Our Team
Dr. Bikul Das is a distinguished oncologist and stem cell researcher renowned for his pioneering work in stem cell altruism. After completing his medical training and practicing in India, Bhutan and Canada, he went on to earn a PhD in Oncology from the prestigious Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto in 2007.
Dr. Das's groundbreaking research focuses on the concept of altruism at the cellular level. In 2012, while working at Stanford University, he made a significant discovery: the identification of altruistic behavior in human embryonic stem cells. This research challenged existing dogma in evolutionary theory and opened new avenues for understanding diseases like cancer.
Driven by this discovery, he has since published impactful research, including the role of stem cell altruism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis dormancy, which has been validated by laboratories worldwide. His research has been widely cited, solidifying his position as a leading figure in stem cell altruism research.
Lekhika Pathak joined KaviKrishna Lab in the year 2018 and has completed her Ph.D. from IIT Guwahati in October 2024 under the guidance of Dr. Bikul Das and Dr. Sanjukta Patra from IIT Guwahati, focusing on stem cell niche defense mechanisms in tuberculosis (TB) and cancer dormancy. Her doctoral research extensively utilized in vitro, animal, and clinical methodologies, exploring the roles of stem cells in disease dormancy and reactivation. Her pivotal first-author paper, "Coronavirus Activates an Altruistic Stem Cell-Mediated Defense Mechanism that Reactivates Dormant Tuberculosis," published in The American Journal of Pathology in 2021, garnered significant global attention, receiving coverage on over 200 international news platforms.
During her tenure as a Senior Research Fellow funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, Lekhika significantly contributed to understanding stem cell altruism in TB dormancy and reactivation. Her subsequent publication in Frontiers Immunology introduced a novel organoid model for isolating and analyzing circulating cancer stem cells from patients with head and neck cancer. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in genome sequencing studies related to stem cell-pathogen interactions, contributing to a paper published in Science Translational Medicine. Her clinical research was complemented by collaborative efforts with clinical teams, significantly enhancing the effectiveness of the KaviKrishna Telemedicine Care initiative.
Beyond research, Lekhika has been actively involved in training over 70 undergraduate and graduate students, guiding them through intensive summer internships. She has also served effectively as the CEO of her laboratory, demonstrating leadership and proficiency in capacity-building within biomedical research driven by Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR). Her interdisciplinary approach included extensive community medical engagement and participation in cultural-complex-based research initiatives in Sualkuchi-Hajo, alongside scholars in philosophy, economics, and medical humanities. Notably, her research excellence earned recognition at national and international conferences, and she advanced to the first round of selection for the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship.
Dr. Debduti Datta is a molecular cell biologist and expertise on cancer cell signaling. She is currently working on oral cancer as the prestigious DHR-Women Scientist (ICMR). During her postdoctoral work as DST-National Postdoctoral fellow and DBT-Research Associate, she focused on miRNA and intercellular communication using proteomics under the supervision of Bhatnagar awardee, Dr. Suvendra N. Bhattacharyya, CSIR-IICB.
Her doctoral research was on Cancer Biology from Department of Biotechnology. IIT-Madras with CSIR scholarship. Under the guidance of Prof. Mahalingam she worked on nucleolar GTPases, signaling pathways and its implication on cancer. Her doctoral thesis put forward a significant discovery on how cancer cells manipulate the apoptotic p53/MDM2 pathway for survival which was also published in reputed journals like Journal of Biological Chemistry.
She also presented her work in the International FEBS-EMBO conference held in Paris in 2013. She made significant contribution in developing Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Cell biology, Dept. of Biotechnology, IIT Madras during her PhD. Her expertise involves conceptualizing cutting edge research ideas, development, and standardization of wide range of molecular biology and biochemical protocols, training research scholars and writing research papers, technical documents and research grants.
She is the recipient of Pune University Silver Jubilee Award for ranking 1st in M.Sc. She also received Pune intercollegiate Science consortium award during B.Sc. for strategic scientific writing.
Partha Jyoti Saikia is a dedicated researcher at KaviKrishna Laboratory, driven by a passion for scientific research. With a postgraduate degree in Biotechnology, he joined the laboratory in 2018 as an intern, and subsequently, as a research scholar in 2019. His primary research focus is on the role of the oral oral microbiota/microbiome in oral cancer. His Ph.D. project delves into the mechanisms by which the oral microbiota can modulate the tumor microenvironment, especially targeting cancer stem cells to induce an aggressive phenotype.
Partha's contributions extend to the laboratory's TB project, where he has been involved in sample collection, downstream experiments, and administrative tasks. He has also been instrumental in training the next generation of researchers, conducting sessions and practical demonstrations for multiple batches of research interns. He has also been a collaborative member of the laboratory, actively assisting fellow Ph.D. students and researchers with their experiments and their projects.
Beyond his benchwork, Partha has been actively involved in clinical research and patient care. He has contributed to KaviKrishna Telemedicine Care, providing essential care to cancer patients and gaining invaluable insights into the complexities of palliative care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he played a pivotal role in KTC-led projects, participating in patient care and diagnostics. This involved home visits to collect samples from COVID-19 patients and patients in ICU care in the hospitals of Sualkuchi and Hajo.
Partha's dedication to research, patient care, and mentorship, coupled with his strong technical skills and collaborative spirit, makes him a valuable asset to the KaviKrishna Laboratory community. His work has the potential to significantly impact the understanding and treatment of oral cancer and other related diseases.
Assists the research scholars in executing their experiments and also looks after the sterility maintenance of the lab
Currently working on project titled "Identification of Evolution of Multi-Drug Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-Mtb) Strain in Sputum and Mesenchymal Stem Cells of TB Subjects to Target the MDR-Mtb Strain Intracellular."
Research Interest: Host-pathogen interaction, Computer aided drug discovery, Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).
Working in targeting anti-angiogenesis pathways associated with tumor stemness defense.
Research Interest: Angiogenesis, Cancer stem cell niche, Molecular signaling pathways.
Understanding tumor stemness defense mechanism of cancer stem cells and its significance in therapy resistance.
Research Interest: Cancer stem cells, Stem cell niche, Cancer Systems Biology.
