In a momentous achievement for Indian medical research, Professor Vishali Gupta from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh has scripted history by becoming the first India-trained and India-based clinician to receive the prestigious International Uveitis Study Group's Gold Medal.
This distinguished honor, recognized as one of the highest international accolades in the field of ocular inflammation, is awarded only once every four years through a rigorous global voting process. Professor Gupta will be formally presented with the medal during the IUSG meeting scheduled for July 2026 in Tübingen, Germany.
A Triumph for 'Made in India' Medical Research
For Professor Gupta, this recognition holds profound significance as it validates the quality and global impact of medical research conducted entirely within India. In an exclusive conversation, she emphasized that her entire professional journey—from training to pioneering research—has been rooted in the country.
"Everything I have done, every bit of my training and research, has been here," she stated. "Many people feel they need foreign training to be recognised. For me, being acknowledged for work done in India is the most meaningful part of this honour."
The Journey from Jammu to Global Recognition
Professor Gupta's path to this international acclaim began in Jammu, where she was born and raised. She completed her MBBS from Jammu Medical College before specializing in ophthalmology and eventually focusing on the complex sub-specialty of uveitis—a field involving inflammation inside the eye.
She credits her family's unwavering support as the cornerstone of her success. "My parents, my in-laws, my husband Dr Rajesh Gupta who heads GI surgery, and my daughter who is now a physician in the United States have stood by me at every step," she shared gratefully.
Her professional direction was significantly influenced by her mentor, Prof. Amod Gupta, who guided her into the challenging domain of uveitis. She describes it as a field demanding meticulous clinical judgment and coordination across multiple medical disciplines.
"He opened the field for me," she recalled. "Uveitis is difficult because one wrong step can cost a patient their sight, and you need to think across infections, immunity and even hidden cancers."
Groundbreaking Contributions That Changed Global Protocols
Among Professor Gupta's most significant contributions is her revolutionary work on tuberculosis of the eye, which fundamentally altered global understanding and treatment protocols.
She recalled how patients with serpiginous choroiditis were traditionally treated worldwide as autoimmune cases with aggressive immunosuppression. However, her team observed a crucial pattern that others had missed.
"We noticed that our patients were repeatedly testing positive for TB," she explained. "When we added anti-TB treatment, more than 80 per cent improved. That changed everything."
This critical observation led her group to identify and name a distinct condition now internationally recognized as TB serpiginous-like choroiditis. Her pioneering work continued as she convened the Collaborative Ocular TB Study, a global network comprising 25 international centers that generated crucial clinical evidence demonstrating how tuberculosis affects the eye and establishing clear guidelines for treatment.
Another major contribution has been her leadership of the Multimodal Imaging in Uveitis Project, a worldwide initiative promoting rational and cost-effective use of diagnostic imaging.
"Doctors everywhere are ordering more and more imaging without logic," she noted. "It increases the patient's burden and makes people believe you cannot treat without expensive machines."
Her group addressed this concern by publishing a series of comprehensive guidelines in the American Journal of Ophthalmology that established minimal imaging requirements and emphasized that imaging should complement, not replace, clinical judgment.
Against All Odds: Research Without External Funding
Remarkably, much of Professor Gupta's influential global work, including the ocular TB consortium and a clinical decision support application used by physicians worldwide, was accomplished without external research funding.
"Most of our big studies had zero funding," she revealed. "Colleagues from Singapore, Stanford and PGIMER worked with students and volunteers. We kept going because our patients and our questions kept us going."
For aspiring young researchers in India and beyond, Professor Gupta offers invaluable advice based on her extraordinary journey.
"Be honest with your questions and stay with them," she counseled. "Make your work visible. Travel, speak, present. You do not have to follow what is already being done in the West. Come up with something nobody has thought of. If you believe in an idea, persist."
Her historic achievement serves as powerful inspiration, demonstrating that world-class medical research can originate from within India's healthcare system, challenging the conventional narrative that international training is essential for global recognition.
