Our Alumni

PhDs from our group

Dr Ketul Saharan

PhD student @ ILS (March 2019 – January 2024)

BSc (Biotechnology), Government National College, Sirsa, 2014.
MSc (Botany), Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 2016.
JRF at School of Life Sciences, JNU, New Delhi, August 2017 – February 2019.
PhD student at ILS from March 2019 – January 2024.
EMBO SEG fellow at NTU, Singapore, September – December 2022.
Research interest while with us: Nucleoplasmins & HDACs
Current affiliation: Postdoctoral Research Associate at MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK.

Ketul joined our group as a PhD student with UGC-JRF. Before joining our group at ILS, he was a Junior Research Fellow in the Structural Biology Laboratory at the School of Life Sciences, JNU, New Delhi. He completed the crystal structures of two proteins from his PhD project, several SAXS structures, and our first two cryo-EM structures, and accumulated substantial biophysical data. He gained experience collecting SAXS data at the ESRF (France), diffraction data at RRCAT, Indore, and remote X-ray diffraction data at the ESRF (France). His PhD work was around the broad theme of nucleoplasmins. He received an EMBO Scientific Exchange Grant (SEG), with which he conducted cryo-EM work at NTU, Singapore, in Dr Sandip Basak’s laboratory. He defended his PhD thesis submitted to the Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad, on 19th January 2024. He has seven first-author papers (including co-first-author papers), one each in CRSB, JBC, JSB, JoVE, and BBA-GRM, and two in IJBM. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge, in the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, under the supervision of Prof. Judy Hirst.

Dr Ruchir Chandrakant Bobde

PhD student @ ILS (January 2017 – April 2023)

BSc (Chemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology), RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, 2013.
MSc (Biotechnology), RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, 2016.
Trainee at ACTREC, Navi Mumbai, January 2016 – March 2016.
Project staff at ICAR-CICR, Nagpur, October 2016 – January 2017.
PhD student at ILS from January 2017 – April 2023.
Research interest while with us: Plant HDACs/nucleoplasmins.
Current affiliation: Postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Durham, USA.

Ruchir joined us as a PhD student with an institutional fellowship. He has been a quick learner and an amicable social being. Ruchir completed four crystal structures while with us. He has gained experience collecting SAXS data at the ESRF (France), X-ray diffraction data at RRCAT, Indore, and remote diffraction data at the ESRF (France). He completed the EMBO Practical Course on Cryo-Electron Microscopy and 3D Image Processing held at IISER Pune in December 2022. He defended his PhD thesis submitted to the Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB), Faridabad, on 12th April 2023. He has two first-author publications from our group, one each in Plant Cell and JoVE. He has a co-authored paper in Molecules as well. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in Durham, USA, under the supervision of Dr Carlos M. Guardia.

Dr Manas Kumar Jagdev

PhD student @ ILS (November 2017 – February 2022)

BSc (Biotechnology), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 2009.
MSc (Industrial Biotechnology), Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, 2011.
Research trainee in Imgenex India Pvt. Ltd., Bhubaneswar, 2011-2012.
Microbiologist in Sambit Aqua, Cuttack, 2012-2013.
Chemist/Microbiologist in Spring Resources Pvt Ltd, Cuttack, 2013.
Joined ILS as a Lab Technician in September 2013.
Upgraded to project SRF in 2015 and got registered for Ph.D. in 2017.
PhD student at ILS from November 2017 – February 2022.
Research interest while with us: Mycobacterial and plant Clp machinery proteins.
Current affiliation: Postdoctoral fellow at Florida Atlantic University, Florida, USA.

Two years after joining our group at ILS as a technician, Manas was upgraded to the position of a project SRF and registered for his PhD at Utkal University with Prof. J. Dandapat as a co-guide, much later. The first three structures from our group belong to him, and our first two research publications, too! We have lost count of how many structures he has completed so far! He has independently collected X-ray diffraction data from RRCAT (India), ESRF (France), Elettra (Italy), and in-house machines. He had indeed been our lucky charm! He defended his PhD thesis submitted to Utkal University on 16th February 2022. He has three first-author publications from our group, two in IJBM and one in Scientific Reports. He is currently a postdoc at Florida Atlantic University, Florida, USA, with Dr Srinivasa Subramaniam.

Dr Rajivgandhi Sundaram

PhD student @ ILS (April 2014 – September 2021)

BSc (Biotechnology), Tiruvalluvar University, Vellore, 2010.
DMLT, Microtech Institute of Paramedical Science and Research, Salem, 2011.
MSc (Biotechnology), Periyar University, Salem, 2012.
Junior Executive in Biocon Research Limited, Bangalore, 2012-2013.
JRF in the School of Biological Sciences, NISER, Bhubaneswar, 2013-2014.
PhD student at ILS from April 2014 – September 2021.
Research interest while with us: Chromatin & associated machinery.
Current affiliation: Postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.

