I am broadly interested in processes shaping patterns of diversity and distribution in organisms. These include factors operating at ecological and evolutionary time scales that shape species range and distribution of genetic diversity. For my PhD, I studied dispersal and connectivity in intertidal snails along the Indian coastline using molecular tools, species distribution models and ocean flow simulations. I also enjoy writing and have previously contributed news, interviews and features about science and the people behind it. More details can be found here. 

Email: bharti6587@gmail.com; Website. 

Bharti currently works as a Science Communication Officer at IIT Hyderabad. 

I work on invertebrates, mainly micro-crustaceans, in inland freshwater bodies in the Western ghats of India. The Western Ghats, a mega-diverse region, faces tremendous anthropogenic pressure and effects of climate change which are accelerating species and habitat loss – more so for freshwater invertebrate taxa which are understudied. Hence, conducting systematic surveys and developing baseline datasets of their diversity and ecology in inland waters forms is one of the broad aims of my research.

As part of my postdoctoral research at EvoEco Lab at CCMB, I used molecular phylogenetic methods to understand the evolutionary biogeography of freshwater Diaptomidae (Crustacea: Copepoda) in peninsular India.

Mihir currently works at the Indian Institute of Human Settlements as a Freshwater Ecologist. 

Email: mihir.r.kulkarnii@gmail.com  

I am interested in geographic gradients in biodiversity and mechanisms that generate these gradients. I am happiest when studying biodiversity patterns of ants, but find other arthropods exciting as well. I followed my first interest during PhD at ATREE and Manipal University, where I worked on ant communities across elevation gradients in the Eastern Himalaya. For the current postdoc, I plan to work on drivers of diversity gradients in soil arthropods in the Western Ghats and genetic diversity within centipede lineages. 

My other interests are cycling, cooking and rock climbing.

Email: aniruddha.pravin.marathe@gmail.com 

My specialization is Cenozoic palynology, paleoclimate, paleovegetation, paleobiogeography and sequence biostratigraphy. The Cenozoic era is well-known for significant changes in climate conditions and geological processes. My doctoral studies at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi involved understanding the role of deep-time climate and Plate tectonics in the evolution and biogeographic patterns of tropical angiosperms. Using integrated lithofacies-palynofacies datasets, I also expanded my understanding of basin analysis through sequence biostratigraphy (a hydrocarbon exploration approach) to define the transgressive-regressive deposits of the sedimentary sequence exposed in the tertiary basin of western Rajasthan, India. 

For the post-doctoral studies, I plan to employ the Species Distribution Modelling to hindcast and forecast the distributional ranges of Myristica swamps (a threatened ecosystem of Western Ghats) influenced by climate change and geological processes over time. 

Apart from research, I enjoy travelling, reading, occasionally cooking, and listening to music.

Shalini was supported by DST-WISE postdoctoral fellowship. 

Currently, Shalini is a researcher at the French Institute, Pondicherry. 

I am an MSc graduate in Botany and plant systematics enthusiast drawn much towards their immense diversity. My general research interest is understanding variations at the morphological and molecular level among plants. Currently, at the Evolutionary Ecology Lab, I will be examining the role of evolutionary processes in shaping the richness, assembly and diversification patterns of woody plants in Western Ghats, India. In my free time, I build taxonomy keys and play the violin.

I am a final year integrated BS-MS student from IISER Pune majoring in Biology. My broad research interests are evolutionary biology and molecular biology, with a special interest in molecular evolution. Currently, as part of my master’s thesis in the Evol-Eco Lab, I am studying the drivers of cryptic speciation and trait evolution using centipedes as the model system. In this project, I aim to understand how ecological factors, geography, and functional traits affect the speciation of centipedes. Beyond research, I enjoy music and reading human history.

I am Anushka Joshi, a final-year Bachelor's student in Biological Sciences at Doon University, Dehradun. My academic interests lie in evolutionary biology, biodiversity research, and molecular approaches to understanding species diversity and speciation. I am particularly interested in exploring how molecular data can help reveal hidden evolutionary relationships and patterns of biodiversity.

Currently, I am conducting my undergraduate dissertation at the Evol-Eco Lab under Dr. Jahnavi Joshi, where my research focuses on understanding diversity in cylindrical millipedes across the Eastern and Western Ghats using molecular data. Through this study, I aim to investigate evolutionary relationships and patterns of diversification in these understudied arthropods, contributing to our understanding of biodiversity in tropical ecosystems. Aside from my research, I am an affable, animal-loving person with a passion for traveling and exploring nature.

