IIT Bombay Department Highlights
As part of an ongoing series, IIT Bombay is spotlighting its academic departments to showcase the depth and diversity of work taking place across the Institute. From research and innovation to faculty and student achievements, this initiative aims to build greater awareness and engagement within the alumni community. Through these features, we invite alumni to reconnect with their departments and explore meaningful ways to contribute to their continued growth.
Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering (BSBE)
Faculty
BSBE faculty continued to earn recognition for excellence in teaching, professional leadership, and contributions to advancing the biosciences and bioengineering ecosystem in India and globally.
– The Professor S.P. Sukhatme Excellence in Teaching Award was awarded to Profs. Anirban Banerjee, Ambarish Kunwar, and Prasenjit Bhaumik.
– The Departmental Award for Excellence in Teaching was awarded to Prof. Debjani Paul.
– Prof. Debjani Paul has been invited to join the Board of Directors of the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society (CBMS). Established in 2004, the Society organises the MicroTAS conferences, among other activities in the field of microfluidics.
– Prof. Debjani Paul is a founding member and Treasurer of the Indian Society for Miniaturised Systems (ISMS), established in 2025.
Students
BSBE students and researchers received several prestigious awards, fellowships, travel grants, and presentation honours in recognition of their outstanding research accomplishments.
– Mr. Sourav Ghosh (Prof. Anirban Banerjee’s Lab) received the 2025 Angelika Amon Young Scientist Award from the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, MIT, USA. He was invited to MIT to present his work and receive the award in November 2025.
– Mr. Sourav Ghosh (Prof. Anirban Banerjee’s Lab) was awarded the Sun Pharma Science Foundation (SSSF) Science Scholar Fellowship 2025 in Biomedical Sciences.
– Ms. Suvapriya Roy (Prof. Anirban Banerjee’s Lab) received the Best Poster Award and an EMBO Travel Grant at the EMBO Conference on Cell-Autonomous Defence and Innate Immunity, held in Hyderabad, India, from 3–5 December 2025.
– Mr. V. Anand Parnandi (Prof. Rohit Patkar’s Lab) received the Best Oral Presentation Award at the International Yeast Biology Meeting held at IISc Bengaluru in December 2025.
– Dr. Barnava Banerjee (Prof. Prasenjit Bhaumik’s Lab) received the DBT-CTEP Travel Award from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, to attend the 11th CCPEM Spring Symposium in Nottingham, UK, in April 2025.
– Ms. Mahima Saha (Prof. Prasenjit Bhaumik’s Lab) received the Best Oral Presentation Award at the National Conference on Emerging Trends in Structural Biophysics: Integrating Structure, Dynamics and Function (CETSB-26), organised by the Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology Warangal, in January 2026.
– Ms. Apoorva Raman (Prof. Debjani Paul’s Lab) was selected for the “Get Down Under” Award to attend the 29th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences in Adelaide, Australia, from 2–6 November 2025.
– Members of Prof. Anirban Banerjee’s Lab were selected in the Global Grant Challenge offered by the Advanced Imaging Centre, Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), USA, to conduct advanced imaging experiments.
Research Recognition
Research from BSBE laboratories gained significant international visibility through high-impact publications and recognition by leading scientific journals.
– A paper from Prof. Prasenjit Bhaumik’s Lab (Banerjee et al., 2025), published in FEBS Letters, was featured on the journal’s cover page.
– Ghosh S., Roy S., Baid N., Das U.K., Rakshit S., Sanghavi P., Hajra D., Das S., Menon S., Sahil M., Shaw S., Rajmani R.S., Adicherla H., Kaledhonkar S., Mondal J., Chakravortty D., Mallik R., and Banerjee A. (2025) published Host AAA-ATPase VCP/p97 lyses ubiquitinated intracellular bacteria as an innate antimicrobial defence in Nature Microbiology (10, 1099–1114). The paper was selected as a Featured Article and highlighted in News & Views by the journal.