Rajiv was interested in structural biology from the very beginning. His work pace used to be faster than anyone else in the lab, and he has a special knack for computation-related stuff. In fact, he brought a wonderfully different flavour to the group. The group hasn’t seen a better mentor than Rajiv! He has trained new students with great pleasure. He completed the crystal structure of four proteins. His 5th first-author manuscript is now ready for submission. He has collected X-ray diffraction data from ESRF (France), RRCAT (India), and in-house machines. He defended his thesis, submitted to the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Manipal University) on 26th August 2021. He has five first-author publications from our group – one each in Scientific Reports, BioEssays, FEBS Letters, JBC, and Biochimie and also co-authored a paper in JoVE. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, under the supervision of Prof. Cynthia Wolberger.

Dr Ajit Kumar Singh

PhD student @ ILS (April 2014 – September 2020)

BSc (Biotechnology), Bangalore University, 2010.
MSc (Biotechnology), Bangalore University, 2012.
Trainee/Junior Executive in Biocon Research Limited, Bangalore, 2012-2013.
JRF in Fermentation Technology Department, CFTRI, Mysore, 2013-2014.
PhD student at ILS from April 2014 – September 2020.
Research interest while with us: Histone chaperones & chromatin.
Current affiliation: Cryo-EM specialist at the Hormel Institute of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.

Ajit was poised to pursue a cancer biology theme for his PhD and, unintentionally, ended up in our group. However, he got into his slot perfectly well and thoroughly enjoyed his time with us. Planning is his forte when it comes to experiments. He has completed four crystal structures for his thesis work. A major manuscript from his thesis was published in NAR in January 2020. He has three first-author manuscripts with us in total. He has gained experience collecting diffraction data at the ESRF (France) and RRCAT (India), as well as on in-house machines. On 30th September 2020, he defended his PhD at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Manipal University). He has three first-author publications from our group, one each in NAR, IJBM, and BBA-GRM. In addition, he has co-authored papers in JoVE, JBC, and Molecules. He is currently working as a cryo-EM specialist at the Hormel Institute of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.

Dr Ashish Kumar

PhD student @ ILS (September 2013 – September 2020)

BSc Honours (Biotechnology), Patna University, Patna, 2011.
MSc (Biotechnology), Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, 2013.
PhD student at ILS from September 2013 – September 2020.
Research interest while with us: Histone chaperones, chromatin & HDACs.
Current affiliation: Postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

The group got started officially on 30th September 2013, with Ashish, our 1st PhD student. Like any other first student, he started working in an ’empty lab’. He completed the crystal structure of three different proteins for his thesis. He has gained experience collecting X-ray data at the ESRF (France) and RRCAT (India), as well as on in-house machines. On 24th September 2020, he defended his PhD at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Manipal University). While with us, he has gotten four first-author publications, one each in Plant Cell, Bioscience Reports, Cell Stress and Chaperones, and Molecules. He also has two co-authored publications, one each in BBA-General Subjects and JoVE. Currently, he is a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, under the supervision of Prof. Joseph Schlessinger.

Dr Supriya Borah

PhD student – co-supervisory @ ILS (February 2013 – October 2019)

BSc (Agriculture), Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, 2010.
MSc (Agricultural Biotechnology), UAS, Dharwad, 2012.
PhD student at ILS from February 2013 – October 2019.
Research interest while with us: Proteins involved in angiogenesis & viral enzymes.
Postdoctoral fellow at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2019-2022.
Current affiliation: DBT-BioCARe Woman Scientist at CDFD, Hyderabad

Supriya was added to the group as our ‘half-student’, and her main supervisor was Dr Rajeeb Kumar Swain. After her degree and postgraduate work in agriculture, she worked on the angiogenesis theme, using a Zebrafish model in Rajeeb’s lab. And to add more flavour to the change, half of her work was with us on the structural aspects of a protein involved in angiogenesis. She stayed on as a free soul who literally did not have to worry about which group she belonged to. During her PhD, she completed the crystal structure of a viral protein from our group. She graduated in Oct 2019, and her PhD is from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Manipal University). She then worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr Neil Bhowmick’s group at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, California, USA. Post her relocation back to India, she is working as a DBT-BioCARe Woman Scientist at CDFD, Hyderabad, under the guidance of Dr Sangita Mukhopadhyay.

