Quarterly Newsletter April 2021 Edition

APRIL 2021 | VOL. 5 PREVENT NEWSLETTER Quarterly Newsletter of the PREVENT Study Prevention of Epilepsy by reducing Neonatal Encephalopathy (PREVENT) is the world's largest study on newborns with brain injuries. Led by Prof Sudhin Thayyil at Imperial College London in collaboration with experts and institutions from around the world, we aim to prevent epilepsy caused by neonatal encephalopathy through the implementation of a pragmatic intrapartum care bundle in India. To learn more, visit us at our website Follow us on Twitter

April 2021, Vol. 5 20,000 Mothers Recruited! We are delighted to have achieved yet another important milestone in our journey. Our team has successfully recruited 20,000 mothers to the PREVENT study from our sites in Bangalore, Calicut and Hubli. We are extremely grateful to each and everyone who has been part of our journey so far. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our collaborators and NIHR who have been instrumental in supporting us and in the achievement of this milestone. We are now only 8 months away from our first 18-month follow-up of one of our first babies recruited to the study. Given below are some of the moments we captured from the three study centres where our team is busy at work. Follow-up sessions undoubtedly are the most exciting part of our days! 2 PREVENT Quarterly Newsletter

April 2021, Vol. 5 Study So Far Until 31 April 2021 Total Mothers Recruited = 21,951 Total Neonates Recruited = 395 Total 3-Month Follow-up Completed = 131 Total 6-Month Follow-up Completed = 56 3 PREVENT Quarterly Newsletter

April 2021, Vol. 5 Training Sessions Conducted Dr Pallavi Gangatkar, our Clinical Research Fellow in Obstetrics visited all the study sites in the month of March to reorient the respective clinical team, including the new postgraduates on the PREVENT study. In these sessions, the entire OBG team, including nurses and residents were briefed about the PREVENT study, the protocol followed and the progress so far. We discussed the number of recruitments, the number of babies with neonatal encephalopathy and some major findings from our interim analysis. These meetings will be followed by further training on the care bundle. 4 PREVENT Quarterly Newsletter

April 2021, Vol. 5 Training by Senior Advisors We are extremely grateful to Prof S Arulkumaran, Prof Tina Lavender and Dr Harshad Sanghvi for their valuable time to discuss about intelligent intermittent fetal heart rate monitoring, birth companionship and the management of labour for a positive childbirth experience based on the WHO intrapartum care guide. These sessions were held in the month of April 2021. The sessions provided an opportunity for the clinical teams at our study sites to learn more about the PREVENT care bundle components. It was also a great opportunity to interact directly with the world leaders in the area of maternal and newborn health. 5 PREVENT Quarterly Newsletter

April 2021, Vol. 5 From our Early Career Researchers In this issue we share the career journeys of Dr Vaisakh Krishnan, Dr Vijay Kumar, and Ms Pallavi Muraleedharan, who are about to kickstart their PhD journeys. Read their full stories here. Dr Vaisakh Krishnan PA Neonatal Neurology Clinical Research Fellow, PREVENT Calicut I am a paediatrician and underwent my undergraduate (MBBS) and postgraduate (MD) training at the prestigious Calicut Medical College. I also hold a DNB in paediatrics. It is after I joined the PREVENT study, that I got inspired to pursue a PhD and kickstart an academic career. Through my doctoral project, I aim to explore the timing of perinatal brain injury in low resource settings with the help of EEG and advanced magnetic biomarkers. My long term goal is to be a neonatologist with a robust academic background. Dr Vijay Kumar K Neonatal Neurology Clinical Research Fellow, PREVENT Bangalore I am a neonatologist and will be starting my research career on erythropoietin and its role as a neuroprotectant after neonatal encephalopathy. For my PhD, I will be focusing on the specific changes in gene expression in babies with neonatal encephalopathy. Serial gene expression will also give insights into the precise understanding of the neuroprotective mechanism of erythropoietin. My long-term goal is to excel in research methodology and gain knowledge in conducting research trials that would impact the well-being of newborns. Ms Pallavi Muraleedharan Project Manager, PREVENT Bangalore I am a registered nurse with a postgraduate degree in public health administration. For my PhD, I will be exploring the health systems factors that are associated with birth- related brain injury in India using a mixed-methods approach. My long-term goal is to teach and research in the area of maternal and neonatal health in India and other low- and middle-income countries. 7 PREVENT Quarterly Newsletter

April 2021, Vol. 5 New Team Members! Our team is growing and we are very excited to welcome the following new members to the team! Ms Christine Geete Ms Stella Bharathi Mrs Sreerenjini VV Neonatal Neurology Research Nurse OBG Research Nurse OBG Research Nurse Hubli Hubli Calicut Mrs Meenu Benny Mrs Suma SV Ms Bhavya KR OBG Research Nurse Neonatal Neurology Research Nurse OBG Research Nurse Calicut Bangalore Bangalore 8 PREVENT Quarterly Newsletter

April 2021, Vol. 5 At the Next Quarter The next quarter (May - July 2021) will be an intense period wherein we will continue to work on our preparations for the second year of our study where the care bundle implementation will take place. We are fast approaching our target of 30,000 recruitments during these months, which will mark the completion of our first year of baseline data collection. Recruitment of new staff for the care bundle implementation across the centres is underway. Teaching modules are being prepared for the training of the new research staff. Careful planning of each care bundle implementation is ongoing along with periodic discussions with the team, site principal/co-principal investigators and other collaborators. Concurrent with these tasks, we are also progressing rapidly with the preparation of educational materials such as videos and posters pertaining to epilepsy and respectful maternity care. 9 PREVENT Quarterly Newsletter

Creative Corner By PREVENT Calicut 10 PREVENT Quarterly Newsletter