People Page

Charu Chandra Devshali is with the School of Natural Sciences and Engineering. He holds an M.Sc. in Climate Change and Sustainability Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, and a B.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences from GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. Before joining NIAS, he worked as a Technical Consultant on Climate Change and Human Health with Uttarakhand's National Health Mission, and as a Research Associate at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, where he worked at the intersection of climate change, equity, agriculture, and policy. His research interests lie in understanding the adaptation challenges facing Indian agriculture under climate change, and the policy interventions shaping responses to them.

Dr Shekhar Seshadri is a child psychiatrist with over 40 years of experience in the field of child and adolescent mental health. As Former Senior Professor in the Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NIMHANS, his work has extended beyond the clinical population to children and child care institutions/ service providers across the country as well as the South Asia region. Some of his special areas of interest are childhood trauma, gender and sexuality issues and life skills education. He has been part of policy and legal deliberations in these areas. Also, an artist and musician, he uses a number of creative methodologies in child mental health interventions including theatre and developmental approaches. In May 2025, he completed a four-year advisory position in India’s largest public child mental health initiative SAMVAD (Support, Advocacy & Mental health interventions for children in Vulnerable circumstances And Distress - A National Initiative & Integrated Resource for Child Protection, Mental Health, & Psychosocial Care), supported by the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India. Dr.Shekhar is based in Bangalore, India and currently works as Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS). In NIAS he is also Advisor to PRATICRIA, Protection, Response, Advocacy & Transformational Interventions for Children Residing in Adversity - An Initiative for Child Rights, Protection and Mental Health

Dr Sheila Ramaswamy currently serves as Adjunct Faculty, Chief Scientist, & Head, PRATICRIA Initiative for Child Rights, Protection & Mental Health at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore.

With a background in Medical and Psychiatric Social Work and Public Health, from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, respectively, Sheila spent several years working in emergency and humanitarian contexts in Asia, Africa and the Middle East on a range of public health issues. She subsequently conceptualized and led a unique a country-wide Initiative for child protection and mental health, SAMVAD, at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, under the aegis of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.

She has continued this work since, with her academic and field work focussed on enhancing the interface between vulnerable and at-risk children and the various systems that serve them. In light of this, Sheila’s doctoral research at the Athena Institute of Transdisciplinary Sciences, Vrije University, Netherlands, and her subsequent research and intervention-related work adopts integrated approaches to resolving complex problems in the context of the child protection and mental health, particularly those lying at the intersectionalities of child mental health, law and justice. With wide-ranging interests such as childhood trauma, abuse, adoption, conflict-affected children, and children in conflict with law, Sheila has developed several innovative, rights-based methodologies for supporting and empowering children in adversity, such as protocols for mandatory reporting in child sexual abuse, interventions for supporting child witnesses in the courtroom, assessments for juvenile transfer, and interventions for reconciliation-Informed mental healthcare for conflict-affected children.

A large component of her work involves development and implementation of training and teaching programs using participatory and creative methodologies for engagement with childcare service providers within schools, health facilities and childcare institutions, as well as members of the judiciary.

Chaithanya M. S. is a Junior Executive Assistant at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), with over seven years of experience in academic and institutional administration at the Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru.

Her experience includes academic administration, Ph.D. admissions and coursework coordination, executive and secretarial support, conference and seminar coordination, travel and accommodation arrangements, procurement, institutional documentation, and coordination with faculty, students, research scholars and external collaborators. Prior to her administrative career, she worked as a Mathematics Lecturer at Vikas P.U. College, Mangalore.

She holds an M.Sc. in Mathematics and is proficient in Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, data management and institutional documentation.

Dr. Ekta Singh is an archaeologist by training, with a keen interest in interdisciplinary research that brings together field archaeology, geoarchaeology, material culture studies, rock art, and community-based research. Her broader areas of research interest include Himalayan and Trans-Himalayan archaeology, trade and migration, prehistory, burial and death archaeology, lithic studies, landscape archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, traditional knowledge systems, and the genetic study of Himalayan populations.

Dr. Singh's archaeological interests are in the western Himalayas and the wider Trans-Himalaya, with fieldwork in Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Upper Mustang (Nepal), the Narmada Valley, Rajasthan, and Borneo. Her doctoral research on the archaeology of Spiti Valley, from the earliest times to the 9th century CE, combined exploration, excavation, and geoarchaeological analysis. It is complemented by publications on the valley's ancient ceramic tradition, burial sites, lithic assemblages, and rock art. Her work on borderland archaeology examines the Indian Himalayan Region as a shared cultural and historical corridor rather than a set of bounded territories, and considers how archaeology can inform national identity, integrity, and shared heritage. Her ethnoarchaeological work on mask-making in the Upper Alaknanda Valley and on the Kotha architecture of Garhwal offers a lens on ritual practice, belief systems, and cultural exchange along Himalayan trade corridors.

Dr. Singh is also engaged in interdisciplinary and policy-oriented research. She has contributed to collaborative publications linking archaeology, genetics, and gut-microbiome research, including work in Science Advances (2025) on human admixture histories at the northern Himalayan frontier and in Gut Microbes (2026) on urbanization and the human gut microbiome across South Asia. Her geoarchaeological study of the lithic assemblages from Dzamathang in Spiti Valley was published in the Geological Society, London, Special Publications (2021). She has also worked on a UNESCO-published chapter on migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was a Research Assistant on an ICSSR (Ministry of Education) project on reverse migrants in Uttarakhand, and contributed a chapter on preserving the culture and heritage of the Himalaya to policy recommendations on India's G20 presidency submitted to NITI Aayog and the Government of India.

