Motivated Post-doctoral applicants interested in applying for NPDF/ANRF/DBT-RA etc. may contact. | Motivated Post-doctoral applicants interested in applying for NPDF/ANRF/DBT-RA etc. may contact. | Motivated Post-doctoral applicants interested in applying for NPDF/ANRF/DBT-RA etc. may contact. |

Responsibilities

Program Officer, NSS

Research Areas

Neurodegenerative disorders
Neuroscience
Neuro-epigenetics
Autism Spectrum Disorder

Our laboratory uses the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a powerful model system to investigate how chromatin architecture shapes neural development, behavior, and disease. By integrating Drosophila genetics with modern genomic and epigenomic approaches, we examine how neuronal activity and environmental signals produce lasting changes in brain function. A central focus of our work is understanding how chromatin dynamics and transcriptional programs regulate learning, long-term memory formation, and their stability over time. We also explore how disruptions in spontaneous neuronal activity, glial function, and epigenetic regulation contribute to neurodevelopmental and neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, seizure, paralysis and major depressive disorder.

Research areas
1. Epigenetic framework of learning and long term memory formation and its retention
2. Autism Spectrum Disorder and its transcriptional connection
3. Spontaneous neuronal activity in shaping behavior and its link to Autism
4. Homeostatic role of Astrocyte glia in balancing Perception vs Habituation and Seizure vs Paralysis
5. Depression modeling and drug screening

Current Grants

1. Spontaneous neuronal activity induced transcriptional regulation mediated by Mef2 in the origin of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Sponsor: Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India
File No: BT/PR53805/BMS/85/101/2024
Equipment procured:
1. PCR machine: BioRad T100 Thermal Cycler Gradient PCR Machine (Asset id: AST/2025-2026/SRIC/1109)
2. DNA Gel Electrophoresis with powerpack: BioRad Wide Mini-Sub Cell GT Horizontal Electrophoresis System (Asset id: AST/2025-2026/SRIC/1594)
3. Drosophila Incubator 550L: Lab X-men Enviromental Chamber with Humidity Control (Asset id: AST/2025-2026/SRIC/2088)
4. Drosophila Incubator 250L: Lab X-men Drosophila Incubator with humidity control (Asset id: AST/2025-2026/SRIC/2087)
5. Fridge: Elanpro 450L (Asset id: AST/2025-2026/SRIC/719)
6. Stereomicroscope with imaging attachment: Zeiss Stemi 508 with Camera (Asset id: AST/2025-2026/SRIC/883)

2. Deciphering the link between altered developmental Spontaneous Neuronal Activity and origin of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Sponsor: West Bengal Department of Science and Technology and Biotechnology (2024 - 2027)
File no. 2297(SANC.)/STBT-13015/10/2024-WBSCST SEC, Dt: 17-03-2024

All Publications

Genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorder underscores the role of altered spontaneous neuronal activity as a catalyst for the neurodevelopmental anomalies by Dey S., Das A. Brain Research 1875 1-21 (2026)
PSMC2 promotes resistance against temozolomide in glioblastoma via suppressing JNK-mediated autophagic cell death by Roy P.K., Deepak K., Das C.K., Das A., Biswas A., Jena B.C., Mandal M. Biochemical Pharmacology 233 - (2025)
Late-stage N-Me selective alkenylation and alkynylation of drugs and unactivated tertiary amines using photoredox catalysis by Paul S., Mahato S. , Mahapatra S. K., Dey S. , Paul D. , Mondal S. , Naskar A. , Srikar S. , Mohanty S. , Khatun S. , Ghosh D. , Singh A. K., Das S. , Jana N. R., Bandyopadhyay B. , Das A. , Roy L. , Panda S. Nature Communications 17 - (2026)
Paradigms for Behavioral Assessment in Drosophila Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder by Dey S., Mondal P., Mandal S., Sasmal S., Chakraborty N., Das A. Journal of visualized experiments: JoVE e66649 - (2024)
Prefoldin 5 is a microtubule-associated protein that suppresses Tau-aggregation and neurotoxicity by Bisht A., Pippadpally S. , Majumder S. , Gopi A. , Das A. , Sahi C. , Ramaswami M. , Kumar V. eLife 13 - (2024)
Drosophila olfaction as a model system for studying human neurological disorders by Sarkar S., Das A. Journal of Bioscience 48 1-19 (2023)
Epigenetic Regulation of Neurological Disorders by Mondal P., Sarkar S. , Das A. Epigenetics in Organ Specific Disorders 269-310 (2023)
Targeting of HSP27 and MMP-2/9 Crosstalk by High-Throughput Drug Repurposing Strategies Identifies Paroxetine as a Potential Candidate in Glioblastoma by Nandi S., Banerjee S. , Manna D. , Awasthi A. , Biswas A. , Das A. , Mukherjee B. , Mitra P. , Mandal M. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry epub - (2026)
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) shields pancreatic cancer from autophagy-dependent ferroptosis by suppressing redox imbalance induced AMPK/mTOR signaling by Deepak K., Roy P. K., Das A. , Mukherjee B. , Mandal M. Free Radic. Biol. Med 237 195-209 (2025)
Probing Shear-Induced Endothelial Activation in Vascular Conditions Using On-Chip Models by Ghosh S., Mandal S. , Das A. , Shukla P. C., Das S. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering - (2025)

Completed Projects

Principal Investigator

Deciphering the link between altered developmental Spontaneous Neuronal Activity and origin of Autism Spectrum Disorders WB-DST
Spontaneous neuronal activity induced transcriptional regulation mediated by Mef2 in the origin of Autism Spectrum Disorder DBT, NEW DELHI

Co-Principal Investigator

Catalytic and enantioselective strain release driven ring opening of azabicyclobutane ring to access diversely substituted azetidines Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

Alumni members