ReferenceCode:84990

national centre for biological sciences

tata institute of fundamental research

GS 2016: Application Form for NCBS

LAST DATE FOR RECEIPT OF DULY FILLED IN APPLICATION & REFEREE LETTERS:
FEBRUARY 20, 2016

I. NAME: Mr./Ms. Yasaswi Gayatri Mishra

Date of Birth: 16/01/1994

Contact address (permanent):

1st Floor, N2/193,
I.R.C. Village, Nayapalli,
Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
PIN: 751015
Tel. 0674-2555797 Mobile No.: +91 8984217940 Nationality: Indian
E-mail: yasaswi.misra@gmail.com
II. ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS (No certificates or copies need to be attached)
YEAR

Exam
Board/University

School/ College

%
Marks
/ GPA

X Std or
Equiv

2010

First

2012

85.60
%

First

I B.Sc (1st
year)

2014

76.57
%

First

II B.Sc (2nd
year)

2015

Saint Lawrence
School,
Tentoloi
Mothers
Public School,
Bhubaneswar
Ravenshaw
University,
Cuttack
Ravenshaw
University,
Cuttack

89.57
%

XII Std or
Equiv

Indian Certificate
of Secondar
Education (ICSE)
Central Board of
Secondary
Education (CBSE)
Ravenshaw
University

76.42
%

First

Ravenshaw
University

Rank (If
any)

Class/Div.

III B.Sc
IV B.Sc

(* Please specify the Degree with specialization. No certificates or copies need to be attached)
III. THE LATEST DEGREE REGISTRED FOR /COMPLETED: B.Sc. (Zoology Honours)
IV.Breakincareer(pleaseprovidedetailsoftheduration[s]&reason):

1yearbreak:20122013:PreparationforMedicalEntranceExaminations

V.Awardsorfellowships(CSIR/DBTJRF/ICMR/GATE/NET/Anyother):No
Ifyes,mentiontheyearofpassing,/levelofqualifying/dateofqualifying/validityoffellowship
oraward

VI. Any other information that adds to your application: e.g., let us know if you have
presented yourworkinmeetings, participated orassisted inthe organization ofmeetings &
workshops:
1. International Conference on Neurosciences (2013), Ravenshaw University, Cuttack:
Attended
2. NationalSymposiumonNeuroscience(2015),RavenshawUniversity,Cuttack:Attended
3. Online, NonCredit Course Authorised by the University of Chicago (in Coursera),
entitled Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life (2015):
Completed;Gradeachieved88.4%withDistinction
4. DiplomaCourseStudyonAstrobiologybyIndianAstrobiologyResearchCentre(IARC):
Completed;Gradeachieved:A
VII.Training/Internships(pleasebebriefandONLYlistthedates,hostlaboratoryandtopicof
research).Publicationsorpresentationsarisingfromyourwork

VIII.StatementofInterest prepareanoriginalproposalintheformatoutlinedbelowina
topicthatinterestsyouthatyoumayhaveencounteredaspartofyourcurriculumorhaveworked
onforaproject.TheproposalcanaddressaquestioninBiology,Physics,Chemistryorallied
subjects.Theformatisprovidedtotestyourunderstandingoftheproblemandyourabilitytobe
clearandbriefwiththepresentation.
ThereisnorequirementforidentifyingaproblemwhichoverlapswithresearchatNCBS.
Pleasestaywithinthewordlimitspecifiedandindicatetheactualwordcountattheendofevery
ofsubsectioninparenthesis/brackets
1. Question/Problemtobeaddressed(50wordsmaximum)
Effect of environmental toxicant exposure on neurobehavioral response and its
associationwithneurodegenerativephenotypeinanimalmodel.
[17words]
2. Backgroundtotheproblem(300words)
Anthropogenic activities leads to release of vast array of toxic pollutants to
the environment leading to increasing load of these toxicants and thus posing a potent
threat to all living organisms including humans. Air pollution is a wellknown
environmentalhazardanditsassociationwithneurodegenerativediseaseshasrecently
gainedattentionofthescientificcommunities.However,theepidemiologicalstudieson

