My journey as a scientist began through daily interactions with my father. He was a natural teacher who effortlessly turned routine activities into learning opportunities. Learning with him was never about memorising facts; it was about questioning, connecting, and imagining beyond what was known. Today, as a mentor at Ashoka University, I try to instil that same spirit of curiosity in my students.

Choosing science

After finishing high school in 2007, I faced a pivotal choice — pursue chemical engineering at Jadavpur University, mining engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, or join a fledgling science programme at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata (IISER Kolkata). Driven by my love for physics, admiration for pioneering scientists, and the financial stability provided by a monthly stipend, I chose IISER Kolkata.

However, during my early years there, biology captivated me. While IISER had some exceptional physics faculty, the curiosity-driven, hands-on laboratory sessions in biology, led by Srimonti Sarkar, N.G. Prasad, Tridib Ganguly, and Tapas Kumar Sengupta, changed my perspective. The emphasis was on learning through experimentation rather than rote memorisation.

In 2008, I was selected for the Project Oriented Biological Education (POBE) program at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, mentored by Amitabh Joshi and the late Vijay Kumar Sharma. This programme redefined how I saw biology — it was about understanding patterns and principles in nature, and research was about enjoying the journey of discovering them. From that point forward, biology became my major discipline. During one summer at JNCASR, while working on a project modelling fruit fly population dynamics, I met my future PhD advisor, Sutirth Dey from IISER Pune. This acquaintance matured into a two-year internship even before I formally began my PhD.

Evolution in action: PhD and postdoc years 

What began as a summer project soon became a decade-long dialogue on evolution and population ecology. Having worked with my PhD supervisor before, I skipped the usual adjustment period. This momentum allowed a few early publications, creating space to take on a more ambitious project — studying dispersal evolution in Drosophila melanogaster.

Along with Abhishek Mishra, an IISER Pune alumnus, I designed an experiment to track how fruit flies evolved greater dispersal ability over generations. Our findings underscored the intricate link between dispersal and metabolic evolution, setting the stage for my continued exploration into how organisms adapt to dynamic dietary environments.

I saw my postdoc as an opportunity to learn something completely new. In 2019, I joined Michael Desai’s lab at Harvard University through the B4 postdoctoral fellowship [Building Bharat-Boston Biosciences (B4) fellowship], moving from Drosophila to Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast). The short generation time of yeast allowed us to observe evolutionary changes at an unprecedented scale. This transition was intellectually enriching and expanded the scope of questions I could ask experimentally.

Around this time, I also received the DBT/​Wellcome Trust India Alliance Early Career Fellowship (IA ECF). By January 2021, I was back in India, ready to establish my research group at Ashoka University—the Integrative Genetics and Evolution Laboratory (IGEL).

Building a lab from scratch: Challenges, triumphs, and lessons

A major focus while setting up a lab is logistics — securing lab space, navigating purchases, and ensuring smooth daily operations. Initially, I shared space in Ashoka’s insect facility, but eventually, I established a fully-equipped, dedicated fly room. This transformation required patience (plenty of deep breaths) and creative problem-solving.

The COVID-19 pandemic slowed down equipment procurement and threatened Drosophila populations which require consistent care. Technical assistants, Nishant Kumar and Chand, played a crucial role in sustaining our fly populations.

At the same time, we launched the Drosophila Ecology Evolution Supergroup, a virtual seminar platform that connected fly labs across India. This network helped us troubleshoot challenges and strengthen research collaborations.

In 2021, I was honoured with the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) Young Scientist Award, which helped attract talented students. I prioritised dedication and compatibility over subject-specific expertise during PhD and Junior Research Fellow (JRF) recruitment. Now, my team includes PhD students Chandrakanth, Devashish, and Chetan, who investigate how diet influences energy use, life history traits, and evolutionary success in model organisms like Drosophila by integrating experimental evolution, metabolic profiling, and gene expression analyses.

Classroom teaching has been a natural extension of my research journey. I focus on empowering students to think critically and apply real-world problem-solving skills. By fostering open-ended inquiry and hands-on exploration — much like my father’s tutelage — I aim to make complex concepts intuitive. Over the past four years, I have designed and taught more than ten courses, a teaching approach that has resonated well with students.

Parenthood: Navigating life transitions

Just as I was settling in, life presented a new challenge and opportunity. In late 2022, my wife Selva and I welcomed our daughter, Nitu. It was a joyous milestone that required me to step away from the lab physically for some time. Selva, whom I had met during our PhD days in the same lab, understood the delicate balance between a research career and parenthood. During her final trimester, my lab established clear protocols and delegated responsibilities, ensuring continuity and mutual support during my temporary absence by adapting to remote collaboration. I remain deeply grateful to my lab for keeping our research thriving even as our family grew.

Looking ahead: Career transitions in Indian academia

IGEL has made significant strides in a short time, thanks to the collective efforts of our team, the enabling leadership at Ashoka, and the unwavering support of my family. Two of my first PhD students have cleared their qualifying exams, and we have trained numerous undergraduate and master’s students along the way. Together, we have consistently submitted research papers and presented our work at national and international conferences, where the students have been recognised with travel grants and poster awards.

Yet, as my IA ECF fellowship nears its end, I face an uncertain transition since my role has not yet evolved into a regular faculty position. This reflects a broader challenge in Indian academia — the lack of clear pathways with explicit expectations for young investigators to transition into stable roles. I hope that in the coming years, institutional leaders will create more robust structures to support young faculty and early-career researchers.