IISER Pune is a member organization in the following international research collaborations / consortia.

 

The institute hosted these Centres of Excellence in the past:

DBT Centre of Excellence in Epigenetics

 

The Centre of Excellence in Epigenetics (CoEE) at IISER Pune is funded by the Department of Biotechnology with Prof. Galande as the team leader. During the first phase (2010-2015), the centre successfully catalyzed networking of diverse biologists making use of the knowledge and techniques of epigenetics. The vision for the Centre of Excellence in Epigenetics at IISER Pune was to build upon an interdisciplinary synergy, by bringing together a group of established as well as young investigators with individual competences and expertise in diverse fields including Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, Molecular Cell Biology, Developmental Biology, Neurobiology, Genomics, Computational and Systems Biology to formulate and to test a set of novel and exciting hypothesis in the field of Epigenetics. In particular, the centre was focused on epigenetic modifications underlying a variety of biologically important phenomena and their role in gene expression, regeneration, cancer, behavior, aging and evolution.

In the second phase of the CoEE (2016-2021), the research efforts are focused on the significant leads obtained during the first phase. These are in the fields of neurobiology and behavior, to address key biological questions in epigenetic regulation especially focused on stem cell biology and effects that perpetuate over lifetime of organisms. We aim to further exploit our collaborative research on the effect of early life stress, neurogenesis and epigenetic regulation of key genes essential for complex brain functions.

 

COEE Phase II

Team Leader: Sanjeev Galande (IISER, Pune)
Principal Investigator: Vidita Vaidya (TIFR, Mumbai)

Collaborators:

Riitta Lahesmaa (Turku Centre for Biotechnology, Turku, Finland)
Shubha Tole (TIFR, Mumbai)
Mahendra Sonawane (TIFR, Mumbai)

 

COEE Phase I
Team Leader: Sanjeev Galande (IISER, Pune)
Co-Leader: Rakesh Mishra (CCMB, Hyderabad)

Investigators:

Vidita Vaidya (TIFR, Mumbai)
Surendra Ghaskadbi (ARI, Pune)
LS Shashidhara (IISER, Pune)
Sanjeev Khosla (CDFD, Hyderabad)
Arvind Kumar (CCMB, Hyderabad)

 

See CoEE website for more details

National Facility for Gene Function in Health and Disease

 

The availability of a small animal research facility is critical to address basic biological as well as bio-medical questions relevant to disease biology. Experimentation in humans is restricted to availability of samples and critical interventions can not be done. Small mammalian models such as mice and rats are physiologically closer to humans and amenable to large numbers of experimental interventions.  A central tool in small animal research is the ability to generate transgenic and gene knockouts tailored to meet the research requirements. In India, the facilities for generation of transgenic and knockout vertebrate models have been severely limited, therefore significantly affecting biomedical research in both academia and industry. The central limitation appears to be the lack of suitable, high quality, dedicated infrastructure and paucity of adequate numbers of trained personnel for both generation and maintenance of transgenic and knockout lines.

To eliminate these bottlenecks, we have set up a large facility measuring over 45,000 square feet at IISER Pune, well equipped to generate in-house transgenic/knock-out animals and also act as a repository of such animal models as a national facility. This has been facilitated through a special infrastructure grant from the Department of Biotechnology. Availability of such animal models would facilitate research focused on a variety of biologically important phenomena and diseases. Since 2019, this facility at IISER Pune is also a member of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC).

 

Faculty in-charge:

Sanjeev Galande (IISER, Pune)
Aurnab Ghose (IISER, Pune)
Nixon Abraham (IISER, Pune)
LS Shashidhara (IISER, Pune)

 

Collaborators:

Manoj Bhat (NCCS, Pune)
Mohan Wani (NCCS, Pune)
Raman Murthy (NCCS, Pune)

 

 

Centre for Water Research

The Centre for Water Research (CWR) is an interdisciplinary initiative at IISER Pune constituted in November 2020. It draws upon expertise from faculty across different departments at the institute.

CWR aims to generate interdisciplinary knowledge about water systems, including their history and heritage, resource management and sustainable use, and to train the next generation of scholars to look at water from an integrated/multi-dimensional lens. CWR also provides a platform for IISER Pune to engage in socially relevant research that will have impact on public policy and action. CWR will engage in research, teaching/training and outreach. Activities at CWR are primarily undertaken by the faculty along with their students and external collaborators.

• Bejoy K Thomas (Chair, CWR), Humanities and Social Sciences
• Amrita Hazra, Chemistry & Biology
• Aparna Deshpande, Physics (also Science Activity Centre)
• Argha Banerjee, Earth and Climate Science
• Deepak Barua, Biology & Data Science
• Gyana Ranjan Tripathy, Earth and Climate Science
• Joy Merwin Monteiro, Earth and Climate Science
• Pushkar Sohoni, Humanities and Social Sciences & Data Science
• Sara Ahmed, Humanities and Social Sciences
• Shalini Sharma, Humanities and Social Sciences