People

Amitabh Joshi, PhD, FASc, FNA, FNASc, FISEB

Professor and Lab P.I.

Interested in poetry (Urdu, Farsi, English and Braj); history; philosophy; science (roughly in that order)

Seriously into coffee

"For a biologist, the alternative to thinking in evolutionary terms is not to think at all" - Peter B Medawar, Nobel Prize winning Immunologist



Neha Pandey

PhD, joined 2014

I did B.Sc. (H) in Botany from Delhi University, and M.Sc. in Environment Management from I.P. University, Delhi. Before joining as a PhD student in this lab, I have worked on different projects, involving analyses of secondary data, such as habitat suitability modelling of tigers, the spatial distribution of Agamid lizards in Western Ghats, and population dynamics of one-horned rhinoceros in Kaziranga, India.

My broad interests lie in population biology and, for my PhD, I am studying how evolutionary changes affect population dynamics. I am working on the topic of stability in populations having different life-history traits, for which I am using lab populations of Drosophila melanogaster which are adapted to different intensities of larval crowding. Differences in levels of crowding at the larval stage lead to evolution of different life-history traits which may affect the population dynamics. The results from my study will help in understanding whether life-history traits determine why some populations are unstable and why some are more prone to extinction while others are not.

I am also using simulations to understand the dynamics of metapopulations in heterogeneous patch systems and also the effect of variations in sex ratio on population dynamics.

I am also a Physics enthusiast and like travelling to mountainous and green landscapes.

Satyabrata Nayak

PhD, joined 2016

First of all, I consider myself a fan of the X-MEN (Yeah, that’s right. The Avengers are a bit too sunny for me, and I seldom fancy crossovers). I am also an avid gamer and a military history enthusiast.

I have an M.Sc. degree in Environmental Studies, a B.Sc. degree in Botany and an incurable love for Evolutionary Biology. My current interests revolve around the theories of inclusive inheritance and gene-culture coevolution. In the past, I have done some work in microbial ecology.

Two other topics that I often find myself drawn to are the history and philosophy of science and evolutionary psychology.

Srikant Venkitachalam

Integrated PhD student; 2014 batch

MS, 2017: An individual-based model for simulating the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of Drosophila cultures under different scenarios of larval crowding.

I did B.Sc. (Hons.) in Zoology from Hindu College, University of Delhi, before joining the integrated Ph.D. programme in Evolutionary & Organismal Biology here at JNCASR in 2014. My Masters thesis involved the creation of a simulation framework with which one can explore the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of Drosophila culture vials under various scenarios of larval crowding (this is a part of the on-going research in the lab on adaption to larval crowding in species with primarily scramble competition). I hope to take this line of work further for my PhD.

I also pursue the study of spider taxonomy as a hobby, and continue a childhood interest in dinosaurs and other things Mesozoic.

My other interests primarily revolve around videogames and anime.

Medha Rao

PhD, joined 2018

I completed my Masters in Zoology from Mangalore University. I have recently joined the lab as a Ph.D. student and am presently carrying out my coursework. I am broadly interested in evolutionary biology and behavioural ecology.

I have a keen interest in the taxonomy and ecology of Lepidoptera, Odonata, and Arachnida and would love to learn more about these taxa in future. Outside of academic work, my hobbies range from trekking to photography, as well as dancing.

Chinmay Krishna

PhD, joined 2019

My interests primarily fall in the areas of male-female co-evolution, evolution of organ-body size relationships and ageing.

I have a BS-MS dual degree with majors in Biology from IISER Mohali. For my masters dissertation, I used D. melanogaster populations with experimental evolution approach to examine the influence of selection history of males and females, infection status of females on male mate choice.

For my PhD, I am working on two broad and largely non-overlapping topics - 1. Male-female co-evolution and 2. Evolution of organ-body size scaling relationships. I am investigating these topics in the context of evolution of rapid pre-adult development and early reproduction using D. melanogaster populations with experimental evolution approach.

Outside of academic work, I enjoy doing photography and exploring various food cuisines. I am also an avid chess player and a Test cricket enthusiast.

Mohnish Singh

PhD, joined 2021

I completed my Bsc honours in Zoology from Ramjas College, University of Delhi. I did my masters in Zoology from the University of Lucknow. My interests lie in the broad field of evolutionary ecology. I wish to build a teaching career in the same.

Born and raised in Lucknow, I am naturally a foodie with taste buds aligned towards Mughlai and Awadhi cuisines. Also, I like to immerse myself in music including genres like Indian classical, pop, soul and soft rock. Sia is my favourite voice of all time.

I like to maintain my own space where I look forward to growing intellectually. Ideas related to nature and psychology sometimes transcend in my attempts to craft short poems. Additionally, I love singing, cricket related stuff and anime culture.

Bhawna Mittal

PhD, joined 2021

I completed my BSc (hons) in Biological Sciences from Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi. I did my Master's in Biochemistry from University of Hyderabad. I am broadly interested in the areas of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. I aspire to pursue teaching as a career in the future. The other topics that draw my interest are Economics and Finance.

I am a cleanliness freak who loves to keep everything tidy and organized. I enjoy stand-up comedy and at times, being a comic myself. I find tranquility in cooking and spending time at beaches. I relish listening to retro, Sufi music and following cricket and chess.

N. Rajanna & Muniraju Gowda

The pillars of the lab: without their untiring assistance with media preparation, glassware washing and numerous other efforts in the lab, none of us would have been able to get any experimental work done.

Rajanna has been with the lab since 1997-98; Muniraju joined us later, when M. Manjesh left.