BIO

Maitreyi Das received her PhD in 2004 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai in Biosciences under the guidance of Prof. P. J. Bhat. She then moved to Helsinki, Finland to study cell cycle in fission yeast in the lab of Prof. Tomi Makela. She continued her study of fission yeast in the lab of Prof. Fulvia Verde at the University of Miami where she studied cell shape control. She established her independent lab at the University of Tennessee in 2013 where she investigated the fundamental mechanisms that promote cytokinesis and polarized cell growth in the model system S. pombe (fission yeast). She was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2020. In 2022 she moved her lab to the Biology department at Boston College as Associate Professor with tenure. When not in the lab she loves to spend time with her husband and son. She likes to travel and explore different cuisines; and enjoys good music.

For her Interview in the BCMB 2014 Newsletter click here.

 

EDUCATION:

Ramnarain Ruia College, Mumbai University, India B.Sc, Microbiology -1996

M.S. University, Baroda, Gujarat, India M.Sc, Biochemistry -1998

Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India PhD, Biosciences -2004

University of Helsinki, Finland Post-doc, Cancer cell-cycle -2004-2006

University of Miami, Florida, USA Post-doc, Cell polarity -2006-2012

 

POSITIONS HELD:

  1. Associate Professor, Boston College, Biology Department. 2022-Present
  2. Associate Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology. 2020-2022
  3. Associate Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Genome Science and Technology Program. 2020-2022 
  4. Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Genome Science and Technology Program. 2014-Present
  5. Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology. 2013-Present
  6. Assistant Scientist, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, with Dr. Fulvia Verde. July 2011-Dec 2012
  7. Post-Doctoral Associate, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, with Dr. Fulvia Verde. April 2006-June 2011
  8. Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, In the Cell Cycle Laboratory, Cancer Biology Program, under Prof. Tomi Makela. October 2004-March 2006
  9. Senior Research Fellow, Molecular Genetics Laboratory, School of Bioengineering and Biosciences, IIT, Bombay, under the guidance of Prof. P. J. Bhat. August 2000 – March 2004
  10. Junior Research Fellow, Molecular Genetics Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT, Bombay. “Identification of Proteins Interacting with under the guidance of Prof. P. J. Bhat. July1998 – July 2000

HONORS AND AWARDS

2020 – 2024        NSF CAREER award

2020 – 2025        NIH/NIGMS research (R01) award

2017, 2018         BCMB Junior Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award. Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, UT-Knoxville.

2017, 2020         BCMB Junior Faculty Distinguished Scholarship Award. Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, UT-Knoxville.

2016-2020         NSF research award.

2015                   NSF TN-Score Seed award.

2014                   University of Tennessee, SARIF Foreign travel award.

2014                   University of Tennessee, SARIF Equipment and Infrastructure award

2008                   American Society for Cell Biology Postdoc Travel Award.

2007, 2010         Margaret Whelan Postdoctoral Travel Award.

1998                   Qualified All-India Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).

 

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

  1. American Society for Cell Biology- Postdoctoral member since 2008
  2. Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society- Full Member since 2009
  3. New PI Slack- Membership advisory board 2016-2020
  4. BioRχiv– Affiliate since 2019
  5. Women in Cell Biology- Member since 2022
  6. PombeSlack- founding member since 2019

RESEARCH SUPPORT

Ongoing

  1. NSF CAREER-1941367- Maitreyi Das (PI), 01/2020-12/2024. Title: CAREER: Spatiotemporal organization of cytokinetic events. Amount requested: $ 1,273,335
  2. NIH R01- 1R01GM136847-01, Maitreyi Das (PI), Tian Hong (Co-I) 03/2020- 02/2025. Title: Cell-cycle-dependent cell polarity control. Amount requested: $ 1,522,319

Completed

  1. NSF- MCB- 1616495 – Maitreyi Das (PI) with Steven Abel (Co-PI), 08/2016-07/2020 Title: Cytokinetic events that promote actomyosin ring constriction and septum formation. Amount: $868,000
  2. NSF- MRI- 1828300 – Andreas Nebenfuehr nebenfuehr@utk.edu (PI), Barry Bruce (Co-PI), Tessa Burch-Smith (Co-PI), Brian Long (Co-PI), Maitreyi Das (Co-PI), 10/1/2018-09/30/2021 Title: Acquisition of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) for soft materials for the Advanced Microscopy and Imaging Center (AMIC). Amount: $439,938
  3. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, SARIF Equipment award. Maitreyi Das (PI). 2014. Title: A Quantitative Infrared Western Blot Detection System. Amount: $15,270
  4. NSF-EPSCoR, EPS-1004083 – Maitreyi Das (PI) with Steven Abel (Co-PI), 01/01/15-07/01/15. Title: Actomyosin Ring Dynamics at the Onset of Constriction. Amount: $20,000

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:

Invited Talks

    1. Emory University, 2022 (Virtual)
    2. University of California, Los Angeles, 2021
    3. University of Toledo, Ohio, 2021 (Virtual)
    4. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 2019
    5. University of Georgia, Georgia, 2019
    6. High Point University, High Point, North Carolina, 2019
    7. University of North Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina, 2019
    8. Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, 2017
    9. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India, 2016.
    10. Indian Institute of science education and research, Pune, India, 2014.
    11. S. University, Baroda, India, 2014.
    12. Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India, 2014.
    13. Department of Biology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, February 2012.
    14. School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India. January, 2007.
    15. The Department of Biochemistry, M.S. University of Baroda, India. January, 2007.

Seminar Talks

  1. BIRS Mathematics of the Cell Workshop, Banff, Canada, 2021 (Virtual)
  2. Southeastern Society of Developmental biologists, 2021 (Virtual)
  3. International Fission Yeast Meeting, Barcelona, Spain, 2019
  4. International Fission yeast meeting, Banff, Canada, 2017.
  5. Gordon Research Conference, Plant and Microbial Cytoskeleton, Proctor Academy, NH, 2016.
  6. Cold Spring Harbor Cell Biology of the Yeasts Meeting, 2015.
  7. International Pombe meeting, Japan, Kobe, 2015.
  8. The American Society of Cell Biology Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, 2011.
  9. The Sixth International Fission yeast meeting, Boston, MA. June 2011.
  10. The Yeast Cell biology meeting, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY. August, 2009.
  11. North-American Fission Yeast Meeting, Los Angeles, June, 2008.
  12. The Yeast Cell biology meeting, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY. August, 2007.

Institutional

  1. Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2019.
  2. ACS Cancer Symposium, UT medical center, Knoxville, 2014.
  3. Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami, April 2009.
  4. Developmental biology group, Biology Department, University of Miami, May 2008.
  5. Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami, February, 2007.