The Research interests of the faculty do not fall under the traditional subjects. Many faculty members work in different areas. Research plans of the faculty members are described as follows.
- Biological Physics & Mechano-Biology
Tamal Das
Email: tdas at tifrh dot res dot in
Many cell types in our body display collective behavior. In this process, a specific quantity such as cellular velocity shows spatial correlation over a distance that is much larger than the individual cell size. Collective cell behavior is key to the development of an embryo into an adult organism, emergence of the elaborate structure of an organ, closure of a wound, and lethal propagation of a cancer. The Das group aims to reveal the rules that guide various instances of collective cell behavior. Their specific intension is to understand the dynamics of many cells as a cohesive group from the point of view of forces that act on them. Consequently, they take advantage of several interdisciplinary techniques such as stress microscopy, particle image velocimetry, molecular force sensing, micropatterning, and microfluidics to obtain an integrative understanding of the relevant collective process.
Aprotim Mazumder
Email: aprotim at tifrh dot res dot in
Biology as a discipline is becoming progressively more quantitative, using tools often developed in other disciplines. The Mazumder laboratory uses methods like single molecule RNA detection to assay transcriptional heterogeneity in the context of stress responses in cells and tissues from the fruit-fly Drosophila melanogaster. Mathematical modeling of these responses, in collaboration with our Physics colleagues, will lead to mechanistic insight into the response processes. Other biophysical tools of measuring dynamics in live cells are also used, described in the fluorescence section.
Prasad Perlekar
Email: perlekar at tifrh dot res dot in
Various microorganisms from bacteria to phytoplanktons form spectacular patterns. In some cases such as plankton blooms these patterns can span several kilometers and are visible from a satellite. Through simple models we investigate the interplay of population biology, motility, and fluid dynamics.
- Biophysical Chemistry Molecular Biophysics
Kanchan Garai
Email: kanchan at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Kanchan Garai’s lab is working on understanding the role of protein folding, mis-folding and protein-protein interactions on the aggregation of amyloid proteins. Amyloid aggregation is involved in the pathology of multiple human diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and type II diabetes. Apolipoprotein E and chaperones are known to modulate amyloid aggregation. We are investigating the molecular mechanisms of the interactions of these proteins on aggregation of amyloid proteins such as amyloid beta, alpha-synuclein and islet amyloid polypeptide. We are also working in understanding the self-assembly of functional amyloids such as curli fibers by enteric bacteria which employ amyloids to form bacterial biofilms. Garai lab builds and develops single molecule fluorescence techniques such as single molecule FRET and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to characterize folding intermediates of apolipoprotein E and super resolution optical microscopy such as STORM for characterization of aggregation intermediates of amyloid peptides. These techniques will be used in the future to study interactions of amyloids with neuronal cells.
K. V. R. Chary
Email: chary at tifr dot res dot in
Prof. Chary uses NMR to investigate the 3D structures and properties of biological molecules in atomic detail and their correlation with biological activity. He elegantly combines high-resolution 3D structural and dynamics information with that of judicious mix of other supporting biophysical tools to achieve a wholesome understanding of the system on hand. He decoded the implications of calcium-binding proteins from Entamoeba hystalitica and archaea in pathogenicity. He develops new NMR methodologies, which speed up both acquisition and analysis of multidimensional NMR data by several orders of magnitude and push the boundary of NMR capability.
Kalyaneswar Mandal
Email: kmandal at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Mandal uses total chemical protein synthesis and protein crystallography to understand key protein-protein interactions responsible for the invasion of human erythrocyte by the deadly Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite. He is also using a unique combination of chemistry and biology to systematically identify non-natural protein inhibitors, made up of all D- amino acids, which can interfere with these protein-protein interactions and ultimately eliminate malaria transmission.
Jagannath Mondal
Email: jmondal at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Jagannath Mondal’s Research involves utilizing the novel techniques of molecular simulation to provide key insights into diverse topics of biological interest. The group uses a multi-scale approach in developing the models of diverse resolution to address questions of biological and chemical processes. The methods of choice involve Molecular Dynamics simulation, Monte Carlo simulation and Brownian Dynamics simulations. The group routinely employs various enhanced sampling methods and novel free-energy methods to access the relevant length scale and time scale associated with the biological and chemical problems of interest.
