Dr. Mandar V. Deshmukh - Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology

I completed my school and college education at Nanded, Maharashtra. After obtaining an M.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Dr. B. A. M. University, Aurangabad, I learnt NMR techniques to study polymer blends and LCST polymers at the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. My doctoral research at the Technical University of Munich was performed in Prof. Horst Kessler's lab. I used high-end solution NMR methods to study inter-domain dynamics in multi-domain proteins. I moved to the University of California, San Francisco, to train with Prof. John D. Gross as a postdoctoral fellow. Here, I investigated structural aspects of Dcp2, a key decapping enzyme that acts on mature mRNA. In 2006, I started as a Scientist at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad. My lab explores RNA-binding proteins, which play an important role in gene regulation. I am an amateur astronomer, enjoy reading and listening to Hindustani classical music.

Brief Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Mandar V. Deshmukh, Ph. D. Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR - Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Uppal Road, Hyderabad-500007, AP, INDIA Phone: +91-40-27192646, Fax: +91-40-27160311, Email: mvdesh@ccmb.res.in WEB: http://www.ccmb.res.in/staff/mandar
Present Position
10/06-cntd.	Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India Project Leader - Biomolecular NMR
Education
10/04-10/06	University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry Structural and functional characterization of the mRNA decapping enzyme, Dcp2 Advisor: Prof. John D. Gross
10/00-10/04	Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany Ph. D., Chemistry, Magna cum Laude Thesis: NMR Investigations on Structure, Dynamics, and Function of VAT-N and DOTATOC Advisor: Prof. Dr. Horst Kessler
07/95-07/97	Dr. B. A. Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India M. Sc.: Chemistry, I^st class (63.75%)
07/92-07/95	Dr. B. A. Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India B. Sc.: Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, I^st class (66.75%)
Awards/Honors
2020	Invited as Scientific Advisory Board Member, CIPLA Ltd., 06/2021.
2019	Professor S. Subramanian's 60^th Birthday Award conferred by the National Magnetic Resonance Society (NMRS), India.
2016	Associate Fellow, Telangana Academy of Sciences
2015-16	Corresponding Editor: Journal of Biosciences
2013-2016	Executive Committee member of National Magnetic Resonance Society (NMRS)
2009-2013	Max Planck India Fellowship (MPI Host: Prof. Dr. Christian Griesinger, MPIBPC, Göttingen, Germany)
Notable Information
2021	Invited speaker at 22^nd Asia Pacific NMR Symposium, , organized by Japanese Magnetic Resonance Society, Japan.
2019	Invited speaker at 8^th Asia Pacific NMR Symposium, Singapore.
2017	Invited speaker at 3^rd Indo-German NMR workshop, Leipzig, Germany.
2017	Invited speaker at 7^th Asia Pacific NMR Symposium, Bangalore
2016	Promoted speaker at 27^th ICMRBS (International Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems) held at Kyoto, Japan
2015	Invited speaker at 6^th Asia Pacific NMR Symposium, Hong Kong
2014	Invited speaker at 26^th ICMRBS (International Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems) held at Dallas, Texas, USA
2010	Travel award for attending 53^rd ENC (Experimental NMR Conference)
2009	Invited participation in 1^st young investigators meet at Estuary Island, Kerala
2002	Student travel grant for attending 43^rd ENC (Experimental NMR Conference)
1988	Holder of the Open Merit Scholarship
Relevant Information
1. Reviewer services for the Journal of American Chemical Society, Biochemistry, WIRE RNA, Journal of Structural Biology, Proceedings Ind. National Academy and Journal of Biosciences. 2. Grant Reviewing for DST, DBT, ICMR, CSIR, India Alliance, Polish Scientific Academy, Gitam University, etc. 3. Organized Max Planck India Fellows Meeting (2009) and RNA Group Meeting (2016) as well as served as National Organizing Committee / Local Organizing Committee member in over 10 National/International meetings held by societies in India. 4. External expert for procurement of over 13 spectrometers from 2007 to 2024 at various Universities, Academic Institutes, and Higher education institutes in India.
