School of Biosciences and Bioengineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi
GROUP
Principal Investigator
Dr. Prasad Kasturi
I completed my Bachelor's degree in BSc (Botany, Zoology and Chemistry) from Silver Jubilee Govt Degree College, Kurnool and in Education (B.Ed) from Osmania University, Hyderabad. I obtained MSc (Biotechnology) from School of Biotechnology, Madurai Kamaraj University. After spending a year as a project assistant at CCMB, Hyderabad, I moved to Switzerland for PhD (Department of Biology, University of Fribourg). After getting PhD, I worked briefly as a visiting fellow at University of Lyon, France. Later, I moved to Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Germany. I was in the lab of Prof. Ulrich Hartl at Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry as a postdoc and group leader. I joined IIT-Mandi as Assistant Professor in December 2019. [more]
PhD Scholars
Prajnadipta Panda, DST- INSPIRE Fellow
I have completed my BSc in Biosciences (2015-18) from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Bengaluru, and MSc in Life Sciences (2018-20) from Central University of Gujarat. I have done my MSc dissertation at the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresources and Technology. Currently, I am a DST-INSPIRE Fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi. I am interested in protein quality control, protein aggregation, and the pathways that modulate aging. As a part of PhD thesis, my aim is to identify novel modifiers of neuronal protein aggregation and regulators of lifespan using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system.
Pritam Mukherjee, PhD Scholar
I am interested to understand the ways by which we can age healthy and live longer. Specifically finding the physiological relevance of protein condensates/ aggregates during aging in Caenorhabditis elegans. I did my under-graduation in Biotechnology from St. Xavier's College, Burdwan, and post-graduation in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics from North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong with DBT Studentship. I joined IIT Mandi in February, 2021.
Rushali Kamath, PhD Scholar
Deepanshu Verma, PhD Scholar
I joined the lab in January 2023 as a Ph.D. scholar. I have completed my Master of Technology in Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. I have completed my Bachelor of Engineering degree in Biotechnology from Madhav Institute of Technology and Science, Gwalior. I have also qualified for DBT-JRF (2020) and GATE (2018 and 2020).
I have previously worked on cancer biology in CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow, and in IIT Mandi, HP where I developed oral cancer models in mice and targeted MDR in cancer cell lines. Now, I work with genes that play a role in lifespan extension and aging using C. elegans as a model.
I also play table tennis, squash, and am an avid sports enthusiast. I also cook, trek, and love traveling to new places.
Prasun Kumar Bhunia, JRF
Master students
Sweta Mondal (2022-2023)
I am pursuing my M. Tech in Biotechnology from IIT Mandi. I did my B. Tech in Biotechnology from Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata,2020. I will be doing my master thesis under Dr. Prasad Kasturi titled "Anti-aging potential of selected small molecules in C. elegans". Previously I had done summer research work at Fortis Hospital (Histopathology Department) and at NIT Rourkela.
My hobbies include reading, gardening, and spending time with my pets.
Vishwajeet Raj (2022-2023)
I completed my B. Tech in Biotechnology from NIT Warangal in 2021 and joined IIT Mandi in August 2021. Currently, I have joined Dr. Prasad Kasturi’s lab and will be working on “Functional analysis of novel proteins during stress and aging”. My hobbies include chess, table tennis, and listening to songs.
Research Interns
Alice Ronita Roy
IISER Kolkata
June 2022
Ridhima
Panjab University
June 2022
Alumni
MTech
Neha Agyal (2020-2021)
Chandan Kumar Pradhan (2021-22)
MTech
