Department of
Biology

Nishad is an alumnus of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. After completing his PhD he took up an independent research position at IISER Pune, as a DST-INSPIRE Faculty Fellow. He transitioned to Assistant Professor and DBT-Wellcome Intermediate Fellow in January 2021 at IISER Pune.

Research

Evolution and Genetics of Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria poses a major threat to human health. The evolution and spread of AMR, particularly among Gram-negatives, is threatening to reverse half a century of advance in the biomedical sciences. Understanding how AMR evolves is crucial to dealing with this impending pandemic.

Nishad's research focuses on de-convoluting the logic of AMR genetics at mechanistic and evolutionary levels. Using laboratory evolution, genomics and biochemistry, Nishad is attempting to understand why certain mutations or combinations of mutations are more prevalent than others in drug-resistant bacteria.

Eventually Nishad's research hopes to identify strategies for identifying evolution-proof drug combinations.

Selected Publications

Patel V and Matange N. 2021. “Adaptation and Compensation in a Bacterial Gene Regulatory Network Evolving Under Antibiotic Selection.” eLife. 2021; 10:e70931.

Matange N. 2020. “Highly contingent phenotypes of Lon protease deficiency in Escherichia coli upon antibiotic challenge.” Journal of Bacteriology. 202(3): e00561-19.

Matange N, Hegde S, Bodkhe S. 2019. “Adaptation Through Lifestyle Switching Sculpts the Fitness Landscape of Evolving Populations: Implications for the Selection of Drug-Resistant Bacteria at Low Drug Pressures.” Genetics. 211(3):1029-1044.

Matange N, Bodkhe S, Patel M, Shah P. 2018. “Trade-offs with stability modulate innate and mutationally acquired drug resistance in bacterial dihydrofolate reductase enzymes.” Biochemical Journal. 475(12):2107-2125

Matange N, Podobnik M, Visweswariah SS. 2015. “Metallophosphoesterases: Structural fidelity with functional promiscuity”. Biochemical Journal. 467(2):201-16.