Meet The Mentors

Ms. Daina Yesuraj is a Lecturer in the GUCR department at the University of Dubai. She is pursuing her Ph.D. Degree in Marine biotechnology from the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy since 2023. She has more than 10 years of combined experience in the field of teaching and research. Her area of expertise includes: sustainability and seaweed biotechnology. She is the author of few research papers and a book chapter related to application of seaweeds. Other than academia, she simultaneously serves as a Judge for the Global Undergraduate Awards, Ireland since 2022.

I’m Progyadipta Naskar, an Electronics and Communication Engineering student passionate about AI/ML, robotics, embedded systems, IoT, antenna design, and space communication technologies.

I have worked on projects involving microstrip patch antennas, inter-satellite laser communication, AI-based healthcare systems, robotic automation, cybersecurity, and local LLM-based AI assistants. I have also gained experience through internships and opportunities with IIT Kanpur, IEEE EMBS Pune, CDAC Noida, and IEEE initiatives.

Along with research and project development, I enjoy teaching and mentoring students in AI, robotics, electronics, and IoT. My long-term interest lies in contributing to antenna research, RF systems, and space communication technologies.

Empowering the next generation of Physician-Leaders in Biotech and Pharmacovigilance.

With over a decade of experience across the pharmaceutical lifecycle—at industry leaders like Regeneron, UCB, and Pfizer—I specialize in bridging the gap between clinical practice and global drug safety strategy. My expertise spans from the high-stakes environment of First-in-Human and Late phase trials to navigating complex regulatory interactions with the FDA and EMA.

I can mentor you on:

Technical Mastery: Understanding signal detection, Risk Management Plans (RMP), and the nuances of safety strategies within clinical development

Regulatory Navigation: Mastering the art of Scientific Advice meetings and marketing authorization submissions.

Strategic Leadership: Transitioning from clinical roles to industry, managing high-level global alliances, and leading effectively within matrix organizations.

I am passionate about helping mentees develop the strategic mindset and technical precision required to safeguard patient health on a global scale.

Dr. Subarna Thakur is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioinformatics at the University of North Bengal. She received her Ph.D. Degree in Botany from the University of North Bengal in 2014 and then worked as a Post Doc in various institutes like JNU, Bose Institute and IRHS, Angers, France for 4 Years. She is having more than 10 Years of Experience in the field of Computational Biology and Genomics. Her Area of Expertise includes NGS Data analysis, Transcriptomics, Network Biology. She is the author of 10 original research articles in high-impact peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Chitra Dhawale is a Professor in the Science and Technology Department of Datta Meghe Institute of Education and Research (Deemed to be University). She received her Ph.D. Degree in Computer Science from S.G.B.Amravati University in 2009. She is having 25+ years of teaching and research experience in computer science. Her area of Expertise includes: Data Science, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Python Programming, R Programming, Tableau. She/he is the author of 02 books, 08 book chapters and 78 research papers.

Miss Shirisha is a STEM Engineer and former Associate Software Engineer with experience in robotics, Arduino, automation, SQL, and UI development. She mentors students through hands-on STEM projects, helping them develop practical skills in engineering, coding, and problem-solving. With a strong combination of technical expertise and teaching ability, she is dedicated to inspiring young learners through innovation-driven education.

Dr. Upma Pal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at the Gautam Buddha University. She received her Ph.D. Degree in Dairy Microbiology from ICAR- NATIONAL DAIRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE in 2022. Then worked as an Assistant professor at Gautam Buddha University. She has 5 Years of Experience in the field of Bioethanol production utilizing dairy waste. Her Areas of Expertise include: bioethanol production, yeast development, metabolic engineering, gene expression ,etc.

Dr Harishchander Anandaram is an Assistant Professor at Centre for Excellence in Computational Engineering and Networking, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. He received his Ph.D. Degree in Bioengineering from Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, in 2020. In his PhD thesis, he worked on pharmacogenomics and miRNA- regulated networks in psoriasis, a joint project with Georgetown University, USA, JIPMER, INDIA, CIBA, INDIA, and ILS, INDIA. His thesis illustrated a multi-disciplinary approach by combining computational biophysics and molecular biology machine learning. Also, he had the opportunity to collaborate with international researchers and have publications in reputed international journals in bioinformatics and systems biology simultaneously. He has received the prestigious “Young Scientist Award” from “The Melinda Gates Foundation” for his research abstract on “The Implications of miRNA Dynamics in Infectious Diseases”. To date, he has reviewed more than 200 manuscripts in systems biology. He is currently working on predicting Novel lead molecules and biomarkers using computational techniques to target inflammatory pathways associated with infectious and autoimmune disorders.

Dr. Shubham Jaju is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, Telangana. He received his MD degree in 2023 from Kaloji Narayana Rao University. Then, he worked as a Senior Resident in Osmania Medical College for a year. He is having 4 years of experience in the field of Pharmacology. His area of expertise includes Clinical Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapeutics, Research and Clinical Trials and Drug Safety. He is the author of several scientific articles.

Shashikala is a Bioinformatics researcher and academic professional with experience as a Teaching Assistant at Jaypee University of Information Technology, Lecturer at Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar, and Assistant Professor at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar. Her expertise includes Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, Computational Biology, Molecular Docking, Network Biology, Sequence Analysis, Biological Databases, Drug Designing, and Rare Disease Research.
Her research focuses on neuromuscular diseases, especially Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, using systems biology, gene regulatory networks, and computational biology approaches. She also holds an NPTEL certification in Bio-Informatics: Algorithms and Applications from IIT Madras. As a mentor, she brings strong teaching and research experience for workshops in bioinformatics, genomics, molecular docking, systems biology, and AI-enabled biomedical research.

Dr. Kumar Ajay has been a Professor and Director in the Institute of Applied Sciences at the Mangalayatan University, Aligarh. He received his Ph.D. Degree in Life Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in 1997 and earned his postdoctoral from James Graham Brown Cancer Center, university of Louisville (UofL), KY, USA, Then worked as Asst. Professor in Lovely Professional University, Punjab, Dean Academics at Uttaranchal College of Science and technology, Dehradun, Director (Operation) at Dolphin College of Science and Agriculture, Punjab He has ten years working experience in food processing and pharmaceutical industries. Prof. Kumar is having 25 Years of Experience in the field of Alternative Medicines and Biotechnology. His Area of Expertise include Plant Biotechnology, Tissue Culture, Hydroponics, Mushroom Production, Herbal Medicines and Food Processing. He is consultant to American companies. He is the author of three books, 22 research papers, five patents, several invited talks and Keynote speaker in several conferences and recipient of Leading Scientist of the year Award, Eminent Scientist of the year Award, Environmentalist of the Year Award, Pea awards and Outstanding Professor of Technological Innovation Award.

Dr. R.R. Karthieka currently serves as a Research Scientist at Silveray Ltd., United Kingdom. She earned her Ph.D. in Physics, specializing in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, from the University of Madras in 2023. With eight years of research experience, her expertise is centered on the preparation, characterization, and fabrication of low-dose X ray detectors.Her research focuses on the development of inorganic nanostructured materials with varied morphologies, including perovskite-based semiconductors, polymer-based nanocomposites,biomaterials, and metal oxide nanomaterials.Dr. Karthieka got hands on experience in the synthesis of nanomaterials through various methods and trained many post graduate students during her doctorate degree. Additionally, her industrial expertise in thin-film fabrication for organic photovoltaic (OPV) and organic photodetector (OPD) devices development, experience on various large area coating techniques, translating theoretical knowledge into industrial application.