Dr. Lolitika Mandal
Professor, Biological Sciences

Email lolitika(AT)iisermohali.ac.in
Phone +91 172 2293172
Fax +91 172 2240266
Personal Page                                                               
Research Area
Developmental Genetics
Research Focus

Stem cells are the source of virtually all highly differentiated cells that are replenished during the lifetime of an animal. The critical balance between stem and differentiated cell populations is crucial for the long-term maintenance of functional tissue types. A microenvironment that is supportive of stem cells is commonly referred to as a stem cell niche. We have previously identified a hematopoietic niche within the Drosophila larvae. Due to the limited access of mammalian hemtopoietic niche this amenable system will allow us to unravel molecular regulation of stem cell progenitors and its relation with the niche. The power of Drosophila as a model organism is very well established, most notably its genetics and developmental biology. Taking advantage of these strengths our group aims to find novel genes and mechanisms controlling hematopoietic progenitors cell specification and differentiation. Given the high degree of conservation of blood development between Drosophila and the vertebrates, we hope that the ability to manipulate the function of such genes in Drosophila would aid in understanding function and dysfunction in human hematopoiesis.

Selected Publications
  • Parvathy Ramesh, Nidhi Sharma Dey, Aditya Kanwal, Sudip Mandal, Lolitika Mandal. (2021) Relish plays a dynamic role in the niche to modulate Drosophila blood progenitor homeostasis in development and infection. eLife 2021;10:e67158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.67158.
  • Aditya Kanwal, Pranav Vijay Joshi, Sudip Mandal, Lolitika Mandal (2021). Ubx- Collier     signaling cascade maintains blood progenitors in the posterior lobes of the Drosophila larval lymph gland. PLoS Genetics 17(8): e1009709. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pgen.1009709.
  • Satish Kumar Tiwari, Ashish Ganeshlalji Toshniwal, Sudip Mandal and Lolitika Mandal. (2020). Fatty acid β-oxidation     is required for the differentiation of larval hematopoietic progenitors in Drosophila. eLife 2020;9:e53247 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.53247.
  • Kaur H, Sharma SK, Mandal S, Mandal L. (2019) Lar maintains the homeostasis of the hematopoietic organ in Drosophila by regulating insulin signaling    in the niche. Development. Dec 23;146(24). pii: dev178202. doi: 10.1242/dev.178202.
  • Sharma SK,    Ghosh S, Geetha AR, Mandal S, Mandal L. (2019)    Cell Adhesion- Mediated Actomyosin Assembly Regulates the  Activity of Cubitus Interruptus for Hematopoietic    Progenitor Maintenance in Drosophila. Genetics. Aug;212(4):1279-1300. doi: 10.1534/genetics.119.302209.
  • Sharma N, Ramesh    P, Chugh M, Mandal S and Mandal L. (2016). Decapentapelagic dependent HSCs give rise to Hedgehog dependent blood progenitors in larval lymph     gland of Drosophila. eLife, 10.7554/eLife.)
  • Ghosh S, Singh A, Mandal S and Mandal    L. (2015). Active Hematopoietic Hubs in Drosophila Adults generate hemocytes and contribute to immune response. Developmental Cell, 2015, 33: 478-488.