Past postdocs from our group

Dr Shaikh Nausad Hossain

Senior Post-Doctoral Fellow @ ILS (July 2018 – January 2023)

BSc (Biotechnology), Bangalore University, 2005.
Diploma (Genetic Engineering), JIVAS, Bangalore, 2005.
Project JRF at PGIMER, Chandigarh, 2005-2006.
MSc (Molecular Biology), University of Queensland, Australia, 2008.
Research Assistant, University of Queensland, Australia, 2008-2009.
PhD (Structural Biology), University of Queensland, Australia, 2013.
Post-doc at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Japan, 2013-2016.
Visiting post-doctoral fellow at NISER, Bhubaneswar, 2017-2018.
Joined our group in ILS as a post-doc in July 2018 and worked as a CSIR- Senior Research Associate from December 2019 to January 2023.
Current affiliation: Director, Regional Institute of Biotechnology (RIB), Bhubaneswar

Nausad joined our group in July 2018. His PhD is from the University of Queensland, Australia, under the guidance of Prof. Glenn F. King and the co-guidance of Prof. Brett Collins. After his PhD, he moved to Okinawa, Japan, for a post-doctoral position at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in the Trans-Membrane Trafficking Unit under Prof. Fadel Samatey. He has gained extensive experience in protein crystallography, NMR, and protein biophysics. After a brief stay at NISER, Bhubaneswar, as a visiting post-doctoral fellow, Nausad moved to ILS. He was initially an institutional postdoctoral fellow and later received his own CSIR-SRA fellowship. With us, Nausad worked on projects dealing with infectious disease structural biology. In addition to his own project, he worked on WSSV proteins and has published two manuscripts on the theme. A major manuscript from his work is in the offing. He has gone the entrepreneurial way and is into providing education and research training. You can find him here: https://ribbbsr.org/about-us/

3. Chinmayee

Dr Chinmayee Mohapatra

Post-Doctoral Fellow @ ILS (April 2014 – February 2023)

BSc Honours (Botany), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 2005.
MSc (Biotechnology), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 2007.
BCIL trainee in Imgenex India Pvt. Ltd., Bhubaneswar, 2007-2008.
JRF/SRF in CIFA, Bhubaneswar, 2008-2014.
PhD (Cell & Molecular Biology), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 2014.
Post-doc in our group at ILS from April 2014 to June 2018 as DBT-RA and then SERB N-PDF.
Guest Faculty at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, and BJB College, Bhubaneswar (2018-2019).
Project post-doc with us from Dec 2019 and later continued as a DST WOS-A Woman Scientist till Feb 2023.
Current affiliation: Scientist with a start-up in Florida, USA

Chinmayee first came to ILS for her Utkal University PhD coursework. Later, she joined our bandwagon with her own project, which was funded by the DBT (DBT-RA scheme). She then got her funding changed to SERB N-PDF. In between, she worked as a guest faculty member at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, and as a visiting faculty member at BJB College, Bhubaneswar. She then returned to ILS as a postdoctoral fellow. Later, she received the WOS-A Woman Scientist scheme from DST and continued until February 2023. Her PhD work on fish spermatogonial stem cells was conducted at CIFA (Bhubaneswar) under the guidance of Dr Hirak K. Barman. Her skill set has been in molecular and cell biology. In our group, she learned the nitty-gritty of protein chemistry and protein crystallography. She worked on plant and mycobacterial chaperones in our group. She also worked a bit on viral proteins. The first research manuscript from our group is hers, along with Manas. She has gained experience collecting X-ray data from RRCAT (India), ESRF (France), and in-house machines. At the ESRF (France), she collected SAXS data for the lab. She moved out as she relocated to the USA to join her family. She worked with Dr Srinivasa Subramaniam at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida, USA, and is currently working with a start-up in Florida.

Dr Aritreyee Datta

Post-Doctoral Fellow @ ILS (August 2017 – September 2022)

BSc (Biotechnology), Bangalore University, Bangalore, 2007.
MSc (Biotechnology), KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, 2010.
SRF in Bose Institute, Kolkata, 2012-2017.
PhD (Biotechnology), University of Kolkata, Kolkata, 2017.
Institutional post-doc in our group from August 2017 to April 2018.
SERB N-PDF from April 2018 to April 2020.
DBT-RA from October 2020 to September 2022.

