Profile

Dr. Tusar T. Saha

Degree Ph.D.

Contact Details

Office: C203

Email: tusars@goa.bits-pilani.ac.in

Phone: 0832-2580-276

PROFESSIONAL EXPIRIENCE

2019-Present Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, BITS Pilani K. K. Birla

Goa Campus, INDIA

2014-2018 Post Doctoral Researcher, Department of Entomology and Center

for Disease Vector Research (CDVR), University of California,

Riverside, CA

2008-2013 Graduate Student Researcher, Member of Alexander Raikhel Lab

Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA

2007-2008 Research Assistant, Department of Biochemistry, University of

Calcutta, India

EDUCATION

2013 PhD, Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics Program

University of California, Riverside CA. Dissertation Title: The Role of

Juvenile Hormone Receptor Methoprene Tolerant in Reproductive

Development of Adult Female Mosquito, Aedes aegypti

2007 Master of Science, Department of Biochemistry

University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

2005 Bachelor of Science, Botany Hons., Zoology and Chemistry (Pass)

University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

About the Faculty

Dr. Tusar T. Saha is a molecular biologist who works on various insects. He has vast experience working on the disease transmitting vector mosquitoes, particularly Dengue mosquito Aedes aegypti. Dr. Saha works on the factors that regulate female mosquito reproduction, which intrinsically linked with the disease transmission site. Mosquitoes spread pathogens while sucking vertebrate blood- that is required for egg development and reproductive maturation. This direction Dr. Saha seek to establish a vibrant 'Disease Vector Biology and Arthropod Genomics laboratory' here at Bits-pilani Goa and plans to work with enthusiastic young graduate students (Both Ph.D and MS/ME). This work has the potential to leads to novel vector control strategies.

One of the insect growth regulators that Dr. Saha has extensively worked on is juvenile hormone(JH). JH is a hormone specific to insects, and by virtue of this property JH analogues have been routinely utilized as potent FDA approved pesticides currently in use in the market. Dr. Saha is working to charecterise the molecular mode of JH action, which mostly remains a blackbox. Full scale understanding of JH signaling pathway will help us analyse how a class of pesticide works, bearing direct implications in agriculture.

Apart from the above mentioned areas, in collaboration with other scientists, Dr. Saha has also worked on insect immunity and pests-parasitoid interactions. This study aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms governing success of biologicl control agents of agricultural pests, thus having implications in agricultural sciences as well.

BITS Pilani

About Dr. Saha

Dr. Tusar T. Saha

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