humanadultsupportingthisaboveconceptislimited.Thesusceptibilityofnewborn
babyandfetusofpregnantwomentoenvironmentalpollutionprovidesnewinsightinto
neurodegenerative diseases. The sudden burst of pollutants into environment due to
catastrophiccollapseoftheWorldTradeCenter(WTC)onSeptember11,2001showed
thatfetuswas10foldmoresusceptibletoDNAdamagethantheadult( Perera et al.,

2005).
Oxidativestresspotentialofenvironmentaltoxicantsmaybeassociatedwith
development of neurodegenerative phenotype ( Block et al., 2009). Environmental

neurotoxicants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are presently increasing

in an alarming rate in the ambient air, soil and water, due to release of vehicular and
industrial exhaust. Further, humans and rodents differs with respect to their sensitivity
to varying doses of B[a]P and previous findings suggested that humans were 10100
times more sensitive to toxic effects of B[a]P than rodents (Davila et al., 1996).
Additionally, infants and children are exceptionally susceptible to environmental
neurotoxicants at levels far below those known to harm adults (Weiss et al., 2000). As
in early stages of postnatal life, the developmental processes such as differentiation,
neurogenesis and synaptogenesis are incomplete and also progressive in nature, it is
considered as the most critical stage of toxicant exposure.
Therefore,studyneedtoconductedinsimulatedconditiononanimalmodels
to address the pathological manifestation following chronic exposure to potent
environmental toxicants in the early phase of post natal life and development of
neurodegenerativephenotypeinlaterstages.
[307wordswithreferences]

3. Experimenttoaddresstheproblem(300words)
Proposal to be addressed:
ROS causes oxidative stress on neurons leading to protein oxidation, lipid
peroxidation and DNA damage,that lead to cell apoptosis. PAH induced oxidative
damage is well reported, but their neurodegenerative potential to develop serious
neurological phenotype like that of Alzeihmers disease is limiting in the literature.
The microtubule-associated protein tau is involved in a number of neurodegenerative
disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have linked oxidative stress
and subsequent DNA damage to neuronal death in Alzheimer's disease and related
tauopathies (Khurana et al., 2012). A report advocated that the tau hyper-

phosphorylation is associated with chronic exposure to benzo[a]pyrene, a prototype of

PAH (Nie et al., 2013). However, the postnatal susceptibility following exposure to
environmental neurotoxicant to develop serious neurodegenerative like symptoms
through oxidative stress mediated mechanism in later phase of life, might provide
novel neuropathological insight of these toxicants.
[143 words]
4. Expectedoutcomesandalternativestrategyifnecessary(100words)
Expected deliverables:
1. To know the neurodegenerative potential of potent environmental toxicants.
2. To explore the downstream signaling cascades of oxidative stress mediated
neuropathological changes.
3. Identification of specific biomarkers to know the effects of environmental
toxicants exposure during postnatal life and their possible role in development of
serious neurodegenerative phenotype in later stages of life.
[54 words]

5. References
1. Perera F, Tang D, Whyatt R, Lederman SA, Jedrychowski W. DNA damage from
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons measured by benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adducts in mothers
and newborns from Northern Manhattan, the World Trade Center Area, Poland, and
China. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005;14(3):709-14.
2. Block ML, Caldern-Garcidueas L. Air pollution: mechanisms of neuroinflammation
and CNS disease. Trends Neurosci. 2009;32(9):506-16.
3. Davila DR, Romero DL, Burchiel SW. Human T cells are highly sensitive to suppression
of mitogenesis by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and this effect is differentially
reversed by alpha-naphthoflavone. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1996;139(2):333-41.
4. Weiss B. Vulnerability of children and the developing brain to neurotoxic hazards.
Environ Health Perspect. 2000;108(3):375-81.
5. Nie J, Duan L, Yan Z, Niu Q. Tau hyperphosphorylation is associated with spatial
learning and memory after exposure to benzo[a]pyrene in SD rats. Neurotox Res.
2013;24(4):461-71.

