Join the Lab 

We are actively recruiting. Three PhD positions are available for the current admissions cycle.

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Our lab works at the intersection of behavioral neuroscience, epigenomics, and open-source tool development, using Drosophila melanogaster as the primary model. Students  in the lab work on questions about social behaviors, neural circuits, and transgenerational effects of environmental exposures, and often build the tools needed to answer those questions. We are part of the Centre for Molecular Neurosciences at the Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, MAHE and maintain active collaborations with international groups in Australia, Japan, and the United States.

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Mentorship is structured around each candidate's background and project, with the expectation of progressive independence over time. If you are looking for close guidance during onboarding and the opportunity to take genuine ownership of a project as it develops, this may be a good fit.

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Current Research Areas:

• Neural circuit and neuropeptide regulation of social behaviors

• Dopaminergic control of experience-dependent plasticity

• Transgenerational effects of environmental stressors 

• Cell-type specific epigenomics and chromatin regulation in the brain

• Open-source behavioral quantification using machine vision and low-cost hardware

• Computational analysis of behavior and neural data

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What We Look For: We welcome candidates from biology, bioinformatics, engineering, and adjacent fields. Across all positions, we value:

• Genuine curiosity and drive for self-directed learning

• Comfort working through ambiguity and persistence during troubleshooting

• Ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment comprising biologists, engineers, and clinicians

• Willingness to develop skills across wet bench, behavioral, and computational domains

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PhD Candidates: Three positions are open in the current cycle.

Candidates may apply through the MAHE Entrance Test (MET) for KMC, Manipal, conducted twice a year. Details are available here.

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Candidates who have cleared UGC-CSIR NET, DBT-JRF, GATE or JGEEBILS are encouraged to write to me directly with a cover letter and CV. PhD registration for such candidates is possible four times per year upon fulfilment of MAHE eligibility criteria.

Candidates who have cleared NET, GATE, or JGEEBILS but do not hold a fellowship may be eligible for MAHE's TMA Pai PhD Fellowship. Please write to me to discuss eligibility.

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Postdoctoral Candidates: Candidates with a strong publication record and relevant experience in any of the following are encouraged to apply: neuroscience, Drosophila genetics, molecular biology, genomics, or bioinformatics. Please write directly with your CV and a two-page research proposal. I am happy to work with you on applications for national postdoctoral fellowships including N-PDF, SERB-NPDF, DBT-RA, CSIR-RA etc.

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Project Assistant: Short-term positions (minimum one-year commitment) may be available for candidates with a biology or engineering background on funded projects. Candidates from engineering backgrounds should have demonstrable skills in computer coding and hardware development, experience with Raspberry Pi, Arduino, laser cutters, or 3D printers is particularly relevant. Experience in computational biology, data science, bioinformatics, or machine vision is an advantage but not required.

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MSc Thesis (MAHE Students Only): We may have one or two positions for MSc students from MAHE who are seriously interested in pursuing research. Please write with your CV and a one-page cover letter explaining your interest in the lab's work. We are unable to accommodate short-term projects (4-6 months) or MSc thesis projects for candidates from outside MAHE.

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A few things to keep in mind before writing: the lab is based in Manipal, not a metro city. The pace, infrastructure, and daily rhythms reflect that context, and we work well within it. If you are specifically seeking a large urban research environment, please factor that into your decision. If you value focused work, close mentorship, and the opportunity to contribute to internationally visible science from a smaller, vibrant and green student town, we would like to hear from you.