kochi.  

About Roche Products (India) Pvt. Ltd. 

Roche Products (India) Private Limited was incorporated in 1994 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Roche Group, headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Roche is the world’s largest biotech company, with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, immunology, infectious diseases, ophthalmology, and diseases of the central nervous system.

A leader in oncology treatment in India; apart from cancer, Roche has innovative medicines in other therapy areas too: transplantation, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and chronic kidney disease (CKD)-related anaemia.