Faculty| NBRC

Dr. Mayanglambam Dhruba Singh

Scientist-IV / Associate Professor

Dr M. Dhruba Singh received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Delhi. He earned his PhD from the Department of Genetics, University of Delhi, South Campus. He completed his postdoctoral research at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Florida. During his postdoctoral research, he used Drosophila to model autism associated with 16p11.2 and 3q29 deletions.

Contact Information

mdhruba@nbrc.ac.in dhrubamayanglambam@gmail.com

124-2845342 (91)

Research

Our lab studies human neurodegenerative disorders using the Drosophila model system. We focus on three neurodegenerative disorders: Huntington’s disease, Spinocerebellar Ataxia 3, and Alzheimer’s disease. These disorders affect millions of people worldwide, and therapeutic drugs are not available to prevent the progression of the diseases. We are interested in identifying genetic targets with therapeutic potential. We use high-resolution microscopy to investigate disease progression in Drosophila brain regions. We then use molecular biology tools to dissect the mechanisms of pathogenesis. Our lab is also interested in identifying small molecules with therapeutic potential for neurodegenerative diseases.

Chakraborty, D., Singh, N.T., Borthakur, S. Singh M.D “dMyc suppresses CTG-induced cytotoxicity in the Drosophila model of DM1 by reducing autophagy and cell death” Cell Death Discovery (2026)
Deepti Thapliyal, Akash Gupta, Ritu Sarkar, Mayanglambam Dhruba Singh “Preparations of paraffin sections to visualize the architecture of Drosophila brain and retinal projections” Cell Biology Laboratory Manual Volume 49, Issue (2026)
Dipti Chakraborty, Shreya Borthakur, Athira M. Sarath, Mayanglambam Dhruba Singh “Visualization of myofilaments in Drosophila adult muscle tissue” Cell Biology Laboratory Manual Volume 49, Issue (2026)
Naorem Tarundas Singh, Shreya Borthakur, M. Dhruba Singh “Detection of apoptosis in Drosophila larval eye disc by TUNEL staining” Cell Biology Laboratory Manual Volume 49, Issue 2, (74-77): ISSN (2026)
Sarath, A.M., Thapliyal, D., Borthakur, S., Chakraborty D., Singh N.T., Sarkar R., Singh M.D “Molecular mechanisms, clinical phenotypes, and advances in Huntingtons disease therapeutics” Discover Neuroscience, 21 (2026)
Chakraborty D, Borthakur S, Sarkar R, Singh M D “Gender disparities in myotonic dystrophy 1” Life Sciences, 373, 2025 (2025)
Nisha,Thapliyal D, Gohil B, Modak A S, Singh N.T, Mukherjee C, Ahuja S, Sahu B.S & Singh M.D “Downregulation of Pten Improves Huntingtons Disease Phenotype by Reducing Htt Aggregates and Cell Death” Molecular Neurobiology (2025)
Singh MD*, Jensen M*, Lasser M, Huber E, Yusuff T, Pizzo L, et al “NCBP2 modulates neurodevelopmental defects of the 3q29 deletion in Drosophila and X. laevis models” PLOS Genetics (2020)
Iyer J*, Singh MD*, Jensen M*, Patel P* et al “Pervasive genetic interactions modulate neurodevelopmental defects of the autism-associated 16p11.2 deletion in Drosophila melanogaster” Nature Communications, volume 9, Article number: 2548.ISSN (2018)
M Dhruba Singh, Soram Idiyasan Chanu, Surajit Sarkar “Deciphering the Enigma of Human Poly(Q) Disorders: Contribution of Drosophila melanogaster” International Journal of Neurology Research (2016)
S Idiyasan Chanu, M Dhruba Singh, Nisha, Surajit Sarkar “Transcriptional upregulation and its impact on poly(Q) disorders” Therapeutic Targets for Neurological Diseases (2014)
Singh MD, Raj K, Sarkar S “Drosophila Myc, a novel modifier suppresses the poly(Q) toxicity by modulating the level of CREB binding protein and histone acetylation” Neurobiology of Disease (2014)
S Idiyasan Chanu, M Dhruba Singh, Renu Yadav, Kritika Raj and Surajit Sarkar “Neurodegeneration and Ageing: A Fatal Encounter” Cell and Developmental Biology, S1: 002. ISSN (2013)
Surajit Sarkar, M Dhruba Singh, Renu Yadav and S Idiyasan Chanu “Flying with Flies: Decoding Human Neurodegenerative Disorders in Drosophila” Cell and Developmental Biology,1:e112. ISSN (2012)
Surajit Sarkar, M Dhruba Singh, Renu Yadav, KP Arunkumar, Geoffrey W Pittman “Heat shock proteins: Molecules with assorted functions” Frontiers in Biology (2011)

Dr. Naorem Tarundas Singh

Postdoctoral Fellow

RA 1

tarundasnaorem@gmail.com

Post graduation in Biotechnology from Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Haryana and Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Manipur University.

Athira M Sarath

Phd Student

SRF

athira.b21@nbrc.ac.in

B.Sc. Triple Main Course from Bangalore University in 2019, M.Sc. in Molecular Medicine from SCMM, JNU in 2021. Qualified CSIR-JRF in 2021.

Deepti Thapliyal

Phd Student

SRF

deepti.b21@nbrc.ac.in

B.Sc. in 2019 from Ramjas College, Delhi University. M.Sc. in 2021 from Department of Genetics, Delhi University.

Dipti Chakraborty

Phd Student

JRF

dipti.b22@nbrc.ac.in

B.Sc. Microbiology Hons., Asutosh College, Calcutta University. 2019 M.Sc. Bioinformatics, Banaras Hindu University, 2021. GATE 2022 qualified.

Saurabh Bajpayee

Phd Student

JRF

saurabhbajpayee99@gmail.com

B.Sc. Biology, M.Sc. Zoology from K S Saket PG College, RMLAU, Ayodhya

Shantanu Hardiha

Phd Student

JRF

shantanuhardiha.12340@gmail.com

M.Sc in Zoology from Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak. Qualified CSIR NET JRF Dec 2024, AIR 66. GATE-XL 2025, AIR 77. DBT BET JRF, CAT 2.