Department of Biological Sciences

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali

(0172) 229 3152

headbiology@iisermohali.ac.in

Kritika M. Garg

Assistant Professor

Research

I am an evolutionary biologist by training, specializing in population genetics and behavioral ecology. My main research interest is to understand the impact of past and current climate change on biodiversity and speciation in vertebrates. Using a combination of fresh and ancient samples from museums and archaeological collections, my research group will investigate the impact of climate change on speciation and community dynamics of vertebrates during the Quaternary glacial period. I obtained my Master’s degree in Genomics from Madurai Kamaraj University, after which I completed my PhD in Behavioral Ecology from the National Centre for Biological Science under the guidance of Prof. Uma Ramakrishnan. During my PhD, I combined long-term field-based behavioral data with population genetic data and rigorous statistical modelling to define promiscuity and mating systems of natural populations. My research provided one of the rare and earliest evidence of promiscuity in harem forming bats, while also revealing the importance of flexible mating strategies in wild populations. After this I worked on speciation and biogeography of various avian lineages at the National University of Singapore. My post-doctoral research focused on the effects of Quaternary glaciations in shaping the avifauna diversity in Southeast Asia and Australasia using both fresh and historical museum samples. Prior to joining IISER Mohali, I was a Ramalingaswami Fellow at Ashoka University, Sonipat for four years and a Faculty Fellow at the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, Bangalore.

WEB PAGE

Education

2006-2008

M.Sc.

Genomics
2008-2014

PhD

Biology
2014-2019

Postdoctoral Fellow

Biology

People

Durbadal Chatterjee Masters in Life Sciences (specialization in bioinformatics) from Central University of Punjab, Bathinda

Durbadal holds a Master’s degree in Life Sciences (Bioinformatics) and a Bachelor’s degree in Genetics (Honours). His research primarily focuses on conservation genomics, with a strong interest in understanding species endangerment through genomic and evolutionary perspectives. He is particularly interested in studying how climate change influences genetic diversity, population structure, and long-term species survival. His previous research experience includes investigating genotoxic effects in Drosophila and conducting computational studies related to autoimmune diseases and SARS-CoV-2. He is passionate about applying computational and genomic tools to address questions in ecology, evolution, and biodiversity conservation, as well as exploring the dynamics of viral evolution. Outside of research, Durbadal enjoys playing cricket, football, and badminton. He also has a keen interest in photography, art, and music.

Vikram Iyer BS-MS in Science, IISER Pune

Vikram holds a BS-MS degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune. Prior to joining IISER Mohali for a PhD, he was a Junior Research Fellow at Ashoka University. His PhD research is on understanding hybridization dynamics in bulbuls of the Indian Subcontinent. Apart from this, he is currently leading other collaborative projects in the lab under the broad theme of ecological genomics and community ecology. He is also interested in scientific communication, and documents the flora of India @thefloraofindia on Instagram. Apart from these, he is interested in the literary landscapes of the Indian Subcontinent as well. His hobbies include cooking, reading, and working out.

Geetika Bhola Masters in Zoology, Kurukshetra University

Geetika has a Master in Zoology with a research background in behavioural ecology, exploring how organisms interact with their environment and each other. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of animal behaviour, ecology, and evolutionary processes. Beyond research, she finds creative balance through dance and music, and enjoys expressing detail and storytelling through embroidery and photography.

Atri Bhattacharya Masters in Biology (Specialization in Behavioral Neuroscience), Ashoka University

Atri Bhattacharya completed his B.Sc. in Zoology from Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College (affiliated to WBSU) and his M.Sc. in Biology from Ashoka University, specializing in Behavioural Neuroscience. During his academic training, he worked on multiple research projects across different biological systems, including studies on sleep and infection in Drosophila and decision-making in zebrafish. His master’s thesis examined the effects of acute and chronic stressors on behaviour and metabolic physiology in zebrafish, involving behavioural assays, physiological measurements, and statistical data analysis. He has also worked as a research intern in Dr. Poonam Thakur’s laboratory, gaining exposure to molecular and cellular neuroscience techniques, and in Dr. Ajoy Mallick’s laboratory, where he worked on experimental physiology and acquired hands-on training in basic bioinformatics. He is broadly interested in evolutionary biology, genomics, and bioinformatics, and is currently working on epidemiological data analysis and comparative genomic studies of retrotransposon accumulation in birds. Outside of academia, Atri enjoys music, badminton, chess, and occasional reading.

Rishi Tripathi BS-MS in Biology, IISER Mohali

I am a 4th year biology major at IISER, Mohali. I’m broadly interested in ecology, evolution and ethology. I’m currently working with Vikram in the lab to analyse publicly available eBird dataset to look at how avian community composition varies spatio-temporally across various sites of interest in Delhi-NCR.