Dr. Singh secured her doctoral degree in Archaeology from H.N.B. Garhwal University in 2021. She is currently Assistant Professor in the Heritage, Science and Society Programme at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. Previously, she was a Institute Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, working on late Quaternary environmental changes and early human society in the Upper Ganga Basin, and Assistant Professor of History at Shoolini University, where she received the Shoolini Star Faculty award (2023) and was named among the Top 10 Faculty at the Golden Rudraksh Awards (2025). She is a Council Member of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) India 2027. She has presented her work at international forums including Oxford University (2016), the World Archaeological Congress (2022, 2025), International Union of Quaternary Research (2019, 2023), the International Association of Tibetan Studies, and the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, and has chaired sessions at WAC (Prague 2022, Darwin 2025) and INQUA (Rome 2023). Her public scholarship includes a TEDx talk, invited lectures, and popular writing on Himalayan heritage. Her work emphasises collaboration between archaeology, earth sciences, genetics, and local communities to safeguard cultural heritage under threat from climate change and development pressures.

Dr. Suryesh Kumar Namdeo leads the Bio-Responsibility Initiative at the Indian Institute of Science. He is a member of the Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) and a former Fellow at the Asia Centre for Health Security (ACHS), Singapore. Dr. Namdeo serves on the advisory board of the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS) and contributes to the AIxBio Global Forum — reflecting his deep engagement with emerging biosecurity risks. 

His expertise has been sought by leading global institutions, including the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), where he has contributed to multiple expert committees on biosecurity. He previously served as Science and Technology Consultant for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) at the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, where his responsibilities involved acting as a bridge between scientists and policymakers. For his contributions in biosecurity, he was a finalist for the PACEY Award 2026, by the Basel Peace Office in Switzerland.

An IFBA certified Biorisk Management Professional, he has also championed the science policy community as a former Director for Outreach and Engagement at the Journal of Science Policy and Governance (JSPG). He earlier served as programme officer for the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Fellowship Programme of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen, Germany. 

Nandita Chaturvedi is a theoretical physicist working at the interface of statistical physics, ecology and evolutionary biology. She completed her PhD in soft condensed matter physics at the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently carried out postdoctoral research at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR, in mathematical ecology and evolution. Her research uses analytical and computational approaches to study adaptation in changing environments, non-genetic adaptation and cellular learning, and the structure of genotype- and environment-to-phenotype maps. More broadly, she is interested in using tools from statistical physics, dynamical systems and machine-learning theory to understand how biological systems adapt to heterogeneity and evolve across scales.

Riza Fathima A V is a doctoral student at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, and is associated with the School of Conflict and Security Studies. She holds a Master's degree in Political Science from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam. Her research interests centre on Africa, with a specific focus on the Sahel region, particularly conflicts and security in the Sahel, the intersectionality of challenges, and an interest in the experiences and vulnerabilities of women in conflict-affected contexts.

Prof. Rajasab brings four decades of experience in teaching, research, and higher education administration, including 19 years as a Full Professor. He currently serves as Chairman of the Karnataka Science and Technology Academy (KSTA), Bengaluru. He served as Vice Chancellor of Tumkur University, Registrar and Pro Vice Chancellor at Khaja Bandanawaz University, and Registrar (Evaluation) at Gulbarga University alongside visiting professorships in USA and China, and faculty positions in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea. He specializes in Botany, Plant Pathology, Biosynthesis of Nano-materials, Aerobiology, Biodiversity Conservation and Documentation and Scientific validation of traditional knowledge on medicinal plants and wild edible plants.

Supervised twenty Ph.D. Scholars, authored 91 research papers, good orator in Kannada, published seven books (one in English), written several popular science articles in Kannada. He is recipient of CRS Lifetime Achievement Award (2026) Lifetime Achievement Award (2025) and Lifetime Achievement Award (2024) from the Indian Aerobiological Society, Higher Education Leadership Award,  Paryavaran Mitra Award, K.C. Mehta & Manoranjan Mitra Award, and P. H. Gregory Young Scientist Award besides holding Fellowships of KSTA, IPS, ISMPP, and IAS. He has chaired committees on NAAC, RUSA, UGC, and NEP-2020, and served as Chairman of search committees for selection of Vice Chancellors of some universities in Karnataka.

Born on 3 April 1955 in Navillehal village, Shimoga district in a farming family, Prof. Rajasab holds Ph.D. (1981), M.Sc. (1976), and B.Sc. (1974) from the University of Mysore.

Antariksh Pasricha is a PhD scholar at NIAS working with Dr. Deepti Navaratna. His work brings together music, technology, and the study of the human brain. With academic training in Computer Science and Hindustani music, and over five years of experience as a music educator, he brings both analytical and creative perspectives to his research. His primary interest in music perception developed through his experience of teaching, where he became fascinated by how the same piece of music could be perceived, interpreted, and experienced so differently by different listeners and students. This curiosity gradually led him to explore the role of individual experience, learning, and culture in shaping musical perception.

 A trained vocalist and guitarist, he often experiments with bringing the melodic phrasing and nuances of Indian ragas to the guitar- an experience that has further deepened his interest in how musical ideas are perceived and expressed across different musical contexts. His doctoral research focuses on the perception of continuous and microtonal pitch in Indian classical music, particularly phenomena such as shruti, meend, and other forms of pitch movement. He is interested in combining behavioural, computational, and neuroscientific approaches to understand how the brain, musical experience, and cultural learning shape our perception of music.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antariksh-pasricha/

Email: antariksh.pasricha@nias.res.in, antariksh.pasricha@gmail.com