Neha Bera
MSc in biotechnology with specialization in Genetic Engineering, 2022, BRIC Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, BSc in microbiology, 2020, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), KolkataPh.D. Scholar
Neha Bera
MSc in biotechnology with specialization in Genetic Engineering, 2022, BRIC Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, BSc in microbiology, 2020, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), KolkataInvestigating role of protein turnover in Mycobacteria under stress conditions such as nutrient deprivation. Under hostile conditions like biofilms, human necrotic granulomas, mycobacterium persist in dormant condition. The proteome is remodelled by degradation systems in concert with other pathways as the bacteria goes into dormancy. Protein degradation machineries in prokaryotes are pivotal in protein turnover which concomitantly maintain metal homeostasis. I also aim to employ a host pathogen model to identify host and bacterial factors shaping nutritional immunity and metal homeostasis. Such insights would unveil the potential processes conferring resistance and persistence to bacteria and would further identify new candidates for therapeutic developments against deadly diseases like tuberculosis.
Neha Bera has worked as a Junior Research Fellow at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, KMC, Manipal in the Department of Molecular Neurosciences from Mar 2023 to Dec 2023 in project titled ” The role of Drosulfakinin in transcriptional and behavioural mechanisms underlying social isolation stress in Drosophila melanogaster”. She investigated social isolation-induced behavioural responses in Drosophila employing thermogenetics and optogenetic strategies to dissect underlying transcriptional mechanisms. She is trained in Drosophila fly pushing, brain dissection and immunostaining, mini-INTACT, fly behavioral analyses using MATLAB (sleep, aggression). She has published a review paper titled “Lessons from Lonely Flies: Molecular and Neuronal Mechanisms Underlying Social Isolation”, accepted in Dec 2023 in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews.
Thereafter, she was a Junior Research Fellow in CSIR Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, Dendritic Cell Biology lab. She gained valuable insights into the role of the innate immune system in obesity-induced meta-inflammation. She has gained hands-on skills in various immunological techniques, including flow cytometry (FACS) and cell culture.
Before embarking on PhD journey, she was a research fellow in Chanakya University under the guidance of Dr. Krishna Kurthkoti. During this endeavour she has looked at the role of protein degradation machinery in regulating metal homeostasis in Mycobacterium.
- M.Sc., in biotechnology with specialization in Genetic Engineering, 2022, BRIC Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram
- BSc in microbiology, 2020, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata
Title: Lessons from lonely flies: molecular and neuronal mechanisms underlying social isolation https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105504
Authors: R. Sai Prathap Yadav, Faizah Ansari, Neha Bera, Clement Kent (Department of Biology, York University, Canada), Pavan Kumar Agrawal (Centre for Molecular Neurosciences, MAHE, KMC, Manipal)
Journal: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review
Project 1:
- Title: Transcriptional and behavioral mechanisms underlying social isolation stress in Drosophila
- Duration: Mar 2023- Dec 2023
- Granting Agency: DBT
- PI: Dr. Pavan Agrawal, Centre of Molecular Neurosciences, KMC, Manipal
Project 2:
- Title: Role of Dnase1L3 in obesity associated meta inflammation
- Duration: Feb 2024- May 2024
- Granting Agency: CSIR
- PI: Prof. Dipyaman Ganguly
- Graduate Aptitude Test Biotechnology 2020-AIR UR 36
- JAM 2020 AIR UR 272
- GATE BT 2022
- GATE XL 2023