Team:IIT Madras/Team

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People

Meet the Undergraduates

Sriram Srikant
Sriram Srikant is a Senior in the B.Tech Program of Chemical Engineering with a Minor in Chemistry. Tall and lanky, and almost perpetually sleep deprived, he has a deep rooted interest in all things biological, with a particular taste for the internal chemistry of life. His experience affords him a very analytical and thorough perception on all problems. Sriram is looking to work towards a PhD in Biochemistry and/or Biophysics.

He can be woken up at saisriram15@gmail.com



Srivathsan Adivarahan
Srivathsan Adivarahan is Senior undergraduate student pursuing a dual degree in Biotechnology. He's spent lots of credited class hours exploring and finding himself, and he shows the same passion when he tries to figure out and understand biological systems. He's made up for his lack of understanding in biology by using his blessed mathematical and statistical skills. He's amazed by the complexities of the living system and sees life from a statistical viewpoint. He enjoys drawing analogies between biology in the world we live in. He intends to pursue his PhD in stochastic modeling of biological systems.

It's better if you contact him at vatsi.in.iitm@gmail.com cause he's never going to pick up your calls.

Nishant
Nishant is a Senior in the Department of Biotechnology who's pursuing a dual degree. He has the distinction of being the 'Seniormost' student member of our iGEM team (yeah, he's ancient). He shows a keen interest in biology with a special inclination towards metabolic pathways and cellular functioning. He would like to pursue his PhD in a related field. He's a devout foodie and an enthusiastic explorer, but sports definitely comes first on his list of hobbies.

He is (not always) available at nishantdk@gmail.com.

Harsh Nagpal
Harsh Nagpal, a senior in the Department of Biotechnology, is someone who ended up studying biology by a twist of fate. On the bright side, he's loved it ever since. Interested in synthetic and developmental biology, he hopes to one day have "Doctor" prefixed to his name. Harsh is an expert at killing flies (for the sake of science). A lover of good food and good times, he can always be found where there's free food (and drink) around.

Always online at hnagpal89@gmail.com.

Sonia Chothani
Sonia Chothani is currently a pre-final year student at IIT Madras pursuing a B.Tech in Biotechnology. Very passionate about the math of life, she is amazed by the complexities of living systems. With experience in theoretical modeling of biochemical pathways, her interest has grown in this field and she would like to pursue further studies in the same. Sonia is extremely passionate about her dance as well; she's an accomplished dancer. She's someone who believes that passion is pretty much all a person needs to excel in something.

Ping her (if you are lucky enough to find her not 'Invisible') at sonya2611@gmail.com.

Kousik Sundararajan
Kousik is a Junior undergrad student majoring in Biotechnology (with a minor in Biomedical Engineering). He's just another nocturnal IITian who's totally enthusiastic about being the change that he wants to see in the world. Bio-'gyan' is his (self-declared) strength. He's an environmental activist who believes in the immense potential that solar energy and bio-fuels have. Kousik believes strongly that bio-enthusiasts like himself are the real saviors of the earth.

Reach the savior at kousik.sun@gmail.com.

Avaneesh Thoutham
With a crazy streak of creativity, and a need for constant entertainment, Avaneesh is a Junior pursuing a B.Tech in Biotechnology with the enthusiasm of a 5 year old in a candy store. Interested in everything biological, he is yet to decide on his stream of interest. He has always dreamt of being called a doctor, but his fear of the field of Healthcare means he can achieve this dream only through a PhD.

Check if he is awake at avaneesh.t@gmail.com.

Chaitra Prabhakar
Chaitra Prabhakar, a Junior Undergraduate in the Department of Biotechnology, has immense interest in research. She enjoys learning about Biochemical pathways and signaling systems and hopes to set a career in Cell/Developemental Biology. Chaitra considers education and health as two important roads to further developement. She loves to contribute to the society in both these respects and hence came up with the motto "We unite for Diabetes".

For more mottos, mail her at chaitra.1190@gmail.com.

Varun Chokshi
Varun Chokshi, a Junior Undergraduate in the Department of Biotechnology, is as chilled as a beer fresh from the ice-box, and is the team member responsible for representing the rest of the IIT-M iGEM team in regular classes giving unsuspecting professors the impression that their classes are full. Varun hopes to one day save the world by inventing an alcoholic cure for cancer.

His e-harmony user id is not varungr890@gmail.com. Maybe it is, check it out if you're interested.

