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Bodhisatta Nandy (Bodhi)
Bodhisatta Nandy (Bodhi)
Ancestrally from Kolkata, West Bengal. I graduated from the University of Calcutta with B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Zoology. Then I moved to Mohali, Punjab to complete my PhD in Evolutionary Biology under the mentorship of Prof. N. G. Prasad, IISER Mohali. After a brief postdoc stint with Prof. Amitabh Joshi at JNCASR, Bangalore, I moved to Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University and took up my first faculty position (DST-INSPIRE Faculty). Since 2016 October, I am a faculty member at the IISER Berhampur.
Apart from being the founding member of the Department of Biological Sciences, I have served as Head of the Department for several years. I am the Dean of Student Affairs at present.
Extremely passionate about Evolution and Ecology, I am more conventional and classical Evolutionist - mostly find interest in organismal level work. Love teaching. Love playing - cricket, football etc.
You can reach me at: nandy@iiserbpr.ac.in
Rabi Sankar Pal (Ph.D. student, Funding: Institute fellowship)
email: rabisp@iiserbpr.ac.in
Joined: August 2019; PhD thesis submitted (February 2025)
A trained field Biologist, Rabi is working on mating behaviour and physiology of Parthenium beetles. He is trying to understand why do these beetles show their very interesting "long copulations", and why a potent biocontrol (i.e., the beetle) of the Parthenium has failed to regulate the overgrowth of the Parthenium weed.
Smita Adhikary (Ph.D. student, Funding: DST-INSPIRE)
email: smitaa@iiserbpr.ac.in
Joined: August 2022
A native of West Bengal. Did her M.Sc. from West Bengal State University in Zoology before joining IISER Berhampur for her Ph.D. She was granted DST-INSPIRE fellowship. Interested in sexual conflict and gender load. She is studying the potential evolution of gender load under nutrition-dependent adaptation. She is also investigating the role of interspecific interactions in the modulation of gender load - using two species of Drosophila.
Mousumee Das (Ph.D. student, Funding: Institute)
email: 2410106@iiserbpr.ac.in
Joined: August 2024
A native of Cuttack, Mousumee did her M.Sc. from Utkal University in Zoology before joining the lab. She is studying the evolution of thermotolerant life history using Experimental Evolution on fruit flies. She is passionate about natural history of birds and insects.
Dwijattam Mukherjee (Provisional PhD candidate, funded by LSRF grant)
email: 2420107@iiserbpr.ac.in
Joined: October 2024
Hailing from West Bengal, Dwijattam (or DT as he is known in the lab) is a Masters in Microbiology. He is still in search of a problem for his PhD dissertation.
Prabhu Kaibalya Das (Ph.D. student, Funding: Institute )
email: prabhud@iiserbpr.ac.in
Joined: December 2024
A native of Puri, Odisha, Prabhu started off studying Fungal Molecular Biology and then shifted to the lab in December 2024. Since then he is studying spontaneous dispersal. He has set us a set of selection line of dispersal, and also intends to study evolution of dispersal syndrome under thermal adaptation.
Sayan Das (Provisional PhD candidate, CSIR JRF)
email: 2420109@iiserbpr.ac.in
Joined: January 2025
A Zoology masters from University of Calcutta, Sayan is from West Bengal. He is interested in Sexual selection and conflict, but is yet to develop a problem for his PhD dissertation.
