Staff
pratimashpandey [at] gmail [dot] com
A native of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh (HP), Pratima obtained her B.Sc from St. Bede's College, HP. She then obtained a master's degree in Biotechnology from HP University, Shimla. Between 1999 and 2004 she worked on her Ph.D. at Professor Alok K. Mondal's laboratory at the Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), Chandigarh. After completing her Ph.D., Pratima joined Dr. Lynn Boyd's laboratory at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL as a Post-doctoral fellow in 2005. In 2009, Pratima went on to pursue her research in Dr. Harbinder Dhillon's laboratory as a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Delaware State University, Delaware, DE. Subsequently, in 2012, Pratima joined IISER, Mohali.
Pratima initially worked on the role of RIG-3 in neurons, this work was published as two papers in Genetics. She then went on to study the non-cononical functions of neurotransmitter receptors in C. elegans in our lab. Her work has been publishes in PLoS Genetics and eNeuro.
Pratima was a recipient of the DBT- Bio-CARe grant and the DST-WOSa fellowship grant.
Currently Pratima is a Senior Instructional Manager at Plaksha University, Mohali.
yogeshdahiya [at] protonmail [dot] com
A native of Haryana, Yogesh obtained his B.Sc. from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana. He then completed his Master's degree in Biochemistry from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi and joined Professor Ajit Sodhi's laboratory at the School of Biotechnology, BHU to do his Ph.D. Yogesh recieved two CSIR fellowships — Junior Research Fellowship (2007—2009) and Senior Research Fellowship (2009—2012) during the course of his PhD.
Yogesh was a recipient of the DBT post-doctoral fellowship from 2012-2014 and went on to receive a Wellcome — DBT Early Career Fellowship (2014-2018).
Yogesh was interested in understanding aspects of learning and memory in C. elegans. During the course of his postdoc, Yogesh developed a robust assay to study learning and memory in C. elegans and has used this assay to understand the isoform specific role of CREB1 in memory formation. This work was published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Yogesh is interested in science outreach and is currently part of the Outreach Cell at IISER Mohali where he conducts outreach programs for students and teachers.
pallavi31sharma [at] gmail [dot] com
A native of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, Pallavi obtained her undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from KMV College Jalandhar, Punjab. She then completed her Master's degree in Biotechnology from National Centre for Human Genome Studies and Research (NCHGSR), Chandigarh (Punjab University).
Pallavi was the recipient of an ICMR — Junior Research Fellowship (2012) and Senior Research Fellowship (2014).
Pallavi worked on understanding the role of claudins at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction (NMJ). More specifically, she went on to characterise the role of HPO-30 at the NMJ. Her work was published as a paper in The Journal of Neuroscience. Pallavi graduated from our lab at IISER Mohali in July 2018 and joined as a postdoc at CNS, IISc in October, 2020. She continued as a postdoc in our lab for about a year and a half in our lab in IISc.
vanditabhat [at] gmail [dot] com
Vandita obtained her MS and PhD degrees from Dr. Zachary T. Campbell's laboratory University of Texas at Dallas. Her graduate research was centred around post-transcriptional regulation of RNA by protein complexes and associated biological consequences in the context of Caenorhabditis elegans germline stem cell regulation. Vandita's PhD work was published as two papers in eLife.
Vandita joined the Babu lab, IISc, Bangalore in 2021 as a Post-doctoral researcher. She was a recipient of the IISc, Institute of Eminence (IoE) Postdoctoral Fellow. In our lab Vandita was interested in mechanisms controlling RNA expression in neurons, which may play a pivotal role in memory formation.
Vandita is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Guang Hu's laboratory at NIH.
ambeydwivedi [at] gmail [dot] com
Ambey is a native of the Cultural Capital of India, Banaras (Kashi), Uttar Pradesh. He completed his undergraduate education at the Banaras Hindu University, with an honours in Chemistry. After his Undergraduate degree, he went on to do his Masters in Biotechnology from IIT, Bombay (Mumbai). Ambey is GATE and CSIR-UGC NET qualified. Ambey spent a year in our lab getting hand-on experience in Neurobiology before starting his PhD.
