Overview
Our research is dedicated to uncovering the fundamental processes that govern life at the cellular level, with a focus on cell signaling, proliferation, and differentiation. At the heart of our inquiry are several key questions:
- How do cells interpret and respond to external signals?
- What mechanisms allow cells to adopt unique identities?
- How do environmental cues shape animal behavior?
- How are aging and stress responses controlled?
These questions drive our mission to explore the underlying mechanisms of both normal and disease states, contributing to a deeper understanding of biology that transcends species.
We use the well-established model organisms Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) and C. briggsae—tiny nematodes approximately 1 mm in length. These remarkable animals are invaluable for uncovering the roles of conserved genes and pathways, offering insights into processes shared across eukaryotic life. Learn more about our research here.
Our lab embraces a multidisciplinary approach, combining techniques from genetics, genomics, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and even engineering. Collaboration is at the core of what we do—we partner with labs both at McMaster and globally to innovate and develop new tools and resources. The applied side of our work leverages these discoveries for drug discovery projects, aiming to translate basic research into real-world solutions.
Our research is proudly supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), with previous funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), Canadian Research Chairs (CRC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT), and National Institutes of Health (NIH). These grants enable us to continue pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery.
Feel free to reach out to us with any questions, comments, or feedback—we'd love to hear from you!
Department of Biology
Life Sciences Building, Room 322
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West
Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, CANADA
Phone: 26451 (office) / 23594 (lab)
Email: guptab[at]mcmaster[dot]ca
News and Updates
Updates are also shared through other channels.
October 2024
Although we haven't posted any news recently, our lab is busy as usual. Below are some of the major highlights. For the latest list of publications, follow the Google Scholar link.
- (October 2024) Mihir Pradhan, who recently completed his M.Sc. thesis from National Brain Research Centre (India), is a new member of our team. He is currently working as a part-time student.
- (September 2024) Harvir Bhullar has joined our lab as a graduate student. Earlier, she completed her senior undergraduate thesis project with us. We are also excited to have two new undergraduate students, Khushi Pastagia and Jordan Dias, in the lab.
- (September 2024) Atreyee successfully defended her graduate thesis!
- (June 2024) Shane Taylor completed his PhD thesis and moved to Vancouver (Canada) to start post-doctoral studies.
- (June-July 2024) Wouter presented his research findings at the C. elegans evolution meeting (Vienna, Austria) and European Worm Meeting (Utretch, Netherlands).
- (April 2024) Gwyneth Bolter and Harvir Bhullar finished their senior undergraduate thesis projects and presented their findings in the Biology Undergraduate Symposium.
- (October 2023) Nikita defended her PhD thesis and joined Erik Andersen's lab (Johns Hopkins University) to pursue post-doctoral studies.
September 2022
We are excited to have Atreyee De as our new Ph.D. student in the lab. Atreyee completed her M.Sc. thesis from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
March 2022
Avijit Mallick completed his Ph.D. studies. His thesis was focused on molecular genetic analysis of PRY-1/AXIN in developmental and post-developmental processes. Avijit joined Cole Haynes lab (University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA) to pursue his post-doctoral studies.
September 2020
Wouter van den Berg has joined our lab as a Ph.D. student. Earlier, he worked as a lab assistant and collaborated with Avijit on the iScience paper.
May 2020
Shane became a Ph.D. student in the lab!
September 2019
Nikita Jhaveri has joined our Lab as a Ph.D. student. Nikita completed her M.Sc. from the University of South Carolina.
February 8, 2019
Dr. Gupta delivered a keynote speech at SciGSA Alumni Social 2019.
September 4, 2018
Shane Taylor has joined our lab as a Master's Candidate. He has completed his undergrad at University of The West Indies Cave Hill. Welcome, Shane!
December 11, 2017
Avijit gave his first talk at Toronto Area Worm Meeting held at the University of Toronto.
September 1, 2016
Avijit Mallick has joined our lab to pursue his Ph. D. He has completed his undergraduate degree from the University of Melbourne and Master's Degree from the University of West Scotland. Welcome, Avijit!!
January 28-Feb 2, 2016
Bhagwati gave a talk in the 1st Indian C. elegans meeting held in Mumbai India. He was also one of the instructors of the satellite workshop.
December 10-14, 2015
Devika and Sangeena successfully defended their Ph.D. degrees within a span of 5 days. We wish them all the best in their future careers.
October 7, 2015
Simon Zhang's poster won the 2nd place in the Undergraduate division of McMaster Water Week annual event. Congratulations Simon!
September 3, 2015
Ish Jain has joined our lab to pursue graduate studies. Ish completed his M.Sc. from MKU Baroda, a well-known university in India. Welcome Ish!
April 9, 2015
All of our senior thesis undergrads, Beth, Shreya and Komal, did awesome job winning top awards in Biology and Life Sciences Undergraduate Symposia. We are proud of their accomplishments. Way to go!