Amarnath Bhat
Amarnath Bhat is a Junior pursuing a dual degree in Biotechnology. He hates reading research papers and is almost certain to fall asleep before starting. Amarnath claims that he works better under stress, but we're all still waiting for him to substantiate his claim. Jokes apart, he has an immense interest in synthetic biology.

He is available at amarbhat16@gmail.com.

Mahak Singhal
Mahak Singhal is an Junior undergraduate student in the Department of Biotechnology. He's in constant pursuit of research that'll help him unveil the hidden secrets of the cell. Appreciating the beauty of nature is something Mahak does to keep himself occupied. He also loves to delve deeper into the evolutionary development of organisms.

Catch him when he's not birdwatching at mahak906@gmail.com.

Chetan Srinath
Chetan Srinath is just another Sophomore in the Department of Biotechnology. He's someone who doesn't consider himself a waste of protein, and he makes sure it stays that way. An inspirational high school teacher got him interested in biology and he hasn't looked back since. IBO fame apart, Chetan is a Bangalore loving dude who kills time by playing football. He intends to do a Master's and a PhD in the biological sciences although he hasn't decided on what he'd like to specialize in just yet.

Don't miss a chance to get candid with the bio-babe at chetan.srinath@gmail.com.

Vivek Parthasarathy
Vivek Parthasarathy is a Sophomore in the Department of Biotechnology. An 80-something kilogram Carbon based life form with a semi-American accent, Vivek is still getting a feel for the biological sciences. The prospect of being able to keep people alive forever got him interested in the field at a young age. He's working towards a Master's in Bioengineering, and an MBA later on. He spends his free time playing Cricket, Quizzing, and killing people by pulling off PJ's (read as poor jokes, not pajamas).

If he's not hibernating, you can hit him up at vivek.windwaker@gmail.com.

Akshay Rangamani
Akshay Rangamani is a Sophomore in the Department of Electrical Engineering who wears a happy mask all the time. Someone with an interest for all things scientific, the biotechnology elective he picked in school helped him discover his flair for the biosciences. Akshay wishes to pursue a Master's and possibly a PhD in Biomedical Engineering- he chose his current major with this in mind. He keeps himself occupied by working on his Carnatic music skills, Quizzing, and shooting hoops.

Feel free to tickle the Pillsbury man at shy492@gmail.com.

Faculty

Dr. Guhan Jayaraman
guhanj@iitm.ac.in
Associate Professor
Dept of Biotechnology
IIT Madras

Education
Ph.D, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
M.Tech, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Research Interests
  • Recombinant Protein production:
    Current work involves the investigation of different host-vector systems; studying the kinetic and thermodynamic limitations of gene over-expression; and evolving optimal bioreactor strategies for high-yield production of recombinant proteins.
  • Design of novel bioseparation processes for large-scale protein purification:
    Non-linear liquid chromatographic processes; development of affinity-based aqueous two-phase extraction processes for protein purification; protein re-folding.
  • Design of Microfluidic Devices for Biomolecular Analysis:
    This project has been recently initiated, mainly focused on development of silicon-based microfabricated devices for DNA analysis. Development of high throughput devices will have a significant impact on genome sequencing technologies.

Dr. K Chandraraj
kcraj@iitm.ac.in
Associate Professor
Dept of Biotechnology
IIT Madras

Education
Ph.D, Indian Institute of Technology Madras
M.Sc, Bharathiar University

Research Interests
  • BioEthanol Production:
    Current research is focused on process development for economical production of fuel-ethanol from crop residues and sorghum juice.
  • Functional Oligosaccharides (FOS):
    Developing economic process for FOS production from plant biomass using enzymes..
  • Molecular Bioremediation of Cr(VI):
    Current research in our lab involves isolation and engineering of enzymes for transformation of Cr(VI) to Cr(III).

Instructors

Shashi Bala Prasad

Parshuram J Sonawane

Srivats V
Currently in his fifth year, pursuing a dual degree in Biotechnology at IIT Madras, Srivats is primarily a molecular biologist and has previously worked on The mechanisms of Puf5p mediated translational repression in S. cerevisiae and a sequence/structure analysis of Puf5 binding to the HO mRNA 3’ UTR in Dr. Wickens' lab at the University of Wisconsin, Madison(Summer 2009). That apart, he is an avid quizzer, fan of Queen, Star Wars, and His Noodliness, the Flying Spaghetti Monster. His ambition in life is to one day have an Erdős–Bacon number of under 6, and he is one of those who sincerely believe that the answer to Life, the Universe and everything is 42!

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