Its a proud moment for THSTI as Dr. Tarun Kumar Sharma was awarded the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) medal for young scientist 2019. "The INSA Young Scientists Award, considered to be the highest recognition of promise, creativity and excellence in a young scientist, is made annually to those distinguished for these attributes as evidenced by their research work carried out in India. Till 2018, 819 young scientists have been thus recognized." - says the INSA India website. Dr Sharma has been awarded the medal in recognition of his "expertise in aptamer-based diagnostics and significant contributions in the field of TB diagnostics." The announcement notes that these tests appear to perform better than the existing nucleic acid amplification tests and antibody-based ELISA are in the process of commercialization. Dr. Sharma's is also involved in the process of developing aptamer-based assay for detection of snake venom.

The INSA Young Scientist Medal award carries a bronze medal, certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/-.