Team:IISER Tirupati/Team

This is us!

Coca Coli is the brainchild of a fifteen-member iGEM team from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Tirupati. Our team marks the first year of our institute's participation in iGEM and we've worked hard to make it count. While we all hail from different parts of India, we come together in the beautiful city of Tirupati to do science! Tirupati is a city located in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in India, and it is home to the famous Sri Venkateswara Temple atop one of the seven hills. This makes our city a tourist hotspot, and the presence of Eastern Ghats make it a biodiversity hub!
Our team has students from diverse academic backgrounds united by a shared passion for synthetic biology. iGEM is a great way for us to use our creativity and intelligence to create something meaningful (often also messy!)

Mrugank Dake
Team Leader
Modelling | Wetlab | Social Media
If you are going to talk about neuroscience, computation or synthetic biology, you better call him. His talent lies in making new friends and exploring new places.
"A nocturnal javaphile"

Dibya Saha
Team Leader
Wiki | Wetlab | Social Media
Taking interest in biology and a bit of chemistry, Dibya joined the iGEM team to see how independent research works. Recently, he has been exploring the avenue of science communication.
"I learnt CSS - Cloning is Summertime Sadness"

Amartya Pal
Wetlab | Modelling
If you take (t) minutes to do an experiment, he can do it hands down in t/2. A stem cell research enthusiast and an active video gamer, he is also excited about trekking.
"I love bio but I hate writing them!"

Bhabesh Kumar Tripathy
Wetlab
The CRISPR guy and a believer of the Darwinian Theory. Cricket is his second love and Kantian ethics his “go to” mantra. His primary interest lies in understanding the hormonal regulation of human emotions. If you are interested in philosophy then do join him over a cup of coffee
"Just sitting and chilling here with my friends"

Deevitha Balasubramanian
Modelling
She's interested in biology, and in connecting it to other subjects. She likes to look at the intricacies of everything around: places, literature and people. She loves to read, both fiction and science.
"Lets drink tea and do maths!"

Ishita Amar
Wetlab | Wiki
She likes science and impulsive decisions. So if you want to discuss the origin of life, or well, go on an impromptu road trip, hit her up. She's a walking library of previous iGEM projects!
"I joined yoga because I wanna be like supercoiled plasmid and run the fastest"

Karthikeya Avadhani
Wetlab
He likes to plan and is trying to turn improvisation into an art form. He is fascinated by the human mind and thrives on sweets. Apart from being notoriously camera shy he is an avid reader and dabbles in chess.
"This fridge has helped me survive the Tirupati heat"

Mayur Bajaj
Mammalian Cell Culture | Inventory
The biochemistry of his life is pretty simple. He balances his affinity for science with his addiction for fiction. Also, his love for travelling surely keeps his entropy high.
"I posed with the bacterial hood because I don't want the photographer to contaminate the cell culture"

Megha Maria Jacob
Wetlab | HPLC
Family, science and travelling bring her dopamine and inspirational stories drive her to glory! Physiology of the human body intrigues her and this makes her an indispensable part of our team.
"42 is actually the answer to everything, even transformations"

Neelima K
Wetlab | HPLC
Her primary interest lies in biology, mainly cancer biology. If not in her room you can spot her on the ground. She is straight forward, always cheerful and willing to help!
"I heal fast (comparable to the wolverine!) from experimental faliures"

Omkar Mohapatra
Wetlab | Social Media
A strict believer of facts. Obsessed with Classical Physics and a huge fan of Sir Isaac Newton. Biology is in his blood and so is bingeing movies.
"Here with my dance partner, she spins well"

Subhasree Mal
Wetlab | HPLC
She likes molecular biology and genetics. Birds and art are her muses. A powerhouse on the badminton court, she can also be seen shuttling between the biology and chemistry labs!
"Sometimes I feel like a doctor, injecting all these samples into the column"

Swapnil Bhagat
Wetlab | Modelling
Extremely good with his hands, whether during playing video games or doing DIY crafts. Enjoys reading about animal development when not reading his favourite manga. Probably the most laid- back person on the team and has been taking it easy since 1998...
"Waiting for this thermocycler to break down so that I can get a break"

Uttara Khatri
Modelling
A budding neuroscientist, she is the go-to person when it comes to experiments, modelling systems and data analysis. She keeps an eye out for entrepreneurial opportunities as well. Besides enjoying travelling and talking to people, she is known for dancing Garba on any song under the sun!
"Aayyy HAALOOO!!!"

Namita Chutani
Advisor
Mammalian Cell Culture | Social Media
A keen observer of nature and lab members, she believes in understanding the biochemistry of other phase of the coin. Explicitly communicating it to others with a bit of extra fluidity and she is setting a good example when it comes to inculcating dancing skills in science.
"Not sure what i'm trying to do"

Dr. Raju Mukherjee
Primary PI
I am currently heading the Molecular Microbiology Lab (MML) at IISER Tirupati. We are an interdisciplinary group working for a common theme of "Killing disease causing Bad Bugs with New Drugs" with a focus on Mycobacterium species. iGEM has been an exciting journey!

Prof. B. J. Rao
Secondary PI
An accomplished senior researcher and an authority in the area of Genome Homeostasis mechanisms, he graduated from IISc. (Bangalore), trained at Yale Medical School, USA), led his research programmes at TIFR (Mumbai) before relocating to IISER Tirupati as the Dean-Faculty and Chair-Biology. He is also a fellow of all three National Academies in India and a Sir JC Bose National Fellow of DST, India.

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"We play with bacteria and sometimes they play us"

Contact us

Email: igemiisertirupati@gmail.com

Address:
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati
C/o Sree Rama Engineering College (Transit Campus),
Rami Reddy Nagar, Karakambadi Road,
Mangalam (P.O.) Tirupati -517507.
Andhra Pradesh, INDIA

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