Research Grants
10/2008 – 03/2012	“Structural and Mechanistic Role of RDE-4 for the Initiation of RNA Interference Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans” DBT Special RNAi grant, Amount: ~ Rs. 60 lakhs
09/2010 – 08/2012	“Structural Studies on the RNAi initiation complex formed by RDE-4:Dicer-1 in C. elegans” CSIR, EMPOWER, Amount: ~ Rs. 40 lakhs
04/2012 – 03/2017	“Emerging and re-emerging challenges in infectious diseases: Statement for Systems based CSIR-CCMB drug design for infectious diseases (SPlenDID)” CSIR – XII^th five-year plan, Amount: ~ Rs. 40 lakhs
04/2012 – 03/2017	“Genome dynamics in cellular organization, differentiation and entiostatis (GenCODE)” CSIR – XII^th five-year plan, Amount: ~ Rs. 204 lakhs
12/2016 – 03/2020	“Investigating the Structural and Functional Basis of RNA Binding and Posttranscriptional Regulation of Gene Expression by Annexin A2 in Response to Genotoxic Stress” DST – SERB EMR Grant (as coPI), Amount: ~ Rs. 8 lakhs
07/2017 – 06/2020	“Structural and Functional Studies of DRB2 in A. thaliana RNAi pathway” DST – SERB EMR Grant, Amount: ~ Rs. 25.5 lakhs
06/2018 – 05/2021	“Understanding the molecular mechanism of calcium signaling in Neurospora crassa” DBT-NER Grant (as a non-NER PI), Amount: ~ Rs. 38 lakhs
08/2020 – 07/2023	“Molecular Basis of Evolutionary Divergence in RNAi Initiation” CSIR – FBR Grant, Amount: ~ Rs. 90 lakhs
07/2021 – 10/2023	“The origin of multiple Dicers and dsRNA Binding Proteins in the RNAi Initiation pathway of A. thaliana and D. melanogaster” CSIR – FIRST Grant, Amount: ~ Rs. 100 lakhs
03/2024 – 02/2027	“Elucidating the mechanistic role of DRB5 in the RNA interference pathway of plants” DST SERB CRG Grant, Amount: ~ Rs. 60 lakhs
Technical Services
2025	ISTAG and Peer Review Committee Member, CSIR - Indian Institute of Chemical Technology
2024	Member, Screening Committee, Multidisciplinary Unit of Research on Translational Initiatives (MURTI) Program for GITAM University
2023	External expert for purchase of 600 MHz NMR, Krea University
2023	External expert for purchase of 500 MHz NMR, CSIR-IICT
2021	Coordinator, CSIR-HRDG SRF/RA selection for General Biology
2020–present	Member, CSIR-HRDG SRF/RA selection committee in Life Sciences
2020	Technical Expert Committee member for the purchase of 500 MHz NMR, IISER, Mohali
2018	Technical Expert Committee member for the purchase of 800 MHz NMR, CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad
2018	External expert for purchase of 600 MHz NMR for IIT Ropar
2017–present	Member, CSIR-HRDG SRF selection committee in Physical Chemistry
2014	External expert for purchase of 500 MHz NMR, Chemistry Department, BHU, Varanasi
2013	External expert for purchase of 400 MHz NMR spectrometer for CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad
2013	External expert for purchase of 500 MHz NMR for IIT, BHU, Varanasi
2012	Member, Scientific Committee, Ministry of Earth Sciences, India
2011	External expert for purchase of 600 and 700 MHz NMR for CSIR-NCL, Pune
2008	External expert for purchase of 400 and 500 MHz NMR for UoH, Hyderabad
2007	Technical committee member, DST for purchase of 700 MHz NMR for AIIMS, Delhi
Meeting Organization
2024 - Convenor, Special symposium on current trends in NMR spectroscopy held at CSIR – IICT 2024 - Member, National Organizing Committee, Annual NMRS symposium held at Lucknow 2023 - Member, National Organizing Committee, Annual NMRS symposium held at IISER, Behrampur 2021 - Member, Organizing Committee, OMICS-2021, CSIR – CCMB 2017 - Joint Secretary, 9th RNA Group Meeting 2016 - Convener, 8th RNA Group Meeting 2012 - Member, Organizing Committee, Indo-Swiss NMR Meeting 2009 - Convener, Max Planck India Fellows Meeting 2009 - Member, Organizing Committee, National Magnetic Resonance Society Meeting 2009 - Member, Organizing Committee, Indian Biophysical Society Meeting 2007 - Member, Organizing Committee, National Magnetic Resonance Society Meeting