I am a final-year Master's student in Forensic Science with a specialisation in biotechnology from NFSU, Gandhinagar. Currently, as part of my master's thesis in the Evol-Eco Lab, I am exploring understudied soil arthropod diversity and its drivers in peninsular India.  Beyond research, I enjoy reading books, travelling, and sketching.

I finished my Masters in Ecology from Pondicherry University, Puducherry. I am interested in ecology, evolution, and factors that govern the trait evolution in an organism. For my master's thesis at Evol-Eco lab, I looked at venom variation in allopatrically distributed populations of a centipede species. Along with this, I am also interested in conservation and nature education. A few of my hobbies include reading, dancing and crochet. 

Sharvani currently works as a researcher at the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore. 

Email: sharvani.p.deshpande@gmail.com 

I am a final year integrated BS-MS student from IISER Pune majoring in biology with a minor in humanities and social science. I am keenly interested in ecology, evolution and animal behaviour, specifically phylogeography, population genetics, and community ecology. I am fascinated by the intricacies of evolution and am interested in studying how geographical, environmental factors, and life history traits shape an organism's evolutionary trajectory. As a part of my master's thesis, I will be studying the comparative phylogeography of a few co-distributed centipede species endemic to the Western Ghats. Besides science, I am also passionate about music and cinema.

Dhanush currently works as a researcher at the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore

Email: dhanushss2205@gmail.com

I am currently finishing up my MSc. in Environmental Studies and Resource Management from Teri School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi. Interdisciplinary research, particularly in biology and its intersections with geography and climate science, really excites me. My dissertation work at the Evol Eco lab involves looking at the historical biogeography of an ancient lineage of centipedes in peninsular India. Aside from research, I greatly enjoy reading, writing and travelling.

Maya is currently PhD student at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. 

Email: maya.99m@gmail.com 

My research interests are largely in the field of landscape ecology, biogeography and evolution. I am keen to understand how wildlife responds to large-scale habitat modifications and its evolutionary implications. My previous research has been focused on understanding the ecology of hornbills in the light of habitat modification and fragmentation. Apart from research, I enjoy (e)birding and writing popular articles in Marathi and English.  

Pooja is currently a PhD student at the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore. More details here

Email: pooja@ncf-india.org

I am currently using historical biogeography methods to resolve the phylogenetic relationships and trace the biogeographic history within Digitipes, an ancient genus of centipedes with cryptic lineages found primarily in the wet evergreen forests of the Congo basin and the Western Ghats of peninsular Indian region. With new species discovered in South-east Asia and a recently rediscovered species in the Eastern ghats, I wish to perform biogeographic analysis on a reconstructed time-calibrated phylogeny to test predictions for the Out of-India hypothesis and also to assess the role of vicariance and/or dispersal in the diversification of the centipede genus Digitipes in peninsular India. I also plan to employ metabarcoding techniques to look at the environmental and biogeography-based drivers of diversity, as a part of a systematic study on the diversity of soil arthropods across peninsular India. My research interests include evolutionary patterns of interspecific interactions, historical biogeography, and phylogeography. Apart from my research, I enjoy birding, reading, dancing, and travelling.

Payal is currently a Phd student at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland)

Email: dash.payal512@gmail.com 

My research interests are broadly in the field of trait evolution and behavioural ecology. For my masters’, at the Centre for Ecological Science, IISc, Bangalore, I performed a study correlating activity and aggression in Psammophilus dorsalis lizards, trying to broadly recognize the co-evolution of traits. Currently, I am working as a JRF at the Evolutionary Ecology lab at CCMB. Here, I hope to learn more about the evolutionary relationships, biogeography and diversity patterns of plant communities in the Western and Eastern Ghats of India. Apart from research, you can find me talking about queer and caste minorities in India, listening to people and collecting stories. In the long-term, I wish to communicate science and work closely with indigenous communities in the country.

Satabdi is currently a JRF at the NISER, Bhubaneswar, India

My overall interest lies in understanding the evolutionary drivers of species diversity. I previously worked on dietary metabarcoding of 3 vulture species across India at the National Centre for Biological Sciences. I'm currently working on similar aspects using centipede as a model system. This will feed into a larger question examining the role of diet and venom in the speciation of these cryptic species. For my master's project, I worked on understanding the functions of developmental genes in plants using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system. Besides science, I enjoy birding, music and cooking the most among all the other things. 

Nehal is currently working as a naturalist in Central India.