People

I completed my PhD in Biochemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen, Germany, and briefly worked at the University of Exeter, UK, before joining TIGS in 2020. Here, I am interested in uncovering the neurobiology of blood-feeding behaviour in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. Outside the lab, I’m usually off travelling and soaking in the local culture and food wherever I go.

I study how neural precursor cells in Drosophila know which neurons to make—how they “read” positional and temporal cues to produce the right neuronal types. I am interested in developmental biology, behaviour, and evo-devo. Outside the lab, I like to sing, draw, design, and write a little. Also, I sincerely believe in the unifying power of Bollywood dance moves, and I sometimes practise said moves with my cats, Mitthu and Kiki.

I am an insect behavioural ecologist. I did my PhD at the Central University of Kerala, where I studied how parasitic wasps manipulate the behaviour of their hosts. I then worked at the Zoological Survey of India on the Long Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO) project, studying the effects of climate change on arthropods in India’s eco-sensitive zones. I later moved to the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on the National Postdoctoral Fellowship to study how competition influences the foraging behaviour of female parasite wasps. Here at TIGS, my research focuses on the chemical ecology of plant-feeding behaviour of mosquitoes. Outside of research, I enjoy reading comics, exploring food, and spending time with family and friends.

I did my M.Sc in Biochemistry from the University of Kashmir. My research interests span sensory biology and behaviour across multiple model organisms. I am currently working on understanding the neural circuits underlying blood-feeding behaviour in mosquitoes. To study this, I am developing affordable, home-brew methods for spatial transcriptomics. Outside the lab, I enjoy reading science fiction, drawing, playing carrom (or any game, really), and taking long walks around our beautiful Bangalore Life Science Cluster campus.

I’m a final-year biotechnology student at VIT, Vellore. Curiosity led me to explore computational approaches for categorizing mosquito larvae at TIGS. Before that, I worked with iGEM VIT on synthesizing ambergris (a.k.a. sperm whale vomit) using Escherichia coli. Outside the lab, I enjoy running, playing guitar, and finding hills to climb, usually posing awkwardly at the top.

I’m interested in how animal behaviours arise from the circuits that underlie them—how those circuits form, function, and evolve. Outside the lab, I like being outdoors with my family, dogs, and bins :).

I graduated from IISER Mohali with an integrated BS–MS in Biological Sciences. My research interests lie at the intersection of animal behaviour, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience, with a focus on how animals behave across different ecological contexts and how neural circuits has evolved to generate and modulate these behaviours. I am particularly interested in understanding behaviour as an emergent product of physiological state, neural circuitry and ecological context. Outside the lab, I enjoy PC gaming, binge watching, and bird watching during nature walks, and a big fan of dogs and cats.

I am a final-year B.Tech Biotechnology student at VIT Vellore and am currently pursuing my MSc thesis at TIGS for six months. My work focuses on understanding the feeding patterns of mosquitoes, specifically identifying the crop plants they feed on using metabarcoding approaches. Through this work, I am interested in exploring mosquito-plant interactions and their ecological significance. Outside the lab, I enjoy playing the veena and reading books.

I did my MSc in Biochemistry from the University of Mysore and my PhD from the Centre for Neuroscience at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), where my research focused on understanding the molecular basis behind the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. I then moved to TIGS where I am establishing more affordable methods for single-cell transcriptomics using combinatorial indexing techniques. I want to be able to make this powerful genomic technology more accessible to broader research groups, thereby accelerating scientific discovery in India. Outside the lab, I enjoy sports and spending time with my family.

Research assistants/associates

• Mahashweta Bordolai – June to October 2019
• Sudipta Ashe - 2019
• Chinjusha Suresh - 2019
• Varnika Kundadka - Nov 2019 to Mar 2022
• Sonali Kadam – Jan 2020 to Aug 2022, now at Foldscope Instruments Inc.
• Mandar Naik – Nov 2019 to Aug 2023, now at CrisprBits Private Limited, Bengaluru
• Leena Chandra (Lab technician) – Sept 2019 to November 2025
• Roshni Pillai - June 2020 to Apr 2023, now a graduate student at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
• Pooja D B - June 2020 to Oct 2023, now at TIGS
• Hemalatha Rao – Jan 2020 to Jan 2024, now at TIGS
• Akshay Sanjeev - Dec 2023 to Jul 2024, now a graduate student at IMSc Chennai

MSc thesis students

• Pooja D B (Amrita School of Biotechnology) - Dec 2019 to June 2020, now at TIGS
• Roshni Pillai (Amrita School of Biotechnology)- Jan 2020 to June 2020, now a graduate student at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz
• Gayathri S Pillai (Amrita School of Biotechnology) - Feb 2021 to June 2021, now a project support coordinator at Thermo Fisher Scientific India
• Lakshmi Prakash (IISER-Kolkata) - Aug 2021 to May 2022, now a graduate student at Brown University
• Nandana K (Vellore Institute of Technology) - Jun 2022 to May 2023, now a graduate student at University of Reading
• Trusha S Maakam (St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science) - Jan 2024 to Jun 2024, now at Sekkei Bio Private Limited, Bengaluru
• Malica R, (Avinashilingam University, Coimbatore) - Jan 2024 to July 2024
• Usha Kiran Sahoo (IISER-Berhampur) - June 2024 to May 2025
• Vithur Varenya (St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science) - Jan 2025 to May 2025, now at IISc

Interns

• Lakshmi Prakash (IISER-Kolkata) – June 2019 to Aug 2019
• Varun Chopra (Vellore Institute of Technology) - Feb 2020 to Aug 2020
• Anushka Sarkar (JNCASR) - Sept 2023 to Jan 2024
• Vithur Varenya (St. Joseph’s College of Arts and Science) - June 2024 to Dec 2024
• Shekhar Nath Prabhas (IIT Bombay) - May 2025 to July 2025
• Nandita Kadkol (BITS Pilani, Goa) - June 2025 to Aug 2025

• Kaiser Rasool, graduate student at University of New Mexico, USA - Feb 2025 to June 2025
• Srinivas Patil, graduate student at Shiv Nadar University, India - Aug 2025 to Dec 2025