Fly-work is laborious
Pajeb, Satya, Saubhik, Purbasha
Summer visitor
(....not to the lab, fortunately) - Indian cobra
A frequent scene in the lab
Lab dinner
The lab has now relocated to the main campus
Beach trip
Shubhasish, Tuba, Purbasha, Swarnabha
The entire team of 2016 (@Dept. Zoology, Banaras Hindu University)
From left:
Shubhasish Halder (Ph.D. student)
Tanya Verma (Ph.D. student)
BN
Purbasha Dasgupta (Ph.D. student)
Akankshya Aparupa Das (Alumnus)
Saubhik Sarkar (Project Assistant)
Summer of 2017: the entire team during summer dinner
From left:
1. BN; 2. Debopriya (IISER Bpr); 3. Altamash (BHU); 4. Purbasha; 5. Tanya; 6. Haris (IISER Bpr); 7. Anish (IISER Bpr); 8. Amisha (IISER Mohali)
Missing out in action: Deepti
Alumni:
Dr. Syed Zeeshan Ali (Postdoc, 2017-18). Presently, postdoc at Syrcuse University, with Prof. Scot Pitnick
Dr. Ranjit Kumar Sahu, (Postdoc, 2019-20). Presently, DST-INSPIRE Faculty at CCMB - LACONES
Dr. Purbasha Dasgupta, (PhD student, 2017-2023). Presently, postdoc at Brown University, USA.
Dr. Tanya Verma, (PhD student, 2017-2023). Presently, postdoc at University of Winipig, Canada.
Dr. Subhasish Halder, (PhD student, 2018-2024). Presently, postdoc at the University of Linkoping, Sweden.
Tuba Rizvi (2018, Summer intern)
Pajeb Saha (2018, Summer intern)
Asmita Basu (2018, Summer intern)
Saubhik Sarkar (2015-16: Masters dissertation, BHU; 2018 Summer: Project Assistant, IISER Berhampur)
Akankshya Aparupa Das (2015-16, Masters dissertation, BHU)
Ritu Vishwakarma (2015-16, Masters dissertation, Purvanchal Univ.)
Monidipa Malakar (2016-17, Masters dissertation, BHU)
Amisha Agrwala (2017, Summer intern, IISER Mohali)
Md. Altamash (2017, Summer intern, BHU)
Deepti, Anish, Debopriya (Summer interns 2017, IISER Berhampur)
Anitta Cherian (2021, Project Assistant)
Anish, Debopriya, and Gokul (IISER Berhampur 5th year dissertation, 2020-2021)
Anirban Bhowmik, IISER berhampur 5th year dissertation, 2021-2022; Sramana Kar, St. Xavier's Univ., Kolkata [2021-2022]
Anupam Barman, Kunmun Naik, Simran Sethi, Nidhuna Vincant, IISER berhampur 5th year dissertation, 2022-2023
Sriamritanshu Das and Sakshi Shikha Xalxo, IISER berhampur 5th year dissertation 2024-2025.
Ishita Chakraborty, Masters dissertation, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur
Priyansha Chamoli, Masters dissertation, University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Punjab University.
First graduates from the lab
Convocation 2021
Gokul, Anish, Bodhi and Debapriya (from left)
Tampara Lake
Recent dinner party (November 2024)
Somewhere near Berhampur - lab trip post lockdown
Graduated Ph.D. students:
Purbasha Dasgupta (Alumnus, CSIR fellow)
First to graduate with a PhD degree from the lab, and also the first ever student to get a Ph.D. degree from IISER Berhampur
PhD completed: 2023
Thesis title: "Survival and reproduction under dietary adversities: An investigation on the role of female reproductive adaptation and intergenerational paternal effect using Drosophila melanogaster laboratory populations"
Current position: Post-doctoral fellow, Brown University, USA.
Tanya Verma (Alumnus, Institute fellow)
Thesis title: "Too fast but not furious: An investigation of sexual selection and sexual conflict in populations of Drosophila melanogaster evolved for faster
development, and early reproduction"
PhD completed: 2024
Current position: Post-doctoral fellow, University of Winipig, Canada.
Subhasish Haldar (Alumnus, UGC fellow)
email: subhasish@iiserbpr.ac.in
Thesis title: "Evolutionary ecology of sex-biased dispersal in relation to spatial structuring of habitat: an experimental investigation using Drosophila melanogaster laboratory island population"
PhD completed: 2024
Current position: Post-doctoral fellow, University of Linkoping, Sweden.
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