Ambey is currently pursuing his PhD at CDFD, Hyderabad.
sijusurendrangod [at] gmail [dot] com
Siju is from Kerala,the place is known as “God’s own country". He graduated in zoology from St thomas college, Mahatma Gandhi University. Siju then graduated with a MSc in Zoology from St Thomas college, Mahatma Gandhi University. He has also obtained a B.Ed in natural sciences from TITUS II Teachers College, Mahatma Gandhi University.
Siju cleared the UGC NET (JRF) in 2016, and CSIR – NET LS in 2019.
Siju was a Senior Research Fellow (SRF) in our laboratory and is working with Umer on tracking C. elegans to study it's locomotory behaviours.
Siju is currently pursuing his PhD at University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
jaganj24398 [at] gmail [dot] com
Jagan pursued his BTech in Biotechnology from Sapthagiri College of Engineering, Bangalore. He then graduated with a Master's in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Jagan had qualifies the GATE examination in Biotechnology and was working as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in our laboratory. Jagan was working with Kamal Koshore, Vandita and Spatika to understand the role of mRNA binding proteins in regulating C. elegans behaviours.
Jagan is currently pursuing his PhD at Institut Pasteur.
Ankit made media and poured plates to help with regular lab functioning. He also helped with experiments and kept the lab clean and tidy. Ankit worked in our lab at IISER Mohali from 2012- 2019.
Ananda made media and poured plates to help with regular lab functioning in our lab at CNS, IISc. Anandha was part of our lab from 2020 till 2021.
Doctoral Students
anuradha.mhg.bhu13 [at] gmail [dot] com
Anuradha is a native of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. She graduated in Biotechnology from CSJM, Kanpur University. She obtained her Masters degree in Molecular and Human Gentics from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. Anuradha joined IISER Mohali in 2016.
Anuradha was a recipient of the UGC - Junior Research Fellowship (2015). She studied the relationship between ethanol and dopamine during her PhD. This work was recently published in PLoS Genetics.
Anuradha graduated in May 2021 and is currently working at TKDL-CSIR, Delhi in their patent division.
kadamny [at] gmail [dot] com
Nagesh is a native of Nanded, Maharashtra. He completed his undergraduate education at the N. E. S. Science College Nanded, receiving his degree in biotechnology from Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University. He then went on to do his Master's degree in Biotechnology at the School of Life Sciences, Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University, Nanded. Nagesh joined IISER Mohali in 2013.
Nagesh was a recipient of the UGC — Junior Research Fellowship (2013) and Senior Research Fellowship (2015).
During the course of his PhD, Nagesh worked in collaboration with Thomas Pucadyil's lab to understand the function of EHD1. He was a contributor in a paper from the Pucadyil lab that was published in Nature Communication. Nagesh has also characterised the function of a G-protein coupled receptor, SRX-97, in C. elegans chemotaxis. This work has been recently published in eNeuro.
Nagesh graduated in December 2019 and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Institut Curie, France, after a short stint at CSIR-IMTECH.
ashwani.forensic [at] gmail [dot] com
A native of Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, Ashwani obtained his undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from DAV College Jalandhar, Punjab. He then completed his Master's degree in Biotechnology from DAV College, Chandigarh (Panjab University).
Ashwani was a recipient of ICMR — Junior Research Fellowship (2012) and Senior Research Fellowship (2014).
Ashwani was interested in studying the neural circuitry involved in movement in C. elegans. More specifically he was interested in understanding how worms give rise to and stop reversals. Ashwani's thesis work has been published as two papers in The Journal of Neuroscience (with Saurabh Thapliyal) and Genetics (with Pratima Pandey).
Ashwani Graduated in January 2019 and is currently leading a state government forensics laboratory in Himachal Pradesh.
tveena87 [at] gmail [dot] com
Vina hails from the "Pink City" — Jaipur, Rajasthan. She holds a Bachelor of Sciences degree in biotechnology from the Rajasthan University, Jaipur. She then obtained her master's degree in biotechnology from the University of North Bengal, Darjeeling. Vina has previously worked in other labs, including at the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology. Vina was a recipient of the CSIR — Junior Research Fellowship (2014).
