Team:IISER Kolkata/Team
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Team Leaders
Lakshmi Prakash (she/her)
Engagement - Wet Lab
Hi! I am Lakshmi, currently a fifth-year Biology major student at IISER Kolkata. I am interested in cognition and developmental biology. I believe that iGEM forms a huge part of exposure that any budding scientist needs to grow. Science is meant for fun and that is what this competition stands for. I love dogs and mostly spend my free time travelling, reading and listening to music.
Debdeep Chatterjee (he/him/his)
Engagement - Wet Lab
Hi! I am Debdeep, currently a fifth-year Biology major student at IISER Kolkata. I am fond of molecular biology and protein engineering. Other than managing and leading this wonderful team I work as a bio-modeler. I mostly spend my free time listening to music, reading or watching web series. The journey of iGEM2021 has been a roller coaster ride which I have enjoyed every bit with my team members.
Team Members
Mahapatra Anshuman Jaysingh (he/him/his)
Engagement - Dry Lab
Hi! I am Anshuman; a 5th year biology major at IISERK. A theoretical and computational biologist by trade, the overlap of theoretical and experimental biology attracted me to igem. You can find me mostly working in the dry lab component of the project. If you cannot find me working on code, you will definitely find me either gardening or playing with dogs. I also write some amateur poetry.
Soumi Bhattacharyya (she/her)
Engagement - Wet Lab & Human Practices
Hi there! I am Soumi Bhattacharyya, a fourth-year BS-MS student at IISER Kolkata majoring in Biology. I am interested in evolutionary and behavioral biology and have a weird fascination with Drosophila! Thanks to iGEM, I got the golden opportunity of exploring other fields in biology, gaining the experience of building a project from scratch, and interacting with so many people out there in the world of academia to exchange some crazy ideas. When I am stressed, I find solace in music and my piano.
Shubhamay Das (he/him/his)
Engagement - Wet Lab & Dry Lab
Hi! I am Shubhamay, currently a fourth-year Biology major student at IISER Kolkata. My love for genetics and molecular biology attracted me to join the iGEM team. It is an honor to work as a bio-modeler as well as a dry-lab member with such a beautiful team. Apart from watching horror films, playing drums and painting are my stress-busters.
Debshruti Biswas (she/her)
Engagement - Wet Lab & Human Practices
Hello, I am Debshruti, a biology major student. I am attracted to molecular biology along with more than usual interests in disease biology! I have always been amazed by the ‘power of change’ that synthetic biology possesses. iGEM 2021 competition has allowed me to explore the interdisciplinary facets of synthetic biology. Other than academia I like watching web series, reading, painting, making memes, and spending time with my fellow iGEM team members.
Shreyash Borkar (he/him/his)
Engagement - Wet Lab & Graphics Design
Hello, I am Shreyash, a fourth year Biology major. My curiosity about gene engineering paved my way in iGEM. I mainly work in wet lab and love to design and sketch. Apart from this you can find me laughing at my phone enjoying comedy shows.
Sourin Chatterjee (he/him/his)
Engagement - Wet Lab, Dry Lab & Human Practices
Hi! I am Sourin, currently a third-year Mathematics major and Biology minor student at IISER Kolkata. My passion for mathematical biology has landed me in the iGEM team. Though I mainly work in Dry Lab, I have been associated with Human Practice and Wet lab too, which enables me to work with each one of my talented teammates. Watching movies and web series, writing poems, paintings and last but not the least making memes are my favorite pastime.
Adrija Adhikary (she/her)
Engagement - Wet Lab & Human practices
Hello! I am Adrija, currently a third-year Biology major and Chemistry minor student at IISER Kolkata. I love molecular biology and currently am delving into studying more about how molecular biology works in embryogenesis and disease progression. I mainly work in the Wet Lab as a bio modeller. Wasting time reading useless trivia, cuddling plushies and semi-serious gymming are my favourite all times.
Udit Ghosh (he/him/his)
Engagement - Wet Lab & Human Practices
Hello! Udit here, a third year undergraduate from IISER Kolkata with Biology as majors. I like writing stories, mostly incomplete. Indie music, coffee and poetry can surely make my day. Having a slight inclination towards biomedicine and virology, I like brainstorming theories on therapeutic approaches to several diseases (most of which successfully fail). Currently, I am working with the Wet Lab as well as the Human Practices team, and it has been a great experience so far. Also, on good days I click pictures of nature and win a badminton match.
Abeg Dutta (he/him/his)
Engagement - Wet Lab & Human practices
Hello ! I am Abeg Dutta , a third year undergraduate majoring in biological sciences and minoring in chemical sciences. I am currently working in the wet lab and human practices with my teammates. Apart from my passion in science , sketching , reading and writing poetry are my favourite getaways from the usual work schedule.
Nivedaa Dhandapani (she/her)
Engagement - Dry Lab
I am Nivedaa, an aspiring physicist very much fascinated by how beautifully biological phenomenon can be explained and visualised using physics. Origin of life from mere atoms always intrigued me and I love to further my understanding of life around us through the lens of physics. When I am not running codes I watch loads of movies, work out, go on walks, treks, trips and sketch. I see iGem as a wonderful opportunity to push limits of what I could do and I can't be more happier to be a part of it!
Primary Principal Investigator
Dr. Supratim Dutta (he/him/his)
Role - Primary Principal Investigator
The research in my laboratory focuses on engineering proteins and organisms to yield improved and novel functions for industrial and pharmaceutical applications. We plan on combining synthetic biology-based approach with protein and metabolic engineering techniques with an overall goal of providing biology-based solutions in areas of bioenergy and chemical production.
