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Maloyjo Joyraj Bhattacharjee

Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Karimganj College, Academia Sinica

ORCID iD 0000-0002-5442-0276
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About

I did BSc and MSc in Life Science (Zoology), and PhD in Biotechnology, and am passionate about molecular biology and bioinformatics. Further, I did PhD in genomic diversity of catfishes of the Barak-Meghna basin. Through the implementation of molecular taxonomy, phylogeny, and bioinformatics, I was able to craft novel models for the streamlined selection of molecular markers. In addition, I provided invaluable assistance to peers experiencing difficulties with the taxonomy of varying fish species, which sparked my interest in genomic plasticity.

I studied the evolution of feather diversity in birds during a postdoctoral fellowship at Academia Sinica, Taiwan under Professor Wen-Hsiung Li. I discovered that feather β-keratin genes expanded as clusters in many chromosomes by gene duplication. I also found that regulatory divergence among β-keratin genes is responsible for the origin and diversification of feathers. My research was published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution and earned me the best research paper award from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan. These experiences expanded my molecular biology and bioinformatics skill sets, enabling me to work on bigger projects.

I was involved in several research projects during my tenure as a postdoctoral fellow. One of them focused on the regulatory divergence of β-keratin genes. Another project that caught my attention was related to the emergence and spread of unusual rotavirus genotypes in agrarian regions of Northeast India. This project was published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection. Along with Dr. Jinn-Jyy Lin, a postdoc in Dr. Li’s lab, I also evaluated how negative selection, positive selection, and population size have contributed to the large variation in nucleotide substitution rates among RNA viruses. This work was published in the journal PNAS. Additionally, I supervised a project on the contrasting diversity of vaginal Lactobacillus species among females of Northeast India, which was published in the journal BMC Microbiology. I also acted as the principal investigator (PI) under the Department of Science & Technology (DST)-SERB, Govt. of India National Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme for a project related to the design of mini-barcode for assessing archival fish diversity.

In 2019, I visited Dr. Li's lab in Taiwan and learned about DNA affinity purification sequencing (DAP-Seq), which helps understand the basis of feather diversity and associated regulatory divergence of β-keratin genes in birds. Later, I collaborated with Dr. Li to study variants in ACE2 sequences among human populations and primates that confer resistance to SARS-CoV-2. This was published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. I also analyzed genomic data from a population of SARS-CoV-2 isolates, revealing rapid selective-sweep of a haplotype, published in Virology. During my visit, I confirmed that many TFs undergo alternative splicing and a single TF can function dynamically as isomers spatiotemporally. A modified DAP-Seq protocol can prove this finding. This shifted my interest to primates.

I've been working on the "ST/SC Community Development Program at IASST" project since November 2020. The project is focused on "Heritage Food and Beverage Research" of Northeast India. Our goal is to improve the quality, safety, and health benefits of fermented foods for large-scale commercialization to support the livelihood of ST/SC communities in Northeast India. Our team has been using a multi-omics approach to develop standard starters for fermented foods. We've discovered important microbes, such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides strain SB1075, which we found to be very effective in fermenting soymilk to produce soy yoghurt with many functional metabolites. We have also assessed various fermented bamboo shoot varieties and found that traditional fermented bamboo shoot Melye-amiley of Tripura promotes fat browning in adipocytes. To deploy our discoveries for society's upliftment, we have formed societies to market heritage food and beverages and value-added derived products, benefiting the ST/SC communities economically.

I have been learning and developing new bioinformatics methods to gain insights into available biological data. One area of focus has been the vaginal microenvironment and its relation to women's health. Our team has published an article titled "Recent Advances in Understanding Multifaceted Changes in Vaginal Microenvironment: Implications in Vaginal Health and Therapeutics" in the journal Critical Review in Microbiology. This study has prompted me to further investigate the genomic evolution of strains of predominant human vaginal lactobacilli for population-specific adaptation and their role in sustaining a balanced and healthy vaginal microenvironment. Our findings have been published in the journal BMC Genomics.

Employment

  • Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology Project Scientist II
    2020 - Present
  • Karimganj College DST-SERB National Postdoctoral Fellow
    2018 - 2020
  • Academia Sinica Regular Postdoctoral Fellow
    2014 - 2016
  • Assam University DBT Junior Research Fellow
    2009 - 2014

Education

Education history is unavailable.

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (20)