Her research project will develop antivenom antibodies to neutralize venom from snakes prevalent in Nepal. Snakebite has remained a neglected tropical disease in many developing countries. Snake bites mainly affect women, children and farmers with lower socio-economic status in rural Nepal. Antivenom is the most promising antidote to snake venom. As Nepal relies exclusively on imported antivenom primarily from India, the treatment is expensive and always in short supply. Variation found in the protein composition of venom depending on the habitat of snakes suggests that the Indian antivenom is probably not the optimal antidote for venoms from Nepalese snakes. Furthermore, no antivenom is available to treat pit viper envenoming in Nepal. This project will develop antivenom specific to snakes from Nepal in order to address the major issues of efficacy, cost and supply in the treatment of snakebite in Nepal. It will produce antivenom by immunizing goats with snake venoms to generate antibodies, and will partner with Nepalese company Shikhar Biotech to produce the polyclonal goat antivenom from these antibodies. It will also develop an in vitro snake venom detection kit that will assist in selection of the appropriate antivenom therapy.