Teaching

BIO 211 - Biology lab III

BIO 212 - Biology lab IV

BIO 636 - Molecular tools for ecology and evolution

Publication

Karjee R, Iyer V, Chatterjee D, Ray R, Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B. 2025, Species biology and demographic history determines species vulnerability to climate change in tropical island endemic birds. eLife

Garg KM, Low DH, Lee G, Lee BP, Mendenhall IH, Rheindt FE, Smith GJ, Chattopadhyay B 2025, Hybrid genome assembly of the widespread bat Rhinolophus lepidus provides insights into susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and climate change threat. DNA Research

Ansil BR, Sanyal A, Sreenivas D, Garg KM, Ramakrishnan U, Chattopadhyay B 2025, Identification of distinct rodent-associated adenovirus lineages from mixed-use landscape. EcoHealth

Garg KM, Dovih DP, Chattopadhyay B 2024, Hybrid de novo genome assembly of the sexually dimorphic Lady Amherst’s pheasant. DNA Research

Khan A, Sil M, Thekaekara T, Garg KM, Sinha I, Khurana R, Sukumar R, Ramakrishnan U 2024, Divergence and serial colonization shape genetic variation and define conservation units in Asian elephants. Current Biology

Lamba V, Herlekar I, Chatterjee D, Patel K, Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B 2024, Signature of viral fossils: a comparative genomics approach to understand the diversity of endogenous retroviruses in bat. Virus Research

Luo W, Tang Q, Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Rheindt FE, Wee AKS 2024, The last stand: demographic and population genomic analysis reveals terminal endangerment in tropical timber species Vatica guangxiensis. Conservation Letters

Garg KM, Gwee CY, Chattopadhyay B, Ng NS, Prawiradilaga DM, David G, Fuchs J, Manh HL, Martinez J, Olsson U, Tu VT, Chhin S, Alström, P, Lei F, Rheindt FE 2024, When colors mislead: genomics and bioacoustics prompt re-classification of Asian flycatcher radiation (Aves: Niltavinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

Tan HZ, Jansen JJ, Allport GA, Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, Irestedt M, Chilton G, Gwee CY, Rheindt FE 2023, Megafaunal extinctions, not climate change, may explain Holocene genetic diversity declines in Numenius shorebirds. eLife

Garg KM, Lamba V, Chattopadhyay B 2023, Genomic insights into the evolution and demographic history of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron cariant: population genomics apporach. JMIR Bioinformatics and Biotechnology

Garg KM, Lamba V, Sanyal A, Dovih P, Chattopadhyay B 2023, Next generation sequencing revolutionizes organismal biology research in bats. Journal of Molecular Evolution

Ng EY, Li S, Zhang D, Garg KM, Song G, Martinez J, Hung LM, Tu VT, Fuchs J, Dong L, Olsson U 2023, Genome‐wide SNPs confirm plumage polymorphism and hybridisation within a Cyornis flycatcher species complex. Zoologica Scripta

Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, Cros E, Tomassi S, Bennedick S, Edwards DP, Rheindt FE 2022, Island biogeography revisited: Museomics reveals affinities of shelf island birds determined by bathymetry and paleo-rivers, not by distance to mainland. Molecular Biology and Evolution

Sanyal A, Agarwal S, Ramakrishnan U, Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B 2022, Using environmental sampling to enable zoonotic pandemic preparedness. Journal of the Indian Institute of Science

Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B. 2021 2021, Gene Flow in Volant Vertebrates: Species Biology, Ecology and Climate Change.. Journal of the Indian Institute of Science

Bavejaa P, Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, Sadanandan KR, Prawiradilaga DM, Yuda P, Lee JGH, Rheindt FE 2021, Using historical genome-wide DNA to unravel the confused taxonomy in a songbird lineage that is extinct in the wild. Evolutionary Applications

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Swami Doss DP, Vinothkumar AK, Kandula S, Rheindt FE, Ramakrishnan U 2021, Cryptic diversity of Rhinolophus lepidus in South Asia and differentiation across a biogeographic barrier. Frontiers of Biogeography

Chattopadhyay B, Forcina G, Garg KM, Irestedt M, Guerrini M, Barbanera F, Rheindt FE 2021, Novel genome reveals susceptibility of popular gamebird, the red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa, Phasianidae), to climate change. Genomics

Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, Koane B, Sam K, Rheindt FE 2020, Last Glacial Maximum led to community-wide population expansion in a montane songbird radiation in highland Papua New Guinea. BMC Evolutionary Biology

Gwee CY, Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, Sadanandan KR, Prawiradilaga DM, Irestedt M, Lei F, Lee JGH, Irham M, Haryoko T, Rowe KMC, Ferasyi TR, Wu S, Wogan G, Bowie RCK, Rheindt FE 2020, Phylogenomics of white-eyes, a ‘great speciator’, reveals Indonesian archipelago as the center of lineage diversity. eLife

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Ray R, Mendenhall IH, Rheindt FE 2020, Novel de novo genome of Cynopterus brachyotis reveals evolutionarily abrupt shifts in gene family composition across fruit bats. Genome Biology and Evolution

Shingate P, Ravi V, Prasad A, Tay BH, Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, Yap LM, Rheindt FE, Venkatesh B 2020, Chromosome-level assembly of the horseshoe crab genome provides insights into its genome evolution. Nature Communications

Cros E, Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Ng NS, Tomassi S, Benedick S, Edwards DP, Rheindt FE 2020, Quaternary land bridges have not been universal conduits of gene flow. Molecular Ecology

