Dr. Sharmistha Majumdar

Research Interest:

Transposons or mobile genetic elements which can jump from one place to another in the genome have been found in most living organisms, constitute large portions of many eukaryotic genomes, and have profound effects on gene expression and genome evolution. The long-term goal of Sharmistha Majumdar’s research is to elucidate the evolution of transposable elements by investigating the mechanism of transposition and its control as well as the possible modification of these functions in specific mobile elements and their derivatives.

Background and Experience:

Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (April 2021 - Present)
Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (Jan 2014 to March 2021)
DBT-Ramalingaswami Fellow, May 2015 onwards
Post Doctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley, 2007 - 2013
Ph.D., Cornell University, 2007
MSc, Madurai Kamaraj University, 1999
BSc, Presidency College, Univ. of Calcutta, 1997

Selected Recent Publications:

Hiral M. Sanghavi, Sairam S. Mallajosyula & Sharmistha Majumdar. Classification of the human THAP protein family identifies an evolutionarily conserved coiled-coil region. BMC Structural Biology 2019 Mar 5;19(1):4.
Majumdar S, Rio DC. P transposable elements in Drosophila and other eukaryotic organisms. Microbiol Spectr, 3. pii: MDNA3-0004-2014, 2015.
Majumdar S, Singh A, Rio DC. The human THAP9 gene encodes an active P-element DNA transposase. Science, 339:446-8, 2013
Majumdar S, Ramachandran S, Cerione RA. New insights into the role of conserved, essential residues in the GTP binding/GTP hydrolytic cycle of large G proteins. J Biol Chem, 281:9219-26, 2006.
Majumdar S, Ramachandran S, Cerione RA. Perturbing the linker regions of the alpha-subunit of transducin: a new class of constitutively active GTP-binding proteins. J Biol Chem, 279:40137-45, 2004.