Aritreyee joined us while waiting for her Ph.D. defense and later got selected for SERB N-PDF. Later, she switched to a DBT-RA fellowship. Her PhD is from the University of Kolkata. Her thesis work was carried out under the guidance of Prof. Anirban Bhunia (Bose Institute, Kolkata) in the area of protein NMR. Her skill set is in NMR, spectroscopy, microscopy, and protein interaction studies. She has had a very productive (read: publication-rich) PhD, and she indeed brought that ‘much-needed’ flavour to our group as well. While with us, her hands got well set for crystallography experiments. She has amazing writing and editing skills! She used to be our in-house editor. Later, she returned to the Bose Institute, Kolkata, as a Research Associate under Prof. Anirban Bhunia.

Dr. Sushil Kumar

Post-Doctoral Fellow @ ILS (May 2015 – June 2018)

BSc (Biology), University of Allahabad, 2001.
MSc (Bioinformatics), University of Allahabad, 2005.
MTech (Biotechnology), West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata, 2007.
PhD (Structural Biology), JNU, New Delhi, 2015.
JRF/SRF in CCMB, Hyderabad, 2008-2015.
Post-Doctoral Fellow with us from May 2015 – June 2018.

Sushil joined us soon after his PhD from CCMB (Hyderabad). Therein, his PhD work (with a specialisation in structural biology and host-pathogen interactions) was carried out under the co-supervision of Dr Rajan Sankaranarayanan and Dr Ramesh Sonti. He is skilled in protein X-ray crystallography. He is indeed a hard worker. In our group, he completed the crystal structure of a viral enzyme, both alone and in complex with substrate analogues and two inhibitors. He completed his assignment with us, pursued his passion for teaching for a while, and has been working as a Research Scientist at Biocon in Chennai.

Past project fellows of our group

Mr Somanath Baral

Project JRF @ ILS (January 2020 – June 2022)

BSc Honours (Botany), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 2015.
MSc (Botany), Berhampur University, Berhampur, 2017.
MPhil (Botany), Berhampur University, Berhampur, 2019.
Project JRF, IIT Kharagpur, May 2019 – December 2019.
Project JRF with us from January 2020 – June 2022.

Somanath joined our group as a JRF in a SERB-funded project in January 2020. Before joining ILS, he was working as a project JRF at the Centre for Bioenergy and Renewables, IIT Kharagpur. While with us, he worked on a project dealing with plant chromatin and the associated histone chaperones for structural studies. He got a good few co-authored manuscripts while with us.

Dr Vipul Panchal

Project Fellow @ ILS (May 2018 – June 2019)

BSc (Chemistry – Honours), MS University, Baroda, 2008.
MSc (Biochemistry), MS University, Baroda, 2010.
PhD (Biotechnology), IGIB, New Delhi (JNU, New Delhi), 2018.
Project SRF with us from May 2018 – June 2019.
Current affiliation: Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bergen, Norway.

Vipul joined us in a DBT-funded project as an SRF while waiting to submit and defend his PhD thesis from IGIB, New Delhi (registered with JNU, New Delhi). His PhD in protein crystallography and microbiology was carried out under the joint supervision of Dr Vivek Rao and Dr Sarika Chaudhary at IGIB. In October 2018, he completed his PhD and continued to work with us until June 2019. He brought a better scientific ambience to our group. After a year’s stay with us, he moved on and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bergen, Norway.

Past technicians of our group

Mr Manoj Kumar Barik

DMLT from JRN Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, 2019.
Lab Technician in a Pvt diagnostic laboratory, Bhubaneswar, 2019-2021.
Trainee Lab Technician from March 2021 to December 2021 in our group.
Joined our group in ILS as a Lab Technician in January 2022.
After Dileep’s official affiliation with ILS ended in June 2025, he is officially not part of DVasuLab.

Manoj worked in our lab as a Trainee Lab Technician under the institutional Skill Development Technician Training Program for 10 months, then joined us officially as a Lab Technician in January 2022. He was involved in lab chores and wholeheartedly supported other lab members in their experiments. He is a jovial soul and has always been a great asset.

6. Vicky

Mr Vicky Kumar @ ILS (XRD facility in-charge)

BSc (Industrial Microbiology) Honours, Langat Singh College, Muzaffarpur, 2019.
MSc (Biotechnology), DBT-RGCB, Thiruvananthapuram, 2022.
X-ray Diffraction Facility In-Charge from February 2023 – September 2023.

While with us, Vicky has been overseeing the XRD facility and actively participating in wet-lab experiments involving cloning, recombinant expression, and protein purification for structural and biophysical characterization. He is currently pursuing his integrated MTech-PhD (Agriculture Biotechnology) at IIT Kharagpur.