Garg KM, Sam K, Chattopadhyay B, Koane B, Ericson PGP, Rheindt FE 2019, Secondary gene flow in the Müllerian mimicry ring of a poisonous Papuan songbird clade (Pitohui; Aves). Genome Biology and Evolution

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Mendenhall IH, Rheindt FE 2019, Historic DNA reveals Anthropocene threat to a tropical urban fruit bat. Current Biology

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Jing SY, Low GW, Frechette J and Rheindt FE 2019, Conservation genomics in the fight to help the recovery of the critically endangered Siamese crocodile Crocodylus siamensis. Molecular Ecology

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Ray R, Rheindt FE 2019, Fluctuating fortunes: genomes and habitat reconstructions reveal global climate-mediated changes in bats' genetic diversity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Gwee CY, Eaton JA, Garg KM, Alström P, Van Balen S, Hutchinson RO, Prawiradilaga DM, Le MH, Rheindt FE 2019, Cryptic diversity in Cyornis (Aves: Muscicapidae) jungle-flycatchers flagged by simple bioacoustic approaches. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, Wilton PR, Prawiradilaga DM, Rheindt FE 2018, Pleistocene land bridges act as semipermeable agents of avian gene flow in Wallacea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

Tan DJ, Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Cros E, Ericson PG, Irestedt M, Rheindt FE 2018, Novel genome and genome-wide SNPs reveal early fragmentation effects in an edge-tolerant songbird population across an urbanized tropical metropolis. Scientific Reports

Low GW, Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Irestedt M, Ericson PG, Yap G, Tang Q, Wu S, Rheindt FE 2018, Urban landscape genomics identifies fine-scale gene flow patterns in an avian invasive. Heredity

Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B and Ramakrishnan U 2018, Social structure of the harem-forming promiscuous fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx, is the harem truly important?. Royal Society Open Science

Garg KM, Ramakrishnan U 2017, Variance in Female Reproductive Success Differentially Impacts Effective Population Size in the Short-Nosed Fruit Bat, Cynopterus sphinx. Evolutionary Biology

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Gwee CY, Edwards SV, Rheindt FE 2017, Gene flow during glacial habitat shifts facilitates character displacement in a Neotropical flycatcher radiation. BMC Evolutionary Biology

Ng NS, Wilton PR, Prawiradilaga DM, Tay YC, Indrawan M, Garg KM, Rheindt FE 2017, The effects of Pleistocene climate change on biotic differentiation in a montane songbird clade from Wallacea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

Çilingir FG, Rheindt FE, Garg KM, Platt K, Platt SG, Bickford DP 2017, Conservation genomics of the endangered Burmese roofed turtle. Conservation Biology

Ng EY, Garg KM, Low GW, Chattopadhyay B, Oh RR, Lee JG, Rheindt FE 2017, Conservation genomics identifies impact of trade in a threatened songbird. Biological Conservation

Mani RS, Dovih DP, Ashwini MA, Chattopadhyay B, Harsha PK, Garg KM, Sudarshan S, Puttaswamaiah R, Ramakrishnan U, Madhusudana SN. 2017, Serological evidence of lyssavirus infection among bats in Nagaland, a north-eastern state in India. Epidemiology & Infection

Garg KM, Tizard R, Ng NSR, Cros E, Dejtaradol A, Chattopadhyay B, Pwint N, Päckert M, Rheindt FE 2016, Genome-wide data help identify an avian species-level lineage that is morphologically and vocally cryptic. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Vinoth Kumar AK, SwamiDoss DP, Rheindt FE, Kandula S and Ramakrishnan U 2016, Genome-wide data reveal cryptic diversity and genetic introgression in an Oriental cynopterine fruit bat radiation. BMC Evolutionary Biology

Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, SwamiDoss PS, Vinoth Kumar AK, Kandula S and Ramakrishnan U 2015, Benefits of sociality: Males and females gain differentially from sociality in a promiscuous fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx. PLoS ONE

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Ramakrishnan U 2014, Effect of diversity and missing data on genetic assignment with RAD-Seq markers. BMC Research Notes

Garg KM, Chattopadhyay B, SwamiDoss PS, Vinoth Kumar AK, Kandula S and Ramakrishnan U 2012, Promiscuous mating in a harem bat Cynopterus sphinx. Molecular Ecology

Chattopadhyay B, Garg KM, Vinoth Kumar AK, Ramakrishnan U, Kandula S 2012, Sibling species in South Indian populations of the rufous horse-shoe bat Rhinolophus rouxii. Conservation Genetics

Chattopadhyay B, Schuller G, Garg KM, Kandula S 2010, A new phonic type of the rufous horseshoe bat Rhinolophus rouxii from southern India. Current Science

Contact

Work Email: kritikamgarg[at]iisermohali[dot]ac[dot]in Address: 5F5, AB1, Department of Biological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali Knowledge City, Sector 81, SAS Nagar, Punjab 140306, India

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER)- Mohali
Knowledge City, Sector 81, SAS nagar 140306, INDIA
headbiology@iisermohali.ac.in| +91 172 2240266

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