Secondary Principal Investigators
Dr. Dipjyoti Das (he/him/his)
Role - Secondary Principal Investigator
In my lab we try to understand how complex behaviors emerge in biological systems at different scales of organizations, starting from the sub-cellular and cellular scale to the tissue and organismic level. At all these scales, biological systems are generally characterized by a large set of interconnected physical and chemical processes that drive the system out of equilibrium. Our method of investigation of such systems is theoretical and computational model building (using tools of statistical physics) and data analysis, in close collaboration with experimental biologists.
Dr. Amirul Islam Mallick (he/him/his)
Role - Secondary Principal Investigator
My research group focuses on studying host-pathogen interaction at the mucosal surface and investigating the role of differential host responses against gut pathogens. Since effective host response at the mucosal surface can be achieved by directing memory and effector immune cells to the mucosal membranes through tissue-specific homing receptors, we are interested in understanding the contributions of the individual host cell types and molecules towards infection and immunity. Our current focus is studying the role of virulence repertories of emerging mucosal pathogens such as the Influenza virus and Campylobacter jejuni in inducing effective host response and exploring their potential as future vaccine candidates.
Advisors
Dwaipayan Dubey (he/him/his)
Role - Advisor
Hi! I am Dwaipayan, a 5th-year Physics major student at IISER Kolkata. I have also done a minor in Chemical Sciences. I love to approach biological problems from the broad purview of mathematical modeling. Hence, I chose iGEM to be the field where I can impose my interdisciplinary knowledge as an advisor. I am greatly pleased to have such beautiful teammates, expertised with unimaginable skills. Apart from academia, I love to capture the beautiful world with my camera. Also, playing cricket and football are my energy drinks.
Mani Gupta (he/him/his)
Role - Advisor
Hi I am Mani, a second year doctoral student at protein engineering lab in IISER kolkata. I am working in Synthetic Biology and Protein Engineering field. Guiding this year's iGEM team has been an enriching experience.
Praveen Nath (he/him/his)
Role - Advisor
Hello! I am Praveen, a 4th year PhD student of Biological Sciences in IISER Kolkata. I am a synthetic biologist who engineers bacteria to produce biofuels. My research topic encompasses metabolic and protein engineering. I had a great experience in advising this year’s IISER Kolkata iGEM team.
Diptatanu Das (he/him/his)
Role - Advisor
Hola! This is Diptatanu, a fifth-year BS-MS student at IISER Kolkata, who is a KVPY fellow, majoring in biology, with a chemistry minor. Previously, I was a part of the gold-medalist iGEM IISER Kolkata teams in 2018 and 2019, and it's both my pleasure and honour to help the 2021 team currently. My scientific pursuits lie in the field of protein biochemistry and molecular biophysics. However, hardly anything can beat my high affinity for good food and sleep! I am a passionate Culer and I naturally express my deep love for music, table tennis, football, cricket, etc., in my free time. Besides finding me arguing about why Leo Messi is the GOAT in football, you might find me trying to do some original work, like writing articles, maintaining our blog - The Qrius Rhino, and composing new songs.
Pinaki Chanda (he/him/his)
Role - Advisor
I'm a BS-MS graduated student interested in protein engineering and synthetic biology.
Lab Instructor
Dr. G Lekha (she/her)
Born in Karur, TamilNadu, Dr.Lekha Govindaraj had her graduation (UG and PG) from the Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu with distinction in Microbiology and Biotechnology. She gathered rich experiences in Biotechnology in the Genomic Laboratory of SeriBiotech Research Laboratory, Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, working as DBT-fellow and Research Associate. She was awarded PhD by the University of Mysore.
Dr. Lekha has joined the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata in 2017, as Scientific Officer in the Department of Biological sciences. Her knowledge of pure as well as applied science research when mixed with her student friendly behaviour, invites a creative opportunity to students ranging from UG to PhD courses. For this fundamental authority, Dr. Lekha Govindaraj is the instructor being in the IISERK iGEM Team since 2019.
Web Designers
Pedisetti Venkatesh (he/him/his)
Engagement - Web Development & web design
Hi, I am Venkatesh. I am a Physics major student from IISER Kolkata. I also have an interest in programming and coding. I do coding or watch anime in my free time.
Abhiroop Chauhan (he/him/his)
Engagement - Web Design
Hi, my name is Abhiroop and I'm a third-year student in the earth science department. I'm interested in computational geophysics and climate modelling. Much of my time is spent coding or visualising massive amounts of data. Cooking is another pastime of mine.
Heartfelt Thanks To
Dr. Sayam Sengupta (he/him/his)
Guide - Chemical synthesis, Entrepreneurship and Patent applications
Bio-Inspired Oxidation for Sustainable Chemical Synthesis; Inorganic Reaction Mechanism; Materials based on proteins and polypeptides for biomedical applications
Dr. Tapas Kumar Sengupta (he/him/his)
Guide - Biofilm assay
Understanding cancer biology at the level of regulation of gene expression and cancer therapeutics.ii) Microbiological, molecular and ecological characterization of intra- and interspecific interactions in natural isolates of microorganisms and application of such interactions for bioremedial purposes.
Abinash Padhy (he/him/his)
Guide - Hydrogel synthesis
I'm a Junior Research Scholar working in the chemistry department. I am mainly interested in Organic Synthesis, Polymer Synthesis, Bio-inspired Materials, Drug Delivery, Anti-cancer agents and Bio-medical Applications.
Swarnendu Roy (he/him/his)
Guide - GFP assay
Understanding the role of potassium ion flux in regulating ZAP-70 activity during T-Cell activation