CSIR-CDRI scientist bags Haryana Yuva Vigyan Ratna Award-2018

New Delhi: The CSIR-CDRI Scientist, Dr Rajender Singh was awarded Haryana Yuva Vigyan Ratna Award for the year 2018 for his outstanding contribution to the understanding of DNA methylation based markers that could differentiate fertile from infertile sperm. Governor of Haryana, Satyadev Narayan Arya, conferred the award upon him.

Work will be useful for screening of sperm for assisted reproduction in infertility clinics and will help childless couples

In his recently published study in Human Reproduction (an Oxford University Press Journal), Dr. Singh’s group undertook genome-wide methylation analysis for understanding of the difference in DNA methylation and identified epigenome-based markers that could differentiate fertile from infertile sperm. This is a remarkable study and would help in the identification of DNA markers that can be used for screening sperm for assisted reproduction in infertility clinics.

His research will also helpful in minimize the risk of genetic disorders developed during IVF

Assisted reproduction (such as IVF, ICSI) provides a promising parenthood option to infertile couples, it also confers the risk of several developmental diseases. The children born through IVF and ICSI are 10 times more likely to develop genetic disorders including Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, Angelman syndrome, retinoblastoma, autism, intellectual disorders, cardiovascular disorders and the list is growing. The identification of sperm epigenome based markers would ultimately help in sperm and embryo screening in IVF procedures in order to minimize the risk of developmental disorders.