About shankar

CV

Courses developed and taught

• BBL1010 - Introduction to Bioengineering - B.Tech. Institute-wide

• BBL3010 - Introductory Omics - B.Tech. Bioengineering

• BBL3120 - Genetics & Gene Manipulation - B.Tech. Bioengineering

• BBL4250 - Microbiomes and Metagenomics - B.Tech. Bioengineering

• BBL7460 - Synthetic Biology - B.Tech., M.Tech. & Ph.D. Bioscience & Bioengineering 

• BBL7370 - Microbial Genomes & Microbiomes - B.Tech., M.Tech. & Ph.D. Bioscience & Bioengineering 

• BBL7010 - Introduction to Omics Technologies - B.Tech., M.Tech. & Ph.D. Bioscience & Bioengineering

• BBL6400 - Next-generation Omics Technologies - Post-graduate Diploma in Next-Generation OMICS Technologies and Applications

• BBL7140 - Sample QC and Processing Techniques - Post-graduate Diploma in Next-Generation OMICS Technologies and Applications

Administrative Experience

• Associate Dean - Alumni Relations

• Member Secretary, Institutional Biosafety Committee

• Member Secretary, Institutional Ethics Committee

• Faculty Advisor, B.Tech. Bioengineering, Class of 2028

• Faculty Advisor, B.Tech. Biotechnology, Class of 2022

• Member, Medical Services Users Committee

• Member, Library Committee

• Member, Safety Committee

• Member, Institutional Publications Committee

• Member, Animal House Committee

How we got here...

I was always fascinated by the microscopic world that we often tend to ignore.  I used to believe that microbes merely cause diseases and arrogantly used to wonder how something so small could bring down something as complex as a human. My bachelors program in biotechnology taught me that these microbes, if used in the right way could promote health, produce consumables and protect us. This knowledge increased my fascination with microbiology and incited a curiosity in me to understand how these microorganisms function. After completing my bachelors, I was accepted in a masters program in Genomics offered by the prestigious School of Biological Sciences (SBS) at Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU). That was the year when Marshall and Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery of H. pylori as the etiological agent for gastric ulcers. As I studied the molecular pathogenesis of H. pylori, I was enthralled by how this organism had evolved mechanisms to survive the hostile gastric environment, evade the human immune system and cause disease. 

The SBS at MKU is any science-lover’s paradise. The School pursues research on a variety of subjects and the expertise of the faculty in these subjects was world-renowned. The masters course in Genomics practically helped me zoom in to the molecular world inside the microbes that I had been fascinated with. Emboldened by this new perspective, I joined Prof. P. Gunasekaran’s team at the Department of Genetics, SBS, MKU in an ICAR-funded project to characterize interactions between the rice plant and its root-colonizing bacteria. Our research unearthed a molecular signaling pathway in the rice rhizosphere wherein the plant exuded quorum sensing signal mimics, could affect bacterial populations on the root surface.

Pursuing a biological question relentlessly and finally elucidating something unknown by my research gave me a feeling of accomplishment comparable to none. At this point, I had decided that I would pursue a career in academia. To this end, I joined Prof. Indranil Biswas at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, USA as a postdoctoral fellow investigating the regulation of virulence mechanisms in Streptococcus mutans. Although I had a world class research experience at KUMC, I was determined to return to India and establish myself as an independent researcher back home. The three years that I spent in Prof. Biswas’ lab helped me evolve as a researcher and guided me to my niche for independent research. My experience with S. mutans as a pathogen had taught me that much about this bacteria remains to be understood even after several decades of research. Whatever little progress we have made in preventing infections, developing diagnostics and developing new therapies owes its success to the decades of basic research conducted on this organism. Thus, I believe that fully understanding pathogenic bacteria and the cellular processes within them will help us fight them by developing new diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive measures against them. At this point, I was introduced to the funding opportunities that the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance offers. After undergoing a rigorous screening process, my research proposal was recommended for award. The funding from India Alliance has been indispensable in establishing our laboratory and building up strong foundations for our research programs at IIT Jodhpur.