Bhonde said, “In the past 8 years, RML made tremendous progress in human stem cell research from bench to bedside. This lab was established in 2018 and inaugurated by eminent scientist Raghunath Mashelkar.”The lab established a bank of human dental pulp stem cells, gingival stem cells and umbilical cord stem cells for research purposes and preclinical studies in animal models of diabetes, oral submucous fibrosis, ulcerative colitis, burn wound healing, among others.“Through this project, our aim is to develop a human stem cell secretion capsule which can be taken orally to cure ulcerative colitis. It will go on for 3 years after the grant is received. Normally, stem cell therapy is an intravenous or intramuscular injection, but the beauty of our product is that it will be an oral capsule,” added Bhonde.The two scientists published 60 papers in journals of repute in the last 6 years. They also received several extramural grants from various departments of the Union ministries for using the human stem cell platform for screening Ayurvedic and homeopathy medicines.“The current ICMR grant of Rs 56 lakh was announced on Jan 1, 2026. It will be a continuous grant until product development. The selection was based on the innovative and novel concept for treating unmet medical needs,” added Kharat. DY Patil University is the only institute in Pune to receive this grant.
