Rising Star Winners
Meet the experts guiding the scientific programme of APBC 2026.
Conference Chair
Vishwanath Upadhyay
Affiliation
Jamia Hamdard Institute of Molecular Medicine, New Delhi
Session
RISING STARS SESSION – Saturday 14 November 2026 08:30 – 09:15
A short bio sketch
Vishwanath Upadhyay is a Doctoral Scholar in Molecular Medicine at the Jamia Hamdard Institute of Molecular Medicine, New Delhi, India. His research focuses on non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and tuberculosis (TB) diagnostics, epidemiology, and health economics. He has served as project coordinator and lead researcher for large-scale, ICMR-funded multicenter clinical studies evaluating NTM diagnostic algorithms, species distribution, and novel point-of-care imaging systems. A recipient of multiple American Thoracic Society (ATS) Student Scholar awards, his work is widely published in high-impact journals, including The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia.
Abstract title
Cost-effective Diagnostic Algorithms for Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease in High Tuberculosis-Burden Settings: A Multicentric Prospective Study from India
Abstract summary
- Evaluated diagnostic performance, turnaround time, operational costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) of different NTM diagnostic workflows in high TB-burden settings.
- Conducted a prospective multicentric study across 6 tertiary-care hospitals and TB centers in India (Jan 2021–Apr 2025) screening 71,143 presumptive TB patients.
- Identified 230 confirmed NTM cases (0.32% prevalence), with 83.0% pulmonary and 17.0% extrapulmonary NTM disease.
- Compared tiered workflows involving smear microscopy, rapid molecular assays, MGIT culture, MPT64 antigen testing, Line Probe Assay (LPA), and Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS).
Yimin Zhu
Affiliation
PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne | Melbourne Research Scholarship Recipient
Session
RISING STARS SESSION – Saturday 14 November 2026 08:30 – 09:15
A short bio sketch
Yimin Zhu is a PhD candidate supported by the Melbourne Research Scholarship at the University of Melbourne. She completed an Honours degree with a focus on investigating the impact of cystic fibrosis drugs on fetal ocular development using a rat model. She subsequently commenced her PhD under the supervision of A/Prof Elena Schneider-Futschik and A/Prof Laura Edgington-Mitchell in 2024. Her current PhD research focuses on using in vitro and in vivo models and applying enrichment-free N-terminomics to understand DPP1-regulated proteolytic pathways and signalling networks.
Abstract title
Bronchoscopic lavage with different saline volumes for treating bronchiectasis involving multiple lobes: A single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial
Abstract summary
DPP1 inhibitors are being investigated for their potential to modulate neutrophil-driven inflammation, however the broader effects of DPP1 inhibition as well as its substrates are poorly understood. This project explores how DPP1 inhibition using brensocatib affects protease activity, protein abundance, and proteolytic processing in HL-60 promyelocytic cells. Using activity-based probes and enrichment-free N-terminomics approach, we characterise the impact of the DPP1 inhibition at different timepoints and identify proteolytic events affected by DPP1 activity.