Join Us

For Post Docs

Please contact me directly for exploring topics of interest and possible funding sources.

For PhD students

Students who wish to join the Population Biology Lab at IISER-Pune for a PhD, should go through the information presented here carefully.

For Project assistants / JRFs:

IISER-P does not pay for salaries of project assistants. Hence there are two options:

  1. Students with fellowships (NET, ICMR, etc.) : Many students have their own fellowships but do not wish to join for PhD straightaway. They tend to spend a year or so gathering work experience, before making up their mind about doing a PhD. Please note that the Biology division of IISER-Pune does not encourage the admission of such students.

  2. Students without fellowships : Such students can only be taken under various projects. Thus the number of such posts would wax and wane with the number of projects in the lab. Please keep checking our FB page for latest announcements.

The Project Assistants are obviously expected to help in the execution of the various projects running in the lab. However, they are also welcome to discuss and pursue their own experiments / theoretical work in the lab.

For IISER-P Undergraduates

IISER-P undergraduates can join PBL in four different ways:

  1. Fifth year project: This shall be a one-year long project work leading to a masters thesis.


  1. Lab project courses: III and IV year students can join the lab for a semester long short project. Their performance shall be graded (3 credits) by the entire biology faculty.


  1. For summer / winter projects: Students from I to IV year can join the lab during the summer/ winter breaks for small projects. These performances will obviously not be graded, but will help us in forming opinions about your abilities that shall be reflected in the reference letters that we write for you. Note that this does not mean that you will have to do a project with us for getting a reco!

The above projects are short-duration ones (1-12 months) and will involve either doing some theoretical work, or some small experiments. If you wish, you can join some ongoing long-term experiments in the lab. An ideal student would be one who has an idea in his mind, reads up, discusses it with us for some time and then joins the lab for investigating some angle of the problem. But in case you have not done all these ideal things, just approach us with an inquisitive mind. We shall discuss and figure out what interests you, and then proceed from that point.


  1. Long-term projects: The short duration of the above projects rather limits the types of questions that can be asked. If you have a question that demands a long-term experiment or a series of inter-connected experiments, then contact us for getting associated with the lab for a longer period of time. Obviously, as a long-term member of the lab, your rights increase, and so do your duties. That is why, before making a long term commitment, you are advised to contact the PI and be absolutely sure of what you are signing into. It might also be helpful to chat with the existing lab members to figure out how the lab functions.


The number of people that can be fit in the lab is limited. Therefore if you contemplate working in PBL, it is advisable to contact me early. Needless to say, I make the final decision on who works at PBL.

I am not going to accept IISER-P undergrads for a V year project, until and unless they have worked with me for at least one semester / summer / winter. Note, that working with me for a semester / summer / winter does not guaranty you a position in my lab. But no prior experience in my lab virtually guarantees you of NOT getting a position. So if you wish to join my group for the V year, plan and act early.

For non-IISER-P Undergraduates

You can join PBL in three ways:

  • Through the IISER-P summer programme: Typical duration of such projects is two months. The intake of students is handled centrally by the institute, and more details can be found here. If you are planning to work with me in the summer, contacting me around Nov-Dec of the previous year is a good idea. That allows us to plan our work leading to the summer accordingly. Also note that since the admissions are handled centrally by the institute, I can not give a guaranty to a student that I will definitely accommodate him / her in the lab, even if I want to. Therefore, even if you really want to work in my lab through IISER, always keep a back-up plan ready. I am sorry about this uncertainty that you face, but please understand that this situation is totally beyond my control.



  • For MSc final year projects: Due to space constraints, we have very limited vacancies for these kinds of projects. Please contact me well in advance to figure out a mutual area of interest.