5. Swabhiman

Mr Swabhiman Sahu @ ILS (XRD facility in-charge)

PGDCA, Softech, Cuttack, 2017.
BSc Honours (Zoology), Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, 2018.
MSc (Life Sciences), Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 2020.
X-ray Diffraction Facility In-Charge from April 2022 – December 2022.
Current affiliation: Lecturer at the Science College, Polasara, Ganjam Dist., Odisha.

Swabhiman had a keen interest in Structural Biology and did his MSc dissertation project at JNU, New Delhi, under Dr Samudrala Gourinath’s guidance in protein crystallography. While with us, in addition to his responsibilities as head of the XRD and AUC facilities at ILS, he actively participated in lab research projects. He moved out after he got a state government job in his hometown. Currently, he is a Lecturer at the Science College, Polasara, Ganjam Dist., Odisha.

Ms Lopamudra Nayak

Trainee Lab Technician @ ILS (March 2021 – December 2021)

BSc Honours (Chemistry), SCS Autonomous College, Puri, Odisha, 2016.
Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed), 2018.
Teacher at Radhamohan Bidyapitha, Puri, Odisha, 2018-2021.
Trainee Lab Technician with us from March 2021 – December 2021.
Lopamudra joined our lab as a trainee lab technician in the institutional Skill Development Technician Training Program. With us, she learned basic laboratory experiments and the use and maintenance of laboratory equipment.
Current affiliation: Laboratory Technician with ZeusnJove Diagnostics, Cuttack.

Ms Annapurna Sahoo

Lab Technician @ ILS (June 2019 – November 2020)

BSc (Zoology – Honours), Nayagarh Autonomous College, Nayagarh, 2010.
MSc (Life Science), National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, 2012.
Research Fellow at Myongji University, South Korea, September 2013 – July 2018.
She joined ILS as a Lab Technician in June 2019 and worked with us until November 2020.
While with us, Annapurna‘s job profile included research assistance, lab organisation & purchase coordination. She also worked on nucleosome preparation.
She completed her PhD from Centurion University, Bhubaneswar, in January 2024.

Ms Sudeshna Sen

Lab Technician @ ILS (October 2016 – May 2019)

BSc (Botany), SB Women’s College, Cuttack, 2015.
Laboratory Demonstrator (Botany), Sukinda Govt. College, Jajpur, 2015-2016.
She joined ILS as a Lab Technician in October 2016 and left the job in May 2019 due to relocation after marriage.
While with us, Sudeshna‘s job profile included research assistance, lab organisation, and purchase coordination. She also worked on a few smaller research projects.

1. scan0003

Ms Priyadarsini Gope
Lab Technician @ ILS (January 2016 – July 2016)

BSc (Zoology), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 2012.
BEd (Physical & Biological Sciences), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 2015.
MSc (Zoology), Berhampur University, Berhampur, 2016.
She joined ILS as a Lab Technician in January 2016 and left the job in July 2016 to pursue an M.Ed.
While with us, Priyadarsini worked on the expression & purification of some viral non-structural proteins for their structural characterisation.
MEd, Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhubaneswar, 2018.
Teacher at RB Gurukul, Jagatsinghpur, Paradip (July 2018 – December 2019).
Current affiliation: Principal of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya, Kaudukol, Cuttack.

Students who did an MSc / BTech dissertation with our group

16.

Ms Chithira JD

MSc Project Student @ RGCB (April 2025 – June 2025)

BSc (Biotechnology), JDT Islam College of Arts & Science, Kozhikkode, 2023
MSc (Biotechnology) student at St. Mary’s College for Women, Thiruvalla (2023-2025).
MSc dissertation student with our group at RGCB.
Current focus: Infectious disease structural biology.

Chithira worked on the recombinant expression and chromatographic purification of a DNA clamp protein from a virus. Neethu guided her with the work.

15.

Mr Teebin M Teemon

MSc Project Student @ RGCB (April 2025 – June 2025)

BSc (Microbiology, Biochemistry & Genetics), Kristu Jayanti College, Bangalore, 2021.
MSc (Applied Microbiology) student at St Thomas College, Pala, Kottayam (2023-2025).
MSc dissertation student with our group at RGCB.
Teebin worked on the recombinant expression and chromatographic purification of an RNAse from a DNA virus. Dharma guided him with his project.

14.

Ms Chrislyn Thomas

BTech Project Student @ RGCB (December 2024 – May 2025)

B.Tech (Biotechnology) student at DY Patil University, Navi Mumbai (2021-2025).
BTech dissertation student in our laboratory @ RGCB (December 2024 – May 2025).
During her dissertation, Chrislyn worked on a nucleoplasmin protein from a pathogenic parasite. Along with Bimal, she cloned, recombinantly expressed, and purified the protein for structural studies. They have gotten crystals, too!