Kaustubh R. Mote
Email: kaustuberm at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Mote uses solid state NMR spectroscopy to understand the active transport of metabolites across membranes at the molecular level. Current work in the lab focuses on two fronts: (1) Development of techniques for oriented and magic angle spinning NMR techniques for characterization of biomolecules and (2) Understanding the molecular basis of pyruvate transport across the inner mitochondrial membrane through the Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier Complex. The long term goal of the lab is to leverage improved techniques in solid state NMR to determine an atomistic picture of metabolite transport across biological membranes. This is expected to yield insights into metabolic processes in healthy and diseased cells.
P. K. Madhu
Email: madhu at tifr dot res dot in
P. K. Madhu researches on improving sensitivity and resolution of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and its applications in various materials. His group particularly addresses the toxicity aspects of amyloid peptides in connection with Alzheimer’s disease and researches on toxicity modulators. The group also has interests in imaging and low-magnetic-field magnetic resonance.
Pramodh Vallurupalli
Email: pramodh at tifrh dot res dot in
Biomolecules like proteins and nucleic acids interconvert between different conformations. This dynamics occurs over timescales ranging from microseconds to seconds. Pramodh is interested in understanding how these large biomolecules interconvert between different conformations. The main tool is NMR spectroscopy supplemented with molecular biology and computational techniques. An important part of the research is developing new NMR methods to study these processes.
- Cell & Cancer Biology
Tamal Das
Email: tdas at tifrh dot res dot in
Cells in our body seldom live alone. Many important physiological processes, including embryonic development, organogenesis, regeneration, and wound healing, require tens or even hundreds of cells to coordinate their actions in such a way that they essentially act as a single entity or a collective. Collective cell behavior also determines the efficiency of cancer progression and metastasis. The Das group is interested in understanding the governing rules of various types of collective dynamics at cellular level. Moreover, they aim to reveal the underlying molecular mechanisms that enable the cells to coordinate their movements, to synchronize their decision to proliferate, and to initiate the removal of any precariously transformed individual. To this end, they take a unique interdisciplinary and integrative approach where molecular biology and optogenetic tools are coupled with force and motion measurement techniques.
Aprotim Mazumder
Email: aprotim at tifrh dot res dot in
Biology represents one of the frontiers of science where interdisciplinary efforts have proven transformative. Activities in Cell and Cancer Biology are about taking off at TCIS, and other areas of biological research are envisaged to start soon. Descriptions of some of the current directions are described below.
A vast body of literature has established an intimate link between DNA damage responses (DDR) and the emergence of cancer. Perturbations of specific DNA repair pathways are often associated with cancers in specific tissues. A broad aim of research in the Mazumder laboratory is to elucidate the tissue-specific emergence of cancer with mutations in specific DNA repair pathways, and to towards this end we are currently investigating the links between global genome organization and DDR using tools of quantitative microscopy and flow cytometry. We use both cells in culture and tissue from the fruit-fly Drosophila melanogaster.
Monika Vig
Email: mvig at tifrh dot res dot in
We are working towards understanding the molecular basis of T cell receptor (TCR) induced ion flux in T cell development and effector function. Point mutations in molecular components involved in ion flux have been associated with severe immunodeficiency and cancers in human and mice. Using a combination of molecular, genetic, biochemical and imaging approaches and mouse models, we are studying the T cell signaling networks regulated by ion flux and their role in regulating the physiological and pathological processes such as inflammation and cancer.
Adish Dani
Email: adishd at tifrh dot res dot in
Organisms interact with their immediate environment, including members of their own and different species, through a number of sensory modalities. The dynamic interplay between the sensory environment, genes and neural circuits that occurs in evolutionary and developmental time shapes the sensory biology of an animal. My research is broadly centered on the cell biology of sensory systems to understand,
A) How sensory experience sculpts the plastic properties of synapses and
B) molecular and cellular mechanisms of signal detection and transduction in sensory neurons.