6. Khurana V, Merlo P, DuBoff B, Fulga TA, Sharp KA, Campbell SD, Gtz J, Feany MB. A
neuroprotective role for the DNA damage checkpoint in tauopathy. Aging Cell.
2012;11(2):360-2.

Weencourageyoutodrawyourownschematics andnotquotefrommaterialinthepublic
domain.However,ifyourefertopublishedworkormaterial(schematics,cartoons,graphs)on
theinternet,thisinformationshouldbeacknowledgedinyourwriteup.Ifmaterialisfoundto
becopiedfromapublishedsourceortheinternetyourapplicationwillbedisqualifiedandnot
processedfurther.
IX.ScientificReferees[Instructions]:
Thesemaybeyourteachersorindividuals(suchascourseinstructors,laboratoryheadsetc.)who
mayhavesupervisedyouandhaveinteractedwithyouduringaninternship,workshopetc.We
wouldlikeyourrefereestofillintheformatprovidedinthisapplication. Inaddition,your
refereeisencouragedtoattachaletterhighlightingyouracademicabilitiesandsuitabilityfor
independentresearch. Pleaseinformyourrefereethatwedoconsidertheirrecommendations
rathercarefullyandappreciatetheirtimeandeffortinsendingustheirinput.
ScientificReferee1:
Name:Dr.ManoramaPatri
Affiliation:RavenshawUniversity,Cuttack
Email:mpatri@ravenshawuniversity.ac.in
Telephonecontact:8763642486

ScientificReferee2:
Name:Prof.LunaSamant
Affiliation:RavenshawUniversity,Cuttack
Email:lsamanta@ravenshawuniversity.ac.in
Telephonecontact:9437285500
X.Information(ifknown),ofdatesofexaminationsornationaltestsscheduledinMay
June2016thatyouarelikelytoappearfor:
JNUEE19thMay,2016

XI. The interview process: Based on your scores in the written test, your academic
performance,statementofinterestandopinionsofyourreferees,youcouldbeinvitedtoappear
inaninterviewatNCBS
CandidatesMAYbeinterviewedbyacommitteewithaspecializationinChemistry/Physics/
Biology.Pleaseindicateyouchoiceofspecializationifany.
BIOLOGY

Date:20/02/2016

Signature:

AdditionalInstructions:
1.
Completedapplicationsmust besubmittedelectronically andthereference letters[intheenclosed
formatseeinstructionIX]uploadedusingthewebbasedprocess.
2.
Ifrefereereportsaresubmittedmanually,pleasedownloadtheRefereeReportForm(1)and(2)for
yourreferees.Thecompletedformsshouldbereturnedinsealedenvelopestoyou.Thesemaybeincludedinyour
applicationpackage. Theapplicationwillbeinvalidatediftheenvelopeshowsevidenceoftamperingbefore it
reachesus.Pleasesendintheseformswithyourapplicationifyouaresubmittingyourapplicationbypost.
3.
ThelastdateforthereceiptoftheapplicationandreferencelettersisFebruary20,2016.Pleasemailall
relevantformstoAdmissionSection,NationalCentreforBiologicalSciences,TataInstituteofFundamental
Research,GKVK,BellaryRoad,Bangalore560065(Tel:23666404,Email:phd@ncbs.res.in),soastoreachon
orbeforeFebruary20,2016.TheenvelopeshouldbeclearlysuperscribedGS2016andbeartheapplication/Hall
ticketnumberasitappearsonthisform.
4.
ApplicationsNOTsupportedbylettersofreferenceintheprescribedformatareinvalidatedand
nottakenfurtherinthescreeningprocess.