13.

Mr Afthab Saleem PA

MS Project Student @ RGCB (May 2024 – March 2025)

BS-MS (Biology) student at IISER Pune (2019-onwards).
MS dissertation student in our laboratory @ RGCB (May 2024 – March 2025).
During his dissertation, Afthab worked on preparing plant nucleosomes composed of a variant histone. Sonali guided him with his project.
Current affiliation: Teaching Fellow at Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana.

12. raihana

Ms Raihana A

MSc Project Student @ RGCB (April 2024 – June 2024)

BSc (Botany), University of Kerala, 2022.
MSc (Biotechnology) student at SN College, Kollam (University of Kerala; 2022-2024).
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ RGCB (April 2024 to June 2024).
While with us, Raihana worked on the recombinant expression and purification of a variant histone from Arabidopsis thaliana.

11. SmB Photo (L)

Ms Soma Banerjee

MSc Project Student @ RGCB (January 2024 – July 2024)

BSc (Microbiology) Honours, Ram Lal Anand College, University of Delhi, 2022.
MSc (Biotechnology) student at RGCB, Thiruvananthapuram (2022-2024).
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ RGCB (January to July 2024).
While with us, Soma prepared Arabidopsis thaliana nucleosomes.
Current affiliation: PhD student at CCMB, Hyderabad.

10.

Ms Pranati Priyadarshnee

MSc Project Student @ ILS (March 2023 – August 2023)

BSc (Zoology), Mahamayee Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Berhampur, 2021.
MSc (Microbiology), College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Berhampur, 2021-2023.
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (March to August 2023).
While with us, Pranati worked on the recombinant expression and purification of a bacterial cyclophilin protein, which will be taken further for crystallisation.

Ms Astha

MSc Project Student @ ILS (February 2023 – July 2023)

BSc (Botany) Honours, Ramadevi Women’s University, Bhubaneswar, 2021.
MSc (Biotechnology), College of Basic Science & Humanities, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, 2021-2023.
Summer intern on a SERB project SSR scheme with our group at ILS (October to December 2022).
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (February to July 2023).
While with us, Astha worked on preparing and purifying a recombinant nucleoplasmin protein.
Current affiliation: PhD student at IIT Guwahati.

8. IMG-20201210-WA0002

Ms Abhishek Mohanty

MSc Project Student @ ILS (January 2023 – June 2023)

BSc (Bioinformatics), BJB Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar, 2021.
MSc (Bioinformatics), BJB Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar, 2023.
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (January to June 2023).
While with us, Abhishek worked on a project focused on cloning and recombinant expression of a nucleoplasmin protein. Surajit guided him.

7. Abinash

Mr Abinash Kumar Jena

MSc Project Student @ ILS (May 2022 – July 2022)

BSc (Zoology), B.J.B. Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar, 2018.
MSc (Biotechnology), Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 2022.
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (May to July 2022).
While with us, Abinash worked on cloning, expression, and purification of a plant cyclophilin protein for structural characterisation. He was guided by Surajit. His dissertation was co-supervised by Prof. J. Dandapat from the Dept of Biotechnology, Utkal University.
Current affiliation: PhD student at IIT Jodhpur.

6. Subhanjan

Mr Subhanjan Satapathy

MSc Project Student @ ILS (January 2021 – July 2021)

BSc (Biotechnology), Trident Academy of Creative Technology (Utkal University), 2019.
MSc (Biotechnology), S’O’A University, Bhubaneswar, 2021.
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (January to July 2021).
While with us, Subhanjan worked on a project involving cloning, recombinant expression, and chromatographic purification of two proteases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis for structural studies. Chinmayee, Surajit, and Manas guided him.
Current affiliation: Senior Research Associate at Ipca Laboratories Ltd, Navi Mumbai.

5. Asima Nayak

Ms Asima Nayak

MSc Project Student @ ILS (December 2019 – June 2020)

BSc (Biotechnology), B.J.B. Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar, 2018.
MSc (Biotechnology), Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, 2020.
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (December 2019 to June 2020).
Worked with ZeusnJove Diagnostics, Bhubaneswar (2020-2022).
While with us, Asima worked on the expression of recombinant histones and assembled histone oligomers to further prepare nucleosome material and for interaction studies with certain histone chaperones. COVID-19 restrictions caused considerable disruption to work, yet she came up with an amazing thesis. She was guided by Ashish. She then earned a Post Baccalaureate from Yale University, USA. Currently, she is a PhD student at the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.