We currently use the mouse olfactory and vomeronasal systems as a model in these studies. A third major interest is to develop nanoscopic imaging methods to help address these goals and to investigate molecular organization at major cellular signaling junctions, such as neuronal synapses.
- Computational Chemistry & Physics
Smarajit Karmakar
Email: smarajit at tifrh dot res dot in
The group of Smarajit Karmakar uses extensive Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations methods to understand the physics of glass formation and their mechanical properties. We are also working on other enhanced sampling methods to improve the sampling of phase space in order to access the low temperatures phases of glassy systems in an efficient way.
- Condensed matter Physics
Karthik V. Raman
Email: kvraman at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Raman specializes in large area epitaxial thin film growth and nanofabrication of various exotic materials ranging from ferromagnets, superconductors, topological insulators & other 1D & 2D nanostructures with in-situ surface and interface electronic characterizations. His research has applications in building next generation low power sensors and memory devices.
Darshan G. Joshi
Email: djoshi at tifrh dot res dot in
My research focuses on theoretical investigation of quantum entangled phases of matter arising from an interplay of interactions, topology, and disorder.
- Fluid Dynamics
Prasad Perlekar
Email: perlekar at tifrh dot res dot in
Multiphase fluid flows are ubiquitous in nature. Transport of aerosols in atmosphere, spray formation are all examples of turbulent multiphase flows. Our group is interested is interested in the physics of emulsion formation by turbulence, dynamics of bubbles and droplets in turbulence, and the fundamentals of two- and three-dimensional turbulent flows.
- Fluorescence Spectroscopy/Microscopy & Laser Spectroscopy
Aprotim Mazumder
Email: aprotim at tifrh dot res dot in
To answer questions in Cell and Cancer Biology in a quantitative manner the Mazumder laboratory uses various methods of fluorescence microscopy – from single molecule imaging of RNA in cells and tissues to fluorescence anisotropy and other live cell measurements of dynamics. Image analysis tools are developed in-house to assay for cell-cycle dependent DDR or chromatin compaction states in living cells. These methods allow access not only to the mean stress responses, but also to their heterogeneity in cell populations; this is important for detecting small subpopulations that may be critical to the disease phenotype in many cancers.
- Materials Science
Kanchan Garai
Email: kanchan at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Garai is interested in developing bionanomaterials using self-assembly of peptides and proteins. He is currently working on designing sequences to prepare peptide based switchable nano wires, 2D materials and 3D hydrogels.
Karthik V. Raman
Email: kvraman at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Raman specializes in large area epitaxial thin film growth and nanofabrication of various exotic materials ranging from ferromagnets, superconductors, topological insulators & other 1D & 2D nanostructures with in-situ surface and interface electronic characterizations. His research has applications in building next generation low power sensors and memory devices.
T. N. Narayanan
Email: tnn at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Narayanan (TNN) is working on the engineering of nanomaterials for energy and sensing related applications. These include the development of atomic layers based 2D materials, their heteroatoms doped counter parts and combinatorial stacks, for catalytic and energy storage applications. He is also interested in theoretical and experimental aspects of carrier transport through these mesoscopic systems.
- Molecular Genetics
Manish Jaiswal
Email: manish at tifrh dot res dot in
Genetic regulation of neuronal health and mitochondrial biology
How neurons survive and function throughout the life of an organism, while most cells live comparably a very short life is one of the fundamental questions in biology. Manish and his group use the wealth of fly genetic tools and genomics to investigate how a neuron maintains a healthy pool of mitochondria, which is imperative to its survival. The mitochondria, which are the cellular metabolic hub and powerhouse, are dynamic organelles that undergo cycles of fission/fusion and biogenesis/degradation. The dynamics of this organelle can be dramatically altered under stress in a cell specific manner, however, how this phenomenon is regulated in health and in disease is an emerging research area and a focus of the group.
