People
Sheetal Gandotra (Principal Investigator)
I did my BSc in Biochemistry at Sri Venkateswara College(DU), MSc in Biochemistry at University of Delhi South Campus, PhD in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences (NYC, USA), followed by post-doctoral training at Cambridge University, UK. Since 2011, I started my independent group at IGIB with an interest in tuberculosis pathogenesis and host metabolism. Having had excellent teachers and mentors during my pre-doctoral, doctoral, and post-doctoral training, I value the time I spend with my lab members - both in the lab and outside. I enjoy teaching.
I have taught courses on research ethics, scientific writing, cell biology, and immunology in the AcSIR curriculum at IGIB.
Outside the lab, I enjoy my bharatanatyam classes and cooking for special occasions.
Akanksha Singh (Post doctoral fellow)
akankshasingh81293@gmail.com
I pursued my B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. in Zoology from Ramjas College, University of Delhi. Further, I did my doctoral research in the field of neurodegeneration from Department of Zoology, University of Delhi. Having studied the role of lipid metabolism in progression of Huntington’s disease during my Ph.D., I could appreciate the dynamic role lipids play in maintaining cellular and physiological homeostasis. It is indeed enthralling how these microscopic molecules orchestrate together to create a healthy living environment and how minute alterations to them can lead to a wide range of diseases. At present, I aim to understand the role of lipid droplet associated proteins in pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with a hope to contribute to management of Mtb infection.
Apart from research, I like to read non-fictional books, teach, listen to music, cook and spend time outdoors.
Rakesh Jha (PhD student)
gopaljha64@gmail.com
Lipid droplet proteome is a very dynamic system. Recently many people have shown that proteins present on lipid droplets are not just sitting there rather they are functionally active. My research is focussed on understanding the role of ribosomal proteins on lipid droplets.
Apart from Science, I enjoy listening to music, eating and sleeping.
Arpita Nahak (PhD student)
arpitanahak69@gmail.com
I have completed my Graduation from RIE Bhubaneswar and then went to GGV Bilaspur to pursue my Master's in Zoology with a specialization in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which kept me involved in science and research. I joined IGIB as a Ph.D. scholar in August 2020. It's a bliss to be a part of this lab and to work with a group of amazing people. I want to explore the role of proteins assisting lipid droplets and their dynamics during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, regulating host immune responses.
Apart from science, Music and food are my all-time partners. I love to sing and dance in my free time.
Vaishnavi Tripathi (PhD student)
vaishnavitripathi2497@gmail.com
My interest to explore various facets of host-pathogen interaction brought me to this lab in August 2021. The complex cell envelope of Mycobacterium tuberculosis contributes to the adaptability of this notorious pathogen to human host. My doctoral work focusses on elucidating the role of putative phospholipases in conferring virulence to the bacteria and enabling remodelling of cell membrane lipids. In lab, you’ll find me struggling with reaching lab shelves.
Apart from science, I enjoy morning walks, making mandala arts and spending time with my loved ones.
Bhoomika Manchandia (Project fellow)
mbhoomika@gmail.com
I have always been intrigued by the adaptive nature of microbes and the various mechanisms adopted by them to establish themselves superior to humans; the case is no different in case of Mycobacterium tuberculosis which continues to be a great threat to human life. Lipid droplets have been shown to be important for host-pathogen interaction and in regulation of immune responses. As a project associate in the lab, my work involves understanding the role of lipid droplet proteins beyond lipid metabolism, and their interacting partners during infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Besides this, I enjoy dancing, reading mythology novels and travelling.
Previous lab members
Neetika Jaisinghani, first PhD student of the lab! Investigated the origin of foamy macrophages during TB infection and studied the flux of fatty acids into triglycerides in Mtb infected macrophages. She delineated the role of necrosis in fatty acid flux toward triglycerides during Mtb infection. Now a postdoctoral fellow at Jessica Seeliger's lab, SUNY Stony Brook (USA).
Ananya Nandy investigated how the lipid content of the host cell shapes the physiology of M. tuberculosis for her doctoral research. She used the adipocyte/preadipocyte and macrophages models of infection to address this question. She is now a post-doctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (USA) where she studies bone marrow adipocytes in the lab of Elizabeth Rendina-Ruedy.
Purva Bhandari worked on understanding lipid remodeling in mycobacteria for her doctoral research. She is now working in the biotech industry.
Stanzin Dawa evaluated the C3HeB/FeJ mouse model for understanding the role of foamy macrophages in infection. His doctoral research demonstrated that DGAT1 inhibition could lower granuloma triglyceride content, resulting in lowering the inflammatory response to infection and offering host protective benefits. He is moving to Emory University for his postdoctoral research.
Dilip Menon studied how the LD proteome of macrophages is altered upon Mtb infection. He identified ARL8B as a key regulator of lipid droplet homeostasis by a process that involves direct LD-to-lysosome transfer of lipids for lysosomal lipolysis. He is currently working in the biotech industry.
PV Ragavendran recently completed his PhD, working on membrane lipids of mycobacteria.
Debika Datta was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab for a brief time. She is now working in the biotech industry.
Mahak Vohra was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab. After a stint in the biotech industry, she is now undertaking postdoctoral research in stem cell biology.
Gitanjali Charak was a project assistant in the lab and is currently pursuing PhD at the Max Planck in Muenster.
Our lab has hosted several undergraduate and Masters level students for short term training (Aanaisha Jhaldiyal, Rahul, Aabhash Bhattarcharya, Sushovan Dam, Dilip Menon, Vinay Kumar Saparu, Nikky Goel, Abhinav Chowdhury, Poonam Patel, Sudhichan Mehta, Nitish Kumar Ranjan, Pragadeeswaran, Vaidehi Miya, Nishita Chouhan, Pooja Mani, Moumita Mondal, Kanika Bhutani, B. Aishwarya) and project assistantship (Heena Arora, Sandhya Balasubramaniam, Anushree Badolia, Anshul Rana, Shahla Thasni and Sachi Jain).