Department of
Biology

L.S. Shashidhara specialises in Genetics, Molecular Biology and Evolutionary biology. His group has identified key mechanisms that specify organ development and regulate growth control during embryonic development. They have also expanded their study to examine the status of these evolutionarily conserved mechanisms in epithelial cancers in human.

Prof. Shashidhara did his undergraduate and post-graduate studies at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, India and holds PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Research

Organ specification, development and growth control

Using the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system, Prof. Shahshidhara's group is addressing two fundamental questions in biology: (i) What is the mechanism by which the various cells/tissues/organs are positioned in their respective places in our body? (ii) How are shape and size of different organs determined? The group has identified key mechanisms that specify organ development and regulate growth control in Drosophila, and have also expanded their study by including human clinical samples to examine the status of these evolutionarily conserved mechanisms in various epithelial cancers.

Selected Publications

Bhattacharyya et al (2025). Mapping genetic diversity with the GenomeIndia project. Nat Genet. 57(4):767-773. Link.

Dilsha, C. Shiju, S., Shah, N.A., Mandar M. Inamdar, M.M. and Shashidhara, L.S. (2024). Differences in Cellular mechanics and ECM dynamics shape differential development of wing and haltere in Drosophila. Link.

Asokan et al. (2024). Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines BBV152 (COVAXIN®) and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (COVISHIELD™) in seronegative and seropositive individuals in India: a multicentre, nonrandomised observational study. LANCET Regional Health Southeast Asia. 22, 100361. Link.

Khan S, Pradhan SJ, Giraud G, Bleicher F, Paul R, Merabet S, Shashidhara LS. (2023). A Micro-evolutionary Change in Target Binding Sites as a Key Determinant of Ultrabithorax Function in Drosophila. J Mol Evol. 91(5):616-627. Link.

Vaid et al. (2022). Evaluation of tumor‑infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in molecular subtypes of an Indian cohort of breast cancer patients. Diagnostics Pathology. Link.

Paul, R., Giraud, G., Domsch, K., Duffraisse, M., Marmigère, F., Khan, S., Lohmann, I., Stoks, R., Shashidhara, L.S. and Merabet, S. (2021). Hox dosage and the control of flight appendage morphology in insects. Nature Communications (12, Link.

Nagarkar, S., Wasnik, R., Govada, P., Cohen, S.M. and Shashidhara, L.S. (2020). Promoter proximal pausing limits Yki-induced tumorous growth in Drosophila. Genetics. 216, 67-77. Link

De las Heras, J.M., Garcia-Cortes, C., Foronda, D., Pastor-Pareja, J.C., Shashidhara, L.S. and Sanchez-Herrero, E. (2018). The Drosophila Hox gene Ultrabithorax controls appendage shape by regulating extracellular matrix dynamics. Development 145, dev161844. Link

Shukla, J.P., Deshpande, G. and Shashidhara, L.S. (2017). Ataxin-2 binding protein 1 is a context-specific positive regulator of Notch signaling during neurogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. Development 144, 905-915. Link