4. Subhashree Sahoo

Ms Subhashree Sahoo

Summer Research Fellow @ ILS (May 2019 – July 2019) & MSc Project Student @ ILS (December 2019 – May 2020)

BSc (Botany), College of Basic Science and Humanities, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, 2018.
MSc (Applied Microbiology), School of Biotechnology, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, 2020.
Summer research fellow in our laboratory @ ILS (May 2019 to July 2019).
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (December 2019 to June 2020).
While with us, for her summer training and MSc dissertation, Subhashree worked on a shrimp virus protein, taking it from cloning to crystallisation. Despite the COVID-19 situation, she had a great learning experience, and her MSc dissertation at KIIT received a score of 10/10. Rajiv guided her throughout the project.

3. Soumen-dash

Mr Soumen Satyajit Dash

MSc Project Student @ ILS (January 2019 – June 2019)

BSc (Biotechnology), College of Basic Science and Humanities, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, 2017.
MSc (Biotechnology), Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, 2019.
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (January to June 2019).
Project Assistant at IISER, Bhopal (2020-2021).
While with us, Soumen worked on the cloning, recombinant expression, and purification of an RPD3-class histone deacetylase protein. He was guided by Ruchir.
Current affiliation: Project Assistant at RMRC, Bhubaneswar.

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Mr Pushpendra Yadav

MSc Project Student @ ILS (January 2019 – March 2019)

BSc (Biotechnology), RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, 2017.
MSc (Biotechnology), RTM Nagpur University, Nagpur, 2019.
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (January to March 2019).
While with us, Pushpendra worked on the cloning, recombinant expression, and purification of a histone deacetylase protein. He was guided by Ruchir.

Mr S. Anshuman Jyoti Panda

MSc Project Student @ ILS (January 2018 – June 2018)

BSc (Zoology), Godavarish Mahavidyalaya, Banpur (Utkal University), 2016.
MSc (Microbiology), M.P.C. Autonomous College, Baripada, 2018.
MSc dissertation student in our laboratory @ ILS (January to June 2018).
While with us, Anshuman worked on the broad theme of Structural immunology. He was guided by Ruchir.

Students who did an internship with our group

18.

Mr Abhishek S. Nair

National Academy-sponsored Summer Research Fellow @ RGCB (June 2025 – August 2025)

BS-MS student from the Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur
Abhishek worked on cloning, expression, and purification of an RNase encoded by a DNA virus. Dharma guided him in the lab.

17.

Mr Nashua Rollie Laloo

Research intern @ RGCB (May 2025 – July 2025)

RGCB MSc student
Nashua interned with our group at RGCB during his summer vacation after the first year of MSc coursework. He learned cloning, protein expression, and purification work.

16 VasuPatni

Mr Vasu Patni

Research intern @ RGCB (November 2024 – March 2025)

BSc (Biochemistry) from PDPIAS, CHARUSAT, Anand, Gujarat, 2024.
Did a 5-month internship with our group under the RGCB Certificate Program in Bioinformatics (CPIB).
Vasu gained considerable research experience during his BSc through internships, and with us, he explored wet-lab work, including recombinant expression and purification of a bacterial cyclophilin protein and its structural bioinformatics analysis. He was guided by Dharma.
Current affiliation: Graduate student at the Johns Hopkins University, USA.

15.

Mr Adithya R

Research intern @RGCB (December 2024 – January 2025)

BSc (Biotechnology & Botany) 3rd-year student at St. Berchmans College, Changanacherry, Kottayam
Adithya completed a month-long internship with our group during his 3rd-year vacation. He learned ongoing experiments in our laboratory in the broad areas of molecular cloning and protein chemistry. He was helped primarily by Sovon.

14.

Mr Kaushik S. Jith

Research intern @ RGCB (May 2024 – July 2024)

RGCB MSc student
Kaushik interned with our group at RGCB during his summer vacation after the first year of MSc coursework. He learned about histone expression and purification work.

13.

Ms Farheen Khader

Research intern @ RGCB (May 2024 – June 2024)

BS-MS (Biological Sciences) student at NISER, Bhubaneswar (2020-2025).
Farheen did her one-month summer internship with our group on recombinant histone expression and purification. Sonali guided her in the lab.

12.

Mr Soumyadipta Saha

National Academy-sponsored Summer Research Fellow @ RGCB (May 2024 – June 2024)

B.Sc Honours (Microbiology) from Maulana Azad College, University of Kolkata, 2023.
M.Sc (Life Sciences) student at IISc, Bangalore (2023-2025).
Soumyadipta spent two months with us working on the recombinant expression, chromatographic purification of core histones, and the preparation of histone oligomers. Bimal guided him in the lab.
Current affiliation: PhD student IMPRS-LM International Max Planck Research School for Living Matter, Dortmund, Germany,

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Mr Avin Jose J

Research intern @ RGCB (May 2024 – June 2024)

B.Sc (Zoology & Animal Biotechnology), St. Xavier’s College, Tirunelveli, 2023.
M.Sc (Biotechnology) student @ Loyola College, Chennai (2023-2025).
Avin spent a month on a summer internship in our laboratory. During this period, he became familiar with the bacterial expression of recombinant proteins, their analysis, and chromatographic purification.