- Molecular Immunology and Cell Signaling
Monika Vig
Email: mvig at tifrh dot res dot in
We are working towards understanding the molecular basis of T cell receptor (TCR) induced ion flux in T cell development and effector function. Point mutations in molecular components involved in ion flux have been associated with severe immunodeficiency and cancers in human and mice. Using a combination of molecular, genetic, biochemical and imaging approaches and mouse models, we are studying the T cell signaling networks regulated by ion flux and their role in regulating the physiological and pathological processes such as inflammation and cancer.
- Molecular Neuroscience
Adish Dani
Email: adishd at tifrh dot res dot in
Organisms interact with their immediate environment, including members of their own and different species, through a number of sensory modalities. The dynamic interplay between the sensory environment, genes and neural circuits that occurs in evolutionary and developmental time shapes the sensory biology of an animal. My research is broadly centered on the cell biology of sensory systems to understand,
A) How sensory experience sculpts the plastic properties of synapses and
B) molecular and cellular mechanisms of signal detection and transduction in sensory neurons.
We currently use the mouse olfactory and vomeronasal systems as a model in these studies. A third major interest is to develop nanoscopic imaging methods to help address these goals and to investigate molecular organization at major cellular signaling junctions, such as neuronal synapses.
- NMR Spectroscopy
- Soft Matter
Smarajit Karmakar
Email: smarajit at tifrh dot res dot in
In the Soft Matter Front, the group is focusing on understanding different mechanical behaviour of soft matter disordered systems like colloidal glasses, polymers etc. Cavitation in these solids and their implications on the mechanical properties are being currently investigated in detail. We are also trying to understand the physics of bio-preservation where glassiness of the matrix solvent plays a major role.
- Synthetic Chemistry
Anukul Jana
Email: ajana at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Jana’s team synthesizes compounds with low-valent low-coordinate group 13-15 elements which can mimics transition metal complexes in terms of bonding and reactivity. He specializes in performing experiments using extremely air/moisture sensitive compounds for the development of unprecedented class of compounds which has immense potential in small molecules activation and catalysis.
Kalyaneswar Mandal
Email: kmandal at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Mandal applies synthetic organic chemistry tools to understand and precisely control the molecular basis of protein function. He is currently engaged in the design and synthesis of novel polypeptide chain topology, fabrication of unique protein analogues, and total chemical synthesis of mirror image proteins – all aiming towards the design of novel protein agonists or antagonists of specificdisease related protein-protein interactions.
T. N. Narayanan
Email: tnn at tifrh dot res dot in
Dr. Narayanan (TNN) is working on the designing of nanomaterials for energy and sensing related applications. These include the development of atomic layers based 2D materials, their heteroatoms doped counter parts and combinatorial stacks, for catalytic and energy storage applications. He is also interested in theoretical and experimental aspects of carrier transport through these mesoscopic systems.
- Theoretical Chemistry & Physics
Smarajit Karmakar
Email: smarajit at tifrh dot res dot in
The main research interests of group of Smarajit Karmakar are the statistical physics of disordered system. The group is trying to understanding the puzzling phenomena of extreme slowing down of dynamics in supercooled liquids and the associated glass transition. Some of the particular research directions we are pursuing are :
- Looking for elusive order in disordered system and the associated correlation length.
- Ideal glassy states in systems with quenched disorder and their connection to spin glass physics.
- Glasses with metallicity : physics of metallic glasses.
- Brittleness and Ductility of amorphous solids – is there a transition?
Amorphization Transition : how to transform a crystal in to amorphous states and can one learn something from this transition?
Prasad Perlekar
Email: perlekar at tifrh dot res dot in
The physics of multi-component fluids governs natural phenomena from galactic to microorganismal scales. Our group is interested in a) the coupling of population dynamics, motility and flow; b) numerical investigations of turbulent multiphase flows; and c) fundamentals of two-and three-dimensional turbulent flows. We use tools from nonlinear dynamics, non-equilibrium statistical physics, and high resolution numerical simulations to unravel and understand a variety of these
phenomena.
Darshan G. Joshi
Email: djoshi at tifrh dot res dot in
My research focuses on theoretical investigation of quantum entangled phases of matter arising from an interplay of interactions, topology, and disorder.