Teaching
1. Trained three post-docs, twelve Ph.D. students, and several project JRFs, dissertation students, and summer trainees.
2. Teaching CCMB-JNU and AcSIR Ph.D. programme coursework – Biological Macromolecules and NMR spectroscopy
3. Invited lecturer at numerous refresher courses during 2007-2025.
Memberships
1. National Magnetic Resonance Society (NMRS), India
2. Indian Biophysical Society (IBS), India
3. Confederation of Indian Amateur Astronomers (CIAA), India
Invited Talks
32. Conformational Plasticity in dsRNA Binding Domains Reshapes RNA Substrate Recognition - Asia-Pacific Forum on RNA Therapeutics and Vaccines (APFRTV), JNU, 02/2025. 31. Insights into protein choreography by solution NMR - Refresher’s course by UGC - Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre, Sardar Patel University, VidyaNagar, Gujrat, 10/2024. 30. dsRNA Binding Proteins with identical structures but differential affinity - Seminar at IIT Kanpur 02/2024 - National Magnetic Resonance Society of India, NBRI, Lucknow, 02/2024. - Seminar at IISER Bhopal 04/2024. 29. Insights into the endogenous inverted-repeat siRNA (endo-IR) pathway by the organization of the DRB4:DRB7.2 complex in plants - Protein RNA Interaction meeting, ICGEB, New Delhi, 11/2022. - RNA Group Meeting, NCCS, Pune, 12/2022. - NMR Meets Biology, Hampi, 12/2022. - National Magnetic Resonance Society of India, IISER, Berhampur, 02/2023. 28. Insights into protein choreography by solution NMR - Faculty development program, SRM University, Chennai, 08/2022 (online). - Advance Instrument training program, SRTM University, Nanded, 08/2022. - Refresher’s course by Dr B. A M University, Aurangabad, 09/2022. - ICGEB NMR Workshop, New Delhi 04/2022. 27. Crc of Pseudomonas syringae Lz4W utilizes the dominant RNA binding site for mutually exclusive interactions with Hfq:mRNA and CrcY/Z RNA - 27^th NMRS at IIT Gandhinagar, 03/2021 (online). 26. Structural Insights of RNA mediated Gene Regulation in Plants and Higher Eukaryotes - 22^nd ISMAR/9th APNMRS online meeting, organized by Japanese Magnetic Resonance Society, Japan, 08/2021 (online). - The DNA Day talk, Central University of Haryana, 04/2021 (online). - IBRO-APRC Associate School on “Regulatory RNAs And The Brain: Development To Disease,” an online meeting organized by CSIR - IGIB, 01/2021 (online). - National Magnetic Resonance Society of India, 07/2020 (online). 25. Structural insights of RNA mediated gene regulation in plants and higher eukaryotes - 26^th NMRS at Saurashtra University, Rajkot, 02/2019. - 2^nd Indo - Japan NMR Meeting, TIFR Hyderabad, 12/2019. 24. The mechanism of small RNA mediated gene regulation - Seminar at Bose Institute, Kolkata, 07/2019. - 8^th Asia - Pacific NMR Meeting, Singapore, 07/2019. - 10^th RNA Group Meeting, Thiruvananthapuram, 05/2019. - 25^th NMRS at AIIMS, Delhi, 02/2019. - 4^th NMR Meets Biology Meeting, Khajuraho, 12/2018. 23. Choreography of biomolecules and NMR - National Workshop on NMR Spectroscopy, CSIR-CLRI, Chennai, India, 08/2018. 22. NMR of Nucleic Acids and Protein Dynamics – 3 lectures - Workshop at Academic College, GND University, Amritsar, India, 03/2018. 21. The mechanism of small RNA mediated gene regulation - 24^th NMRS at IISER, Mohali, 02/2019. - 4^th NMR Meets Biology, Khajuraho, 12/2018. 20. Choreography of biomolecules and NMR - National Workshop on NMR Spectroscopy, CSIR-CLRI, Chennai, India, 08/2018. 19. NMR of Nucleic Acids and Protein Dynamics - 3 lectures - Workshop at Academic College, GND University, Amritsar, India, 03/2018. 18. The mechanism of RNA-Binding Proteins induced post-transcriptional gene regulation - 24^th NMRS at IISER, Mohali, 02/2018. - Special NMR Symposium, TIFR, Hyderabad, 02/2018. 