The faculty body of IISER Pune gathered on April 21, 2026, to felicitate Prof. Thomas Pucadyil on his new appointment as the Director of BRIC-National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune. "This is a remarkable achievement highlighting his outstanding contributions to the field. IISER Pune is immensely proud of his accomplishment and wishes him continued success in this new role," said Dean Faculty Prof. S.G. Srivatsan whose office organised the gathering.
On behalf of everyone present, IISER Pune Director Prof. Sunil Bhagwat conveyed his best wishes to Prof. Pucadyil on the new assignment. He said that it is a recognition for the institute for its members to be selected to lead national scientific institutions. He also read out a message received from IISER Pune's Founder Director Prof. K.N. Ganesh on this development. Through this message, Prof. Ganesh said that it is a matter of great pride that IISER Pune faculty are being chosen to lead reputed Institutes. Former Director Prof. Jayant Udgaonkar and Chairperson of the Biology Department Prof. Girish Ratnaparkhi also spoke on the occasion.
Among other IISER Pune members to have been chosen as academic leaders in the past include Prof. L.S. Shashidhara (selected in 2023 as Director to lead the National Centre of Biological Sciences, Bengaluru), Prof. Tarun Souradeep (selected in 2022 as Director to lead Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru), and Prof. Rajesh Gokhale (selected in 2021 as Secretary to lead the Department of Biotechnology).
Speaking with the gathering, Prof. Pucadyil said that having witnessed the growth of IISER Pune since its early days and the immense contribution of its inspiring leadership, he considers this new appointment as an opportunity to give back to the scientific community that nurtured his own growth as a scientist.
Four new faculty members who joined the institute over the last year were formally welcomed during this faculty get-together: Dr. Prafullkumar Tale (Department of Mathematics), Dr. Satavisha Kayal (Department of Chemistry), Dr. Sugat Dabholkar (Department of Science Education), and Dr. Asif Ali (Department of Biology).
Dr. Prafullkumar Tale's research area is the design and analysis of algorithms and corresponding conditional lower bound results. He conducted a postdoctoral research in Germany and India before joining IISER Pune.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Dr. Satavisha Kayal pursued research in Japan and USA prior to joining IISER Pune. Dr. Kayal works on asymmetric catalysis and develops novel catalytic systems by approaches such as combining transition metal catalysts and organocatalysts.
Dr. Sugat Dabholkar joined the newly established Science Education department of IISER Pune. He did his doctoral and post-doctoral studies in the USA and works in the area of learning sciences. He partners with teachers and educators to design and study curricula in schools and undergraduate classrooms.
A biochemist and cell biologist by training, Dr. Asif Ali carried out research at Bose Institute, Kolkata and the University of Chicago before joining IISER Pune in the Biology department. Dr. Ali's research explores how cells lose their adaptive capacity to environmental fluctuations as they age.
Our congratulations and best wishes to Prof. Thomas Pucadyil as he embarks on his new role at BRIC-NCCS, Pune. A warm welcome and our best wishes to the new faculty members as they begin their research groups at IISER Pune.