FAQ

What do you work on at PBL?

In general, we are interested in tackling questions that relates to the evolution and ecology of non-human organisms.

But isn't that a very broad and vague description?

Yes, and intentionally so. We plan to be a question-driven lab, rather than a technique- or a model system- driven one. In other words, we plan to first ask a question, create / figure out the appropriate theory, determine a suitable model system, and then perform the required experiments. This means that every member of the lab has full liberty to choose a question in the broad area of ecology and evolution, as long as it is feasible to tackle it within the limits of the resources available in the lab. Thus our long term research program shall emerge out of the activities of its individual members over time. All we can say presently is that it would most likely be in the general area of population biology with population dynamics being a subset of it. Please see this page for a better description of this research philosophy.

So what are the currently investigated questions?

Please see the research page for more details.

What are the currently used model systems?

Currently we are using Drosophila and E. coli for our experiments. However, one of the benefits of being at IISER-Pune is the ready availability of other systems like different microbes, Arabidopsis and Hydra within the biology division. Thus the model system used would depend mainly on the question asked.

Do I become an experimentalist / theoretician if I join PBL?

One of the salient features of research in PBL is an integration of theory and experiments. We expect our theoretical predictions to be experimentally validated and empirical results to contribute to the theory of the subject. We understand that researchers often tend to label themselves as "theoreticians" or "experimentalists" - we do not. A lab member might end up primarily doing experiments/theory, but he/she must have a thorough understanding of the theoretical as well the empirical subtleties of the chosen area.

Do you also do any field work?

As of now, no. But if there is an interesting question, we can always get into it.

By the way, why don't you study humans?

Firstly because there are dedicated disciplines like demography, sociology, anthropology etc. that deal with various aspects of being human. More importantly, we leave out humans because it is very difficult to do experiments on them!

What is that graphic element at the top of the pages?

That is the PBL logo called the Pebble. Find more about it here.