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Nanobiology lab is selected to lead an inter-institutional grant to study the sero-prevalence of human pathogens in Karnataka
Deciphering the Stochasticity of Life: From Single Molecules to Global Health
Deciphering the Stochasticity of Life: From Single Molecules to Global Health
How do random events at the single-molecule and single cell level translate into biologically significant phenomena?
Our lab leads an interdisciplinary research program at the intersection of Chemical Engineering, Biophysics, and AI to engineer technologies that answer this fundamental question.
We focus on long-standing challenges in infectious diseases—specifically positive-strand RNA viruses and pathogenic bacteria—by leveraging single-molecule detection, quantitative genomics, mathematical modeling and high-resolution imaging.
By quantifying the transition from molecular stochasticity to predictable biological function, we are building the engineering frameworks needed to anticipate pathogen behavior and design more effective, data-driven vaccines and therapeutic strategies.
Our research is borne out of the need to alleviate the huge burden of infectious disease driving public health challenges. We also derive inspiration from the quintessential nanofactories a.k. a. microorganisms and biomolecular complexes for how things work in the nano-regime.
Our research focuses on the following major themes:
Recent Publications
Recent Publications
May 9, 2024
N Ronceray et al. , "Multiplexed lifetime imaging of single molecules with a gated single-photon camera" accepted in Light: Science & Applications (2025)
October 28, 2024
H Chhajer and R Roy, "Rationalised experiment design for parameter estimation with sensitivity clustering" Scientific Reports (2024)
September 16, 2024
V Hill, et al., "A new lineage nomenclature to aid genomic surveillance of dengue virus" PLoS Biology (2024)
March 12 2024
J Panwar and R Roy, "Modified capillary number to standardize droplet generation in suction driven microfluidics" Microfluidics and Nanofluidics (2024)
Latest News
Latest News
Debayani Chakraborty submitted her PhD thesis on 'Host-Directed Antiviral Therapeutic Targeting Of Dengue Virus (01/2026)
Aditya Upasani presented his thesis colloquium on 'The Effect Of Membrane Composition On The Activity Of Membrane Disrupting Agents' (09/2025)
Rohit Dutta successfully defended thesis on 'Understanding Bacterial Heterogeneity in Gene Expression ... ' (03/2025)
IISc's CONNECT Article
IISc's CONNECT Article
12th September
-By Ranjini Raghunath
The origins of the dengue virus are murky. Scientists think that it was circulating in primates in the jungles of either Africa or Southeast Asia about 1,000 years ago, and jumped to humans a few hundred years ago. Hitching a ride on Aedes aegypti – a tiny black-and-white striped mosquito – the virus zoomed across the globe, before making inroads into Asia after World War II.
The lifecycle of the dengue virus alternates between the mosquito and the human. When a female mosquito bites a human already carrying the dengue virus, the latter enters and multiplies inside the mosquito’s salivary glands. The next person that this virus-laden mosquito bites then gets injected with the virus, continuing the chain of transmission.
Once the virus enters our bloodstream, it hijacks our cells and multiplies, setting off alarms in our immune system. Our body responds by attacking the virus and turning up the heat (“dengue fever”). Sometimes the immune system may overreact, unleashing a storm of inflammatory signals leading to plasma leakage from blood vessels, organ failure, and even death.
“The problem with dengue is that the causative agent is not just one virus,” says Rahul Roy, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, IISc. “It’s a large group of related viruses that infect in roughly the same way.”
There are currently four serotypes (variants) of dengue circulating in India. Based on genomic analysis, Rahul’s team has shown that Dengue 1 and 3 serotypes were dominant until 2012, but Dengue 2 is currently the most common serotype across the country. Dengue 4, once thought of as the least infectious, has become the predominant south Indian strain.
The virus also mutates remarkably fast. “It can mutate even within an individual host. Sometimes, the virus that infects you is not the same virus that later grows in your body. It is even capable of adapting to different tissues in our body,” Rahul says.
Rahul points out how the same virus that thrives inside a mosquito is able to survive inside a human with such vastly different physiology. “You have such a pliable organism, a chimera that can change itself so quickly,” he explains. “It is challenging to develop a drug or vaccine because the pathogen does not remain the same. A new variant of the pathogen will come – maybe even out of the intervention that you did.”
City Slickers
-By Ranjini RaghunathCity Slickers
Why urban diseases like rabies and dengue are so hard to control
The origins of the dengue virus are murky. Scientists think that it was circulating in primates in the jungles of either Africa or Southeast Asia about 1,000 years ago, and jumped to humans a few hundred years ago. Hitching a ride on Aedes aegypti – a tiny black-and-white striped mosquito – the virus zoomed across the globe, before making inroads into Asia after World War II.Why urban diseases like rabies and dengue are so hard to control
The lifecycle of the dengue virus alternates between the mosquito and the human. When a female mosquito bites a human already carrying the dengue virus, the latter enters and multiplies inside the mosquito’s salivary glands. The next person that this virus-laden mosquito bites then gets injected with the virus, continuing the chain of transmission.
Once the virus enters our bloodstream, it hijacks our cells and multiplies, setting off alarms in our immune system. Our body responds by attacking the virus and turning up the heat (“dengue fever”). Sometimes the immune system may overreact, unleashing a storm of inflammatory signals leading to plasma leakage from blood vessels, organ failure, and even death.
“The problem with dengue is that the causative agent is not just one virus,” says Rahul Roy, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, IISc. “It’s a large group of related viruses that infect in roughly the same way.”
There are currently four serotypes (variants) of dengue circulating in India. Based on genomic analysis, Rahul’s team has shown that Dengue 1 and 3 serotypes were dominant until 2012, but Dengue 2 is currently the most common serotype across the country. Dengue 4, once thought of as the least infectious, has become the predominant south Indian strain.
The virus also mutates remarkably fast. “It can mutate even within an individual host. Sometimes, the virus that infects you is not the same virus that later grows in your body. It is even capable of adapting to different tissues in our body,” Rahul says.
Rahul points out how the same virus that thrives inside a mosquito is able to survive inside a human with such vastly different physiology. “You have such a pliable organism, a chimera that can change itself so quickly,” he explains. “It is challenging to develop a drug or vaccine because the pathogen does not remain the same. A new variant of the pathogen will come – maybe even out of the intervention that you did.”
Questions?
Questions?
Contact
rahulroy [at] iisc.ac.in / lakshmi [at] iisc.ac.in
to get more information on the lab
Address
Address
NanoBiology Lab
Department of Chemical Engineering
Indian Institute of Science
Bengaluru, Karnataka
560012
Phone: 91-80-2293-3115/8
Fax: 91-80-2360-8121
Email: rahulroy [at] iisc.ac.in / lakshmi [at] iisc.ac.in
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