January 5, 2015 [Romy is here!]
Romy Pabla has joined the lab to pursue graduate studies. She completed an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto prior to coming to McMaster. Welcome, Romy!
September 5, 2014 [Cory joins the lab]
Cory Richman is the newest member of our team. He comes through the McMaster MiNDS graduate program. Earlier, Cory completed a senior undergraduate thesis project in the lab. Welcome back Cory!
August 27, 2014 [Another farewell]
Farewell party for Justin who is now officially 'Doctor Tong'! Justin is now heading to Western to pursue a career in medicine. We wish him all the best!
April 10, 2014 [Schlumberger scholar]]
Sangeena was recently granted a Fellowship Award for the 2014-2015 Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future program. She won't need down for her pillows anymore – she can stuff them with hundred dollar bills instead! Congratulations, Sangee!!
January 29, 2014 [The Siege of Fort Knox]
Jessica (Knox) successfully defended her MSc thesis today. Way to go! We all knew you could do it. Though we'll be sad to see you go, we're all confident that you will find success wherever the road takes you!
July 10, 2013 [Remembering Brian McCarry]
Brian McCarry, who just finished two and half years as Acting Chair of Biology, passed away last weekend.
Brian was on a vacation in Reykjavik, Iceland at the time of his death. He was an outstanding person and mentor, and an excellent scientist. He will be greatly missed by so many people. Information on McMaster Daily News is here. Biology farewell photos (see here). Brian's farewell speech in Biology (YouTube video)
July 5, 2013
Kudos to Ayush for publishing in G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics!! This paper describes the role of histone deacetylase (hda-1) in C. elegans vulval morphogenesis. Keep up the awesomeness!!!
March 15, 2013
Congratulations to Sangeena and Scott for the acceptance of their paper to the new Worm journal!!!! Their paper describes the use of a microfluidic electrotaxis platform to evaluate the neuronal health of mutant and toxin-treated nematodes. Hooray!!
November 13, 2012
Congratulations to Devika and Bavi for getting their work published in G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics journal!!!! This paper describes molecular genetic analysis of 13 genes in the nematode C. briggsae that are involved in the development and function of the reproductive system. Great Job!!!!
November 9, 2012
Here are some honours and promotions that should have been mentioned earlier:
- Sangeena won an Outstanding Poster Presentation award at the FHS Research Plenary back in May. Sweet!
- Justin won Best Oral Presentation by a Masters Student at the FHS Research Plenary back in May. Cool!
- Scott successfully defended his Masters Thesis…and has returned for more, as a PhD student. Awesome!
- Justin transferred to the PhD program without finishing his Masters. Funky!
Congratulations to all, and keep working hard!
July 3, 2012
Congratulations to Jessica and Justin on winning Ontario Graduate scholarship (OGS) awards!!! In recent years competition is getting increasingly difficult due to fewer awards and more applicants. Therefore it is a huge success for our lab. Well done, Jessica and Justin!
September 23, 2011 [Lab is growing]]
We welcome three new students, Jessica Knox and Justin Tong (both M.Sc.) and Isvarya Venu (undergraduate), who formally joined our lab earlier this month. Jessica and Justin completed undergraduate degrees from McMaster earlier this year. Isvarya is currently in 4th year and will be doing a thesis project. Cheers!
September 23, 2011
Congratulations to Devika and Sangeena for successfully completing transfer exams!!! They are officially Ph.D. candidates now. Celebrations!!!
June 29, 2011 [More on worms…Hamilton Spec news]
Our microfluidics research work has featured in Hamilton Spectator newspaper today! The article describes a novel microfluidics channel setup to study dopamine neuron signalling and neurodegeneration in a C. elegans Parkinson disease model.
Read full story here. Yay!!!!!!
June 27, 2011
Our microfluidics research is featured in McMaster Daily News today! Read it here - Daily News. Keep up the good work guys!
June 26, 2011 [McMaster GSA Travel Award]
Congratulations to Sangeena for receiving the McMaster Graduate Student Association travel grant!!! This will allow her to attend the 18th International Worm Meeting at UCLA. Have fun in La La Land!
June 9, 2011
We welcome the newest member of our lab, Ayush Ranawade, who came to McMaster 3 weeks ago. Ayush was earlier working as a Junior Research Fellow at the National Centre For Biological Sciences (NCBS) in India. He has joined as a M.Sc. student. Cheers!
May 10, 2011
Congratulations to Devika for receiving the 18th International C. elegans Meeting travel grant!!! We wish you all the best in the meeting.
April 9, 2011 [BUS 2011 Award]
Congratulations to Ata Ansari for winning the best presentation award at McMaster Biology Undergraduate Symposium in Genetics section!!! Way to go Ata!
March 11, 2011 [NSERC USRA summer fellowship]
Congratulations to Nayasta for receiving the NSERC USRA 2011 summer research scholarship! This will allow her to study the regulation of lin-39 in worms.