Pratik Kumar
@prat_i_k
Assistant Professor @NCBS_Bangalore. Making chemical tools for biology. Previously @hhmijanelia @stonybrooku @iiserkol and @jncasr
Preprint Alert! 🎉 Hey Halo-tag users—ever wish you could bring something else along for the ride with your JF dye? 🚀 Pratik Kumar & Luke Lavis just dropped an amazing tool: multifunctional fluorescent ligands that let you pull down, manipulate, and track organelles like never…
🧵Prepint! Optimizing Multifunctional Fluorescent Ligands for Intracellular Labeling |tinyurl.com/3n55hvsc. With @JasonVevea @TheChapmanLab @So_lets_kiLab70, we combined dye chemistry, HaloTag, microscopy and cell biology to make protein purification and manipulation tools.
(1/2) We are thrilled to share that our faculty member, Anusha Shankar, has been awarded the Maxwell-Hanrahan Foundation Award in Field Biology! She is exploring how animals adapt to environmental variability, particularly those capable of lowering their body temperature and...
Our Lab @IITKgp is hiring Institute Postdoc! If you have experience in cell culture and interest in chem bio, pls contact at [email protected] with CV and research summary. Our lab website: sites.google.com/view/shubhendu… Apply here 👇 erp.iitkgp.ac.in/Jobs/auth/pdfa… Deadline: 31 July
It was great to connect with the early career organic chemists across the India. Thanks to @vishal_iiserb for organizing it beautifully.
Successfully conducted the 1st NOST-ECR Symposium at IISER Bhopal! A vibrant platform for researchers to exchange cutting-edge ideas in organic chemistry. Grateful for the inspiring talks, fruitful discussions, and the opportunity to connect with brilliant minds!
Great experience presenting my independent research at the NOST-Early Career Researcher Meeting @iiserbhopal before the luminaries of Indian organic chemistry community. Big bonus was catching up with @prat_i_k who I knew since a fruitful summer internship during college days!
We are excited to welcome our 1st cohort of PRISM fellows! The fellowship, in collaboration with @ProjEduAccess is a 2-month, residential research programme designed to nurture next generation of life science researchers from underrepresented & marginalised backgrounds in India.
It was lovely to interact with these high school students
#CampusVisit We recently welcomed 11th and 12th-grade students from DPS (N). They interacted with Dr. Pratik Kumar and visited the labs of Prof. Sanjay Sane and Dr. Shashi Thutupalli. The students learned how science is interdisciplinary and not done in silos.
Watching our home-brewed PI3P and PI4P vesicle probes move through neurons feels like blowing bubbles as a kid: fleeting, a little magical. I’m a Doubting Thomas at heart. That’s why I’ve spent so much time learning to image and building probes. I need to see it to believe it.…
#CampusVisit Students of Bangalore International School visited NCBS last week They started with an activity to learn critical thinking. Dr. @prat_i_k spoke about life as a scientist, & Aksha Chowdhary, @MSc_Wildlife alum, shared her journey. They also visited Dr Raj Ladher's lab
Delighted to share this. A novel H4 variant that modulates chromatin to mediate salt stress response. This mammoth work was driven to perfection by @VivekHariSunda1, a wonderful PhD student who also taught me. We report its CryoEM structure & unusual chemistry @NCBS_Bangalore 1/3
New Article: "An Oryza-specific histone H4 variant predisposes H4 lysine 5 acetylation to modulate salt stress responses" rdcu.be/eg0Zs An Oryza-specific histone H4 variant (H4.V) forms condensed, less stable nucleosomes, regulating the salt stress transcriptome.
Ever wondered how organs take shape? Join us to find out! The Organ Mechanobiology Lab @NCBS_Bangalore is recruiting Graduate Trainees. Perfect for final-year students curious about tissue mechanics, development & cell biology. Check out the ad below 👇 Please RT! Thanks 🙏
📢 Course Announcement! Applications are now open for the 15th Bangalore Microscopy Course! 📅 14-21 September 2025 ⌛ Application Deadline: 30th April 2025 📍 NCBS, Bengaluru 📝 Apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI… 🌐 For more details, visit: ncbs.res.in/BangaloreMicro…
Ligand-directed labeling for microglia labeling in living systems.
Today, we report the first independent study from our lab describing a new technology for live imaging and manipulation of homeostatic microglia (brain-resident macrophages) in the brain. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
You can also do synthetic organic chemistry or chemical biology to make reagents for biology at NCBS! Do consider the NCBS PhD program if you are interested in pursuing chemistry based problems for your PhD. My lab will hire PhD students this term and the next term as well.
#AdmissionsAlert! The National Centre for Biological Sciences announces the opening of online applications for admission to its PhD programme through National Exam Route. Application Deadline: 24th March 2025 Joining: 1st August 2025 Apply here: bit.ly/4igBGFK
Excited to do some chemistry at NCBS! Do consider joining us!
#NewFaculty Welcome to the campus Dr @prat_i_k! Dr Pratik is a 'tool builder' working at the intersection of biology and chemistry. We look forward to the contributions from his lab. Know more: news.ncbs.res.in/spotlight/ncbs…
If you are unsure about pursuing PhD at this stage, I am also hiring 1–2 JRFs with a background in organic chemistry. We have the funding and will train you in dye/click chemistry for applications in biology. Follow the website for details DyeCraftLab.com
If making chemical tools for biology excites you, consider applying to the NCBS graduate program! My lab plans to hire 1–2 graduate students this cycle. More info on my lab @ dyecraftlab.com
Dr. Ajith Kumar was one of our best. Deeply engaged with the forests and his students, he combined rigour and intensity in teaching with the stimulation of love and appreciation of the natural world around us. His presence was ubiquitous, and he was always available to travel,…
We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Dr Ajith Kumar, eminent wildlife biologist & guiding force of the MSc Wildlife program at NCBS. NCBS & the wildlife biology community have lost a remarkable leader & mentor—heartfelt condolences to his family, friends & colleagues.
If making chemical tools for biology excites you, consider applying to the NCBS graduate program! My lab plans to hire 1–2 graduate students this cycle. More info on my lab @ dyecraftlab.com
#AdmissionsAlert! The National Centre for Biological Sciences announces the opening of online applications for admission to its PhD programme through National Exam Route. Application Deadline: 24th March 2025 Joining: 1st August 2025 Apply here: bit.ly/4igBGFK