17. Post-transcriptional gene regulation by RNA binding proteins - IISER Kolkata, 11/2017. - 9^th RNA Group Meeting, BHU, Varanasi, 10/2017. - Structure Across Scales Meeting, NCBS, Benguluru, 10/2017. - 3^rd NMR Meets Biology Symposium, Leipzig, Germany, 08/2017. 16. Elucidating small RNA mediated gene silencing in A. thaliana - 7^th Asia Pacific NMR Symposium, IISc, Benguluru, 02/2017. 15. Post-transcriptional gene regulation by RNA binding proteins - Seminar at Dr. Reddy's Inst of Life Sciences, Hyderabad, 12/2016. 14. NMR for budding chemists and biologists - Three lectures given at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur during STTP-16, 12/2016. 13. Post-transcriptional gene regulation by RNA binding proteins - Seminar at TCIS - TIFR, Hyderabad, 10/2016. 12. RNAi in A. thaliana: A Tale of Four DRBs, Dicers and trigger dsRNA - 27^th ICMRBS, Kyoto, Japan, 08/2016. 11. RNAi mediated gene silencing in A. thaliana: A structural biologist's perspective - 22^nd National Magnetic Resonance Symposium, IIT Kharagpur, India, 02/2016. 10. Structural elucidation and functional implications of RNAi initiation mechanism across organisms - 6^th Asia Pacific NMR Symposium, Hong Kong, 08/2015. 9. Functional roles of dsRNA binding proteins in RNAi pathway - 3^rd Current Trends in Computational Natural Sciences, IIIT Hyderabad, India, 04/2015. 8. Chemistry, Structure, Biology and Fun with NMR - Workshop at Academic College, GND University, Amritsar, India, 03/2015. 7. Arabidopsis ta-siRNA interference pathway: DRB4's inter-domain orientation and dsRNA recognition - 21^st National Magnetic Resonance Symposium, GND University, Amritsar, India, 03/2015. 6. Structure-Function relationship in dsRBD containing proteins across organisms. - XXVI^th ICMRBS (International Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems), Dallas, Texas, USA, 08/2014. 10. On structural aspects of dsRBD containing proteins in the RNAi pathway across organisms. - 7^th RNA Meet, IICB, Kolkata, India, 03/2014. 5. Solution NMR studies of proteins involved in RNA recognition and regulation - Programme on excellence tour, DWIH (German House on Research and Innovation), MJ college, Hyderabad, 04/2013. - 6^th RNA Meet, IISc, Bangalore, India, 03/2012. - 18^th National Magnetic Resonance Symposium, IISc, Bangalore, India, 02/2012. - Indo-Swiss NMR Meeting, NCL, Pune, India, 01/2012. - ISTRMSF, Madras University, Chennai, India, 01/2012. - Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany, 11/2011. 4. Towards solution structure of RDE-4, an RNAi initiator in C. elegans - Leibniz Institut für Pharmakologie, Berlin, India, 11/2009. - Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany, 11/2009. - Institute of Life Sciences, Hyderabad, India, 10/2009. 3. Role of RDE-4 in the RNAi initiation in C. elegans: Preliminary structural insights. - 15^th National Magnetic Resonance Symposium, IICT, Hyderabad, India, 02/2009. 2. Towards solution structure of RNAi initiator protein, RDE-4. - 14^th National Magnetic Resonance Symposium, INMAS, Delhi, India, 01/2008. 1. mRNA decapping is promoted by an RNA binding channel in Dcp2. - Colloquium at Leibniz-Institut für Molekulare Pharmakologie, Berlin, Germany, 09/2007. - 13^th National Magnetic Resonance Symposium, NCL, Pune, India, 01/2007. - 3^rd RNA Meet, CCMB, Hyderabad, India, 11/2006.
Popular Science Lectures
1. 2011: Vaze Science College, Mulund, Maharashtra, India under Royal Society of Chemists, West India Chapter.
2. 2011: Dharmapeth Science College under Inspire programme, Nagpur.
3. 2012: Moolji Jetha College, Jalgaon.
4. 2015: St. Adam's School, Moula Ali, Hyderabad..