Vina was interested in understanding the function of claudins at the C. elegans NMJ. Her doctoral work was published in Cell Reports. Vina graduated with a PhD in November 2018 and is currently pursuing her postdoc in Dr. Ashley Frakes's at NIH.
While away from the research bench Vina spends her time reading or playing badminton or chess.
shrutithapliyal87 [at] gmail [dot] com
A native of Uttaranchal, Shruti grew up in Delhi. She completed her undergraduate degree in botany from Miranda House, University of Delhi. She went on to do her Masters in Biotechnology at Banasthali University, Rajasthan. Shruti was a recipient of the CSIR — Junior Research Fellowship (2011) and Senior Research Fellowship (2013).
Shruti's work in the Babu Lab involved researching the role of CASY-1 at the synapse. Her doctoral work was published as two stories in PLoS Genetics and Genetics.
Shruti graduated with a PhD in March 2018 and is currently pursuing a postdoctoral position in Professor Lu Chen's laboratory at Stanford University.
Undergraduate/Graduate Students
nisha18 [at] iiserbpr [dot] ac [dot] in
haripn [at] iisc [dot] ac [dot] in
Hari is from the city of Kochi, in Kerala, and is an undergraduate currently pursuing a BS by research at the Indian Institute of Science. An entrant to IISc through the 2017 KVPY-SX Fellowship, he majored in Biology. He joined the lab in January 2020. His interests have been in cellular neuroscience, synthetic biology and microscopy.
Hari worked with Pallavi to understand the function and interacting partners of the claudin-like molecules, HPO-30. Currently, Hari is pursuing his PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour in Germany.
spa.jayaram [at] gmail [dot] com
Spatika was a student at IISER Mohali, pursuing a BS-MS dual degree in biology. Originally from Bangalore, she is a recipient of the DST-INSPIRE Fellowship, and the GE STAR Scholarship from the Institute of International Education and the General Electric Foundation. Her interests revolve around behavioral neuroscience. She was working with Vandita to understand the role of mRNA binding proteins in regulating C. elegans behaviours. Aside from science, she enjoys studying English literature, contemporary writing and is a Carnatic vocalist. Spatika is currently pursuing her MSc in Neuroscience from the Department of Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford, UK. She is a recipient of the Felix Scholarship that is funding her MSc education in the UK.
satabdim [at] iisc [dot] ac [dot] in
Satabdi is from Bankura, West Bengal and is pursuing a BS/MS by research degree at IISc. Satabdi is a 2016 KVPY-SA scholar, majoring in Biology. They joined the lab in July 2021 and are interested in molecular neuroscience and evolutionary biology. They were studying the expression of cell adhesion molecules in primary neuronal cultures with Tripti.
Apart from science, Satabdi is interested in studying politics and participating in campaigns to sensitise people about queer and other minority communities. They also love reading fiction, performing plays, and writing poems. After pursuing their 4th year BS project in our laboratory, Satabdi has gone on to pursue their MS project in the Centre for Ecological Sciences at IISc.
nijinj [at] iisc [dot] ac [dot] in
Nijin hails from a small village in Kollam, Kerala, that is known for its beaches and clean air. Nijin pursued a MS by research at our lab after completion of his BS at IISc in 2021. He joined the lab in October 2021. Nijin's research interests include developmental genetics and molecular neuroscience. Nijin worked with Aishwarya to study the expression of various claudins in C. elegans. Apart from research, Nijin enjoys trekking and photography. Nijin graduated with his BS/MS degree from IISc in December 2022. He is currently working as a science educator and developer at CuriouScity, in Bangalore. This centre focuses on promoting curiosity among young children.
