School of Biosciences and Bioengineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi
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
Before I started working with C. elegans during my Ph.D., I majored in Biochemistry during my master’s studies at the University of Mysore in 2020. I was a summer research fellow at JNU, New Delhi, working on GNE myopathy. I later worked briefly as a research associate at IIT Kharagpur, specializing in intrinsically disordered proteins after which I shifted my focus to phase transition and stress proteome analysis. I am interested in the mechanisms of LLPS, and the role of sHSPs in C. elegans proteome. Apart from research, you’d see me either traveling, cartooning, or writing.
Deepanshu Verma, PhD Scholar
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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, PhD Scholar
I am keen to explore the mystery of healthy and longer life. More specifically, I want to link the bridge between the extracellular proteostasis network with protein aggregation during aging using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Microbiology (Hons.) from Midnapore College (Autonomous) in 2020. Later I pursued my Master's in Microbiology from Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamilnadu in 2022. Soon after, I joined IIT Mandi in August 2022. I am an avid cricket enthusiast and love playing squash, and other sports.
Priyanka Vimal, UGC CSIR-JRF
'Aging' the word has intrigued me always. If you have ever wondered how people across the globe have differences in their life expectancy. This was unknown until someone discovered the genes responsible for it and how we can regulate it. One of the major factors is diet. Being from the species-rich Himalayas and having a background in Botany I want to explore this field and want to check the effect of phytochemical compounds on longevity and proteostasis using the C.elegans model. Apart from this, I have cleared a few competitive exams CSIR-NET JRF, GATE-XL etc.
Project JRFs
Vishwajeet Raj
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.
MTech Students
Preeti Roy
I have completed my B. Tech in Biotechnology from Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata in the year 2022. After that, I joined IIT Mandi to pursue M.Tech in August 2022. I have a keen interest in studying the role of protein aggregation during aging.
My hobbies include trekking, playing video games, and reading novels.
Research Interns [Past]
Alice Ronita Roy
IISER Kolkata
June 2022
Ridhima
Panjab University
June 2022
Nisha
IISER Mohali
June 2023
Seema Rani
IIT Madras
June 2023
Alumni
MTech
