Graduate Students
Biswajit Panda
The world of natural science has always been a great inspiration for me. In my undergraduate, I worked on marine fish taxonomy which gave me the opportunity to learn about the life history and biology of elusive marine animals. With my gradual understanding of animal life forms, Theodosius Dobzhansky's famous statement "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" made me realize the importance of evolutionary biology.
Evolution, being the central organizing concept to explain all biological phenomena; from the very small (biomolecules) to the very large (ecosystems), from the rise and spread of molecular variants to the behavior and body shapes of animals, appealed to me as a promising area for my doctoral research. I will be looking into the lineage specific expansion
of some of the major invertebrate phyla from genomics point of view using comparative genomics approaches for my doctoral research work. Apart from my research , I am a science communicator. I write popular science articles in regional as well as national science magazines. I love to read classic English literature, biographies of famous scientists, history books, and Odia literature books. Additionally, I love to cook traditional Odia foods.
Rakesh Siuli
Evolution is the core fundamental concept illustrating the numerous random and selective factors that shape biological life, and perhaps has the greatest potential to address the enigma of how and why it has grown so sophisticated. I wish to understand more about this fine intricacy and elaborateness within biology.
Proteins are the molecular machines responsible for orchestrating fundamental biological processes, whose function depends on the architecture of their machinery. These architectures defined by “protein folds” are very limited in number, but evolution has tinkered with it producing enormous variation in their configuration, giving rise to the protein universe of all living entities. My research interest lies in understanding evolution of this protein machinery and the genes coding them, with the aim of exploring and uncovering the structural, functional and evolutionary trends associated with some well-known protein folds in various biological system. Apart from my research work, I am an enthusiast of cinematic drama, video games, nature documentaries and enjoy to keep myself updated with commercial technological advancements.
Current BS-MS 5th year Project Students
Shiviya Raina
I have always been drawn to biology and computer science, and to have the freedom of doing biology using computational tools is what fascinates me the most about my work. It has been rightly quoted that "without speculation, there is no good and original observation"; and I think evolutionary biology gives me the freedom to do the same. My research interest lies in the area of comparative genomics and my research question involves understanding the evolution of Chemosensory receptors in Cnidarians and explore the potential lineage-specific expansions that underpinned the chemosensory diversity. When I am not busy speculating the answers to the evolution of life, I like to read and watch
movies.
Summer internship Students (2021)
Gyanaranjan Parida
Deepjyothi Sathpathy
Athira Anil (IISER Thirupati)
Priyadarsani Patra
Megha Suresh
Gayathri M
Hibbah
I find comparative genomics as an exciting field to get involved and what fascinates me more is its opportunity to discover what we share with other species and what makes us unique. My research work is about ‘clarifying the evolution and phylogenetic relationships of lipid binding GPCRs. Since GPCRs constitute the most widely targeted proteins to modify physiological functions and pathological processes, the development of pharmacological agents that selectively interact with such novel receptors opens the prospect for entirely novel therapeutic venues.
Apart from my research work ,I am interested in photography and I enjoy my free time by drawing portraits.