sukanx1995 [at] gmail [dot] com
Sukanta joined BS-MS Program at IISER Mohali in 2014 as a KVPY fellow. He worked with Nagesh Kadam, studying chemotaxis in C. elegans. Sukanta is a College level Volleyball player and a part time android porter. Sukanta is currently pursuing his PhD at NCBS, Bangalore.
salonirose.95 [at] gmail [dot] com
Saloni Rose joined BS-MS Program at IISER Mohali in 2013 as an INSPIRE fellow. She is originally from Kalpakkam, a small township near Chennai hosting a Nuclear Power Plant. For her Master's thesis, she worked on how transcription factors and associated molecules are involved in associative learning in C.elegans. More broadly, she wants to address how neural circuitries evolve and give rise to complex behaviours that involve learning with great degree of variability. Besides science, she is very passionate about badminton, travelling and gourmet food. Saloni is currently a PhD student at University of Birmingham, UK with Carolina Rezaval.
shruthi.ravindranath11 [at] gmail [dot] com
Shruthi joined IISER Mohali in 2012 as an INSPIRE Fellow. She is originally from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Shruthi is interested in understanding the causal relationship between neural circuits and behaviour. She studied the circuit for locomotion in C. elegans to understand how genes and proteins confer functionality to a circuit that forms a building block for behaviour. In her free time, she enjoys reading, swimming, playing music and exploring culinary culture. Shruthi is currently a doctoral candidate at Princeton University and a recipient of the university's 'Centennial Fellowship in Natural Science and Engineering'. Shruti is working at the Murthy lab in Princeton.
mohanlal316 [at] gmail [dot] com
Mohan, a native of Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir,
joined IISER Mohali as an INSPIRE Fellow in August 2012. For his final year thesis, Mohan studied the properties of neural circuits involved in controlling the locomotion of C. elegans. Mohan is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in Bioinformatics at IISER Mohali.
diwakarmaraina [at] gmail [dot] com
Diwakar is a native of Baijnath, Himachal Pradesh.
He joined IISER Mohali as an INSPIRE Fellow in August 2012. Diwakar worked on understanding the role of claudins and how they function in the C. elegans nervous system.
mimpatp [at] gmail [dot] com
Maruthi is a native of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, from where he completed his primary education. Maruthi joined IISER Mohali in August 2012 as an INSPIRE fellow, Maruthi worked on a project with Yogesh to understand how transcription factors are involved in memory formation and learning in C. elegans.
saurabh.iiser [at] gmail [dot] com
Saurabh, a native of Karanprayag, Uttarakhand. He joined IISER as an INSPIRE fellow in August 2011. In his final year thesis project he worked on understanding the neural circuitry of C. elegans. Saurabh is currently pursuing his doctoral studies at University of Fribourg in Switzerland.
joymaiswarya [at] gmail [dot] com
Aiswarya, a native of Cochin, Kerala, joined IISER Mohali in August 2011 as an INSPIRE fellow. She completed her final year thesis in the lab and is currently working at AIIMS, New Delhi.
Shiji is a native of Kerala, who joined IISER Mohali in August 2010. In our lab, she worked on understanding multidrug resistance proteins in C. elegans and graduated with a BS/MS degree in 2015. She is currently pursuing her PhD at IISER, Trivandrum.
tomarkuldeep39 [at] gmail [dot] com
Kuldeep was a senior undergraduate student at IISER Mohali, where he joined in July 2009, as an INSPIRE fellow, after completing his schooling from Dehradun. Kuldeep
was interested in studying the role of morphogens in synapse development and function. More specifically, Kuldeep was involved in understanding the role of TGFb family of morphogens at the C. elegans nervous system. Kuldeep graduated from IISER Mohali in 2014.
Kuldeep has graduated with a degree in management from IIM Calcutta.
shivambhardwaj [at] hotmail [dot] com
Shivam was a senior undergraduate student and IISER Mohali where he joined in July 2008, as a KVPY scholar, after completing his schooling from Patna. Shivam worked on setting up assays that would help identifying molecules involved in memory formation.
Shivam graduated from IISER Mohali in 2013. Shivam completed his PhD from The National University of Singapore.