We are a part of School of Biology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram. Nestled in the lush green forests at the foothills of Ponmudi, the campus overlooks the sublime Kurissumala hill. Since its humble beginning in December 2015, the lab has been working on various questions in the field of adult stem cells. Our major focus is on the molecular regulation of stem cells in hematopoiesis and neurogenesis. We take lessons from the processes involved in embryonic development and employ the principles to harness the true potential of adult stem cells.

Having gone past initial work on the involvement of outside-in integrin signaling in hematopoiesis, we are now looking into metabolic pathways that influence cell fate decisions. We employ pharmacologic and genetic means to alter energy producing metabolic pathways to understand the developmental processes of hematopoietic emergence in embryonic aorta and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) expansion in fetal liver. We are also using the physiological states of pregnancy and aging to understand the molecular basis of hematopoietic ‘excellence’ and decline, respectively.

Work in the field of neural stem cells is a recent addition and we exploring how modulation of oxygen sensing pathway and resulting metabolic change affects neurogenesis. We are taking up threads on the differences between the molecular regulation employed in the two neurogenic niches in murine brain.