10.

Ms Sudipta Mahapatra

Research intern @ ILS (December 2022 – July 2023)

B.Tech (Biotechnology), MITS, Rayagada, BPUT, 2019.
M.Tech (Biotechnology), IIT Guwahati, 2021.
Guest Faculty at Khallikote Unitary University, Berhampur (May to December 2022).
During her research internship with us, Sudipta worked on the cloning, expression, and purification of a fish nucleoplasmin protein. Archana guided her in the lab.

9. Moushmi Tandi

Ms Moushmi Tandi

Summer Research Fellow @ ILS (May 2023 – June 2023)

2nd-year BS-MS student, IISER, Bhopal ( 2021-’26).
Moushmi had a month’s summer internship in our laboratory. During this period, she became familiar with cloning, expression, and purification of recombinant proteins for structural studies.

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Ms Ajmeera Usharani

Winter Research Fellow @ ILS (January 2023 – February 2023)

BFSc (Fisheries Science), College of Fisheries, Rangeilunda, OUAT, Odisha ( 2017-’21).
MFSc (Fish Biotechnology), Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai (2021-’23).
During her MFSc program from CIFE, Usha spent one month in our lab at ILS. During this one-month attachment, she became familiar with most of the basic experiments conducted in our laboratory and the institutional facilities for zebrafish, microscopy, imaging, flow cytometry, biophysical characterisation, and structural biology.

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Ms Manisha Verma

Winter Research Fellow @ ILS (January 2023 – February 2023)

BFSc (Fisheries Science), College of Fisheries, Kawardha, Chhattisgarh (2017-’21).
MFSc (Fish Genetics & Breeding), Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai (2021-’23).
During her MFSc program from CIFE, Manisha spent one month in our lab at ILS. During this one-month attachment, she became familiar with most of the basic experiments conducted in our laboratory and the institutional facilities for zebrafish, microscopy, imaging, flow cytometry, biophysical characterisation, and structural biology.

Ms Neha Gantayat

Summer Research Fellow @ ILS (June 2022 – July 2022)

BSc (Life Sciences), Miranda House, University of Delhi (2021-’23).
During the short time with us, Neha learned and gained hands-on experience with most of the molecular biology and protein chemistry techniques we use in our laboratory.

Mr Aghil T S A

Winter Research Fellow @ ILS (December 2019 – January 2020)

Integrated MSc (Life Sciences), Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur (2016-’21)
While with us, Aghil learned and gained hands-on experience with a range of molecular biology and protein chemistry techniques we use in our laboratory.
Current affiliation: PhD student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Mr. Ankur Singh

Summer Research Fellow @ ILS (May 2019 – July 2019)

BSc (Cell & Molecular Biology), Vikram Sarabhai Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda (2016-’19).
MSc (Biotechnology), Pondicherry University, 2021.
While with us during his BSc, Ankur worked on a project from MS University and an additional project on a viral enzyme from our group.
Current affiliation: PhD student at IIT Gandhinagar.

Mr. Sudatta Chandan

Summer Research Fellow @ ILS (June 2018 – July 2018)

BSc (Biotechnology), College of Basic Science & Humanities, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, 2017.
MSc (Biotechnology), Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, 2019.
While with us, Sudatta got hands-on experience with basic molecular biology and protein chemistry work
Current affiliation: Project Assistant at RMRC, Bhubaneswar.

Ms. Feba Shaji

National Academy-sponsored Summer Research Fellow @ ILS (April 2017 – June 2017)

BSc (Zoology), Assumption College (MG University), Kottayam, 2016.
MSc (Biochemistry), Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, 2018.
While with us, Feba worked on cloning, expression, and purification of a mycobacterial protein for structural characterisation.
Completed her PhD from RGCB, Trivandrum.
Current affiliation: Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, San Diego, USA.

Mr. Aravind M

National Academy-sponsored Summer Research Fellow @ ILS (June 2016 – August 2016)

B.Tech (Biotechnology), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 2017.
MTech (Computational Biology) at Pondicherry University, 2019.
While with us, Aravind worked on cloning, expression, and purification of a chaperone protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He was guided by Rajiv.