Research Highlights
The following research highlight exemplifies the quality, impact, and international recognition of work being carried out across BSBE laboratories.
– A paper from Prof. Prasenjit Bhaumik’s Lab (Banerjee et al., 2025), published in FEBS Letters, was featured on the journal’s cover page.
Events and Engagement
Over the past year, BSBE hosted a diverse portfolio of conferences, workshops, symposia, and outreach programmes spanning fundamental science, healthcare, biotechnology, and engineering.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a one-day event titled ‘Alumni Day-2026’ on 31st January, 2026 at IIT Bombay.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a one-day symposium and workshop titled ‘Interdisciplinary Applications of Magnetic and Optical Tweezers (MTOT2025)’ from 15 to 17 December, 2025 at IIT Bombay. Prof. Ambarish Kunwar was the convener.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a two-day event titled ‘Genvision 2026’ on 10th and 11th January, 2026, at IIT Bombay. Profs. Sushil Kumar and Sandip Kaledhonkar were the faculty advisors.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a one-day Online Open house session/Workshop for PhD aspirants in Medical Engineering on 29th March, 2026, at IIT Bombay. Profs. Rohit Manchanfa, Hari Varma, Neeta Kanekar, Sandeep Kalva, and Tuhin Roy were the conveners.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a one-day workshop titled ‘Virtual Reality and Robotics for Balance, Gait, and Fall Rehabilitation’ on 10th March, 2026, at IIT Bombay. Prof. Neeta Kanekar was the convener.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a six-day workshop titled ‘Concurrent Brain Stimulation and Imaging’ from 3rd to 8th February 2026 at IIT Bombay. Prof. Nivethida Thirugnanasambandam was the convener.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a three-day workshop titled ‘Stronger together FACS Workshop in collaboration with BD Biosciences India Pvt. Ltd.’ from 19 to 21 August 2025 at IIT Bombay. Prof. Anirban Banerjee was the convener.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a two-day workshop titled ‘WRCB Clinical Day: OMICS4Clinics’ on 20th and 21st December, 2025 at IIT Bombay. Prof. Sanjeeva Srivastava was the convener.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a three-day workshop titled ‘Probing Intracellular Transport using single molecule Techniques (PITSMT2025)’ from 15 to 17 December, 2025 at IIT Bombay. Prof. Ashutosh Kumar was the convener.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a three-day workshop titled ‘Introduction to FPGA for Biomedical Researcher’ on 4th October, 1st and 24th November 2025 at IIT Bombay. Prof. Hari Varma was the convener.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a one-day symposium and workshop titled ‘Pioneering the Future of Healthcare and Diagnostics Using 4D Omics’ on 12th November, 2024, at IIT Bombay. Prof. Sanjeeva Srivastava was the convener.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a workshop on ‘Systems-Level Medical Engineering and Technology Research’ at IIT Bombay on 13 September, 2025 at IIT Bombay. Profs. Rohit Manchanda, Hari M Varma, Neeta Kanekar, and Sandeep Kumar Kalva were the conveners.
– The Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Bombay, hosted a one-day workshop titled ‘LABVIEW & Operation of Real-Time DAQ’ on 10th June, 2025, at IIT Bombay. Prof. Hari Varma was the convener.
Upcoming Milestones
The department continues to expand its research and innovation ecosystem through new infrastructure, centres, and facilities that will support cutting-edge interdisciplinary research.
– Establishment of a new BSBE Building
– Establishment of the Alkem Center for Immuno-therapeutics and Regenerative Medicine
– Establishment of the Central Animal Facility
Opportunities for Alumni and Industry Engagement
BSBE welcomes opportunities to collaborate with alumni and industry partners in advancing research, innovation, student development, and translational impact.
– Collaborative research projects with faculty on funded research initiatives and industry-relevant challenges.
– Internship and placement opportunities for BSBE students.
– Support for specialised research centres and facilities aligned with departmental priorities
– Mentorship for student-led start-ups and early-stage ventures in biotechnology and bioengineering.