This tapeworm is responsible for both intestinal infections and the more severe brain infection that leads to seizures. Their research, conducted in collaboration with scientists from Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Punjab and the CSIR-Institute for Himalayan Bioresource Technology in Himachal Pradesh, presents a novel, faster, and more effective approach to producing vaccines for challenging infectious diseases, say IIT Mandi researchers.

It contributes to 30% of epilepsy cases in developing nations, rising to 45%-50% in areas with poor hygiene and free-roaming pigs. In North India, brain infection prevalence is alarmingly high at 48.3%.

WHO’s “2030 Roadmap of Priority Neglected Tropical Diseases” aims to combat T. solium and similar infections affecting 1.5 billion people globally, say IIT Mandi researchers.

Common approach

While the mass administration of deworming drugs such as Albendazole and Praziquantel has been a common approach, it has encountered challenges, including reduced public participation and an increased risk of drug resistance.

As a result, this method has not achieved the desired results, say IIT Mandi researchers.

Vaccines

Traditionally, tapeworm vaccines have been developed using products or antigens derived from tapeworm eggs or larvae. However, these methods are not always reliable and can be time-consuming, say IIT Mandi researchers.

Injecting the entire tapeworm or parts of the tape worm to kick start the body’s immune system is not a safe or practical approach. A better and safer method is to inject only specific protein fragments from the tapeworm into the human.

This approach minimizes side effects and prevents the tapeworm from developing resistance to the vaccine, say IIT Mandi researchers.

Identification

The identification of the right protein fragment with strong vaccination potential is a painstaking and time-consuming process. A more innovative and efficient approach is needed to expedite progress in tapeworm vaccine development and the IIT Mandi researchers used a combination of protein studies and bio-informatics to develop a method of selection.

Then, they analyzed these antigens using immune-informatics tools to find safe and effective protein fragments. They combined these fragments to create a multi-part vaccine, taking into account factors such as size, stability, and compatibility with the immune system, said Dr Amit who led IIT Mandi researchers.

Immune receptors

IIT Mandi researchers discovered that the vaccine interacted effectively with immune receptors and should stimulate the body’s defense system efficiently.

This research establishes a foundation for developing vaccines against neglected tropical diseases caused by similar parasites in the future, say IIT Mandi researchers.

Further animal and clinical studies are needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this promising vaccine candidate.

This concentrated effort may provide a new tool for healthcare workers to combat neurocysticercosis and could serve as a model for addressing other neglected tropical diseases.

The details of this work have been published in the USA’s Journal of Cellular Biochemistry and co-authored by Dr. Rimanpreet Kaur, Prof. Gagandeep Singh, Dr. Naina Arora, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Mr. Suraj S. Rawat, and Dr. Amit Prasad. The paper may be accessed at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jcb.30467.

The objective of FACE admission is to reward and encourage students who have achieved excellence in fine arts and culture.

Of the two seats in each program, one seat will be female-only, and the other will be gender-neutral.

Director of IIT Madras

Speaking at a press conference at the institution, Director of IIT Madras Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, IIT Madras is embarking on a new journey to admit students to her much-coveted undergraduate programs in recognition of their excellence in fine arts and culture.

The candidates are required to apply through the IITM-FACE admission portal (https://jeeadv.iitm.ac.in/face) for consideration for admission under fine arts and culture excellence to IIT Madras, he said.

Portal

The admission process through FACE would not be through the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) portal but on a separate portal (https://jeeadv.iitm.ac.in/face) maintained by IIT Madras where other IITs interested in offering seats through FACE may also participate.

For the academic year 2025-2026, only IIT Madras is offering seats through Fine Arts and Culture Excellence admission.

IIT Madras-FACE

The IITM-FACE portal is to be used exclusively for admission to various academic programs at IIT Madras under FACE admission only.

The candidates are required to apply separately on JoSAA portal for the academic programs at IIT Madras and/or other IITs where the seats are offered through JoSAA.

Ø The candidate should be an Indian National (by birth or naturalization) or OCI/PIO candidate who has chosen to be treated at par with Indian Nationals at the time of JEE (Advanced) 2025 registration.

Ø The candidate should have qualified in JEE (Advanced) 2025 and have obtained a rank in the Common Rank List (CRL) or category-wise rank list in JEE (Advanced) 2025. The position in the rank list may be in any of the categories for which rank lists are prepared, thereby ensuring that the benefits of reservations are not lost and the requisite academic requirement is not diluted.

Ø The candidate should have obtained the minimum required marks in Class XII as per the eligibility criteria for IITs (Clause 26 of the Information Brochure (IB), JEE (Advanced) 2025).

Ø Candidates should have received recognition in at least one of the select categories in recognition of their excellence in fine arts and cultural activities.

Application, Seat Allotment Process

The candidate should be ready with all the necessary documents before starting their application on the following portal – https://jeeadv.iitm.ac.in/face.

A score will be assigned to each candidate based on their fine arts and culture excellence as per the category mentioned in Table.

A separate FACE Rank List (FRL) will be prepared based on the total score obtained by the candidates based on their performance in various fine arts and culture events/awards/scholarships.

The list of eligible awards/scholarships/recognitions mentioned in Appendix – A will only be considered for the preparation of FRL.

The seat allotment will be, done in multiple rounds, based only on the FACE Rank List (FRL). Mere presence in the FRL does not guarantee admission, say sources from IIT Madras.

After a seat is allotted to a candidate in any round, the candidate is given the option to ‘Accept’ or ‘Reject’ the allotted seat and pay the seat acceptances fee, before a specified deadline for the the same.

If the candidate rejects the seat, he or she will be removed from the FACE seat allotment process permanently, say sources from IIT Madras.

If the candidate accepts the seat, they should (1) pay the Seat Acceptance Fee before the deadline specified and (2) choose one of the two options – ‘Freeze’ or ‘Slide’ similar to the case of the JoSAA admission process.

In addition, they should submit proof of withdrawal/exit from JoSAA 2025.