Director
Dr. Avik Ray is a researcher working at the intersection
of evolutionary biology, genetics, agriculture, food, and cultural anthropology. He is keen to understand the traditional agro-ecological practices and their role in agro-biodiversity management and conservation as well as to apply evolutionary theories to address agricultural issues. Besides, he is also interested in agricultural history, natural and cultural history, and archaeology.
Research coordinator
Dr. Rajasri Ray is a researcher in ecology and biodiversity. Her research
interest covers sacred grove ecology and ecosystem services, species distribution modeling and functional aspects of biodiversity. Her current research includes functional characterization of sacred groves in a modified landscape, historical aspects of biodiversity dynamics, and species and habitat conservation planning and management.
Education and outreach coordinator
currently working as a JU-SYLFF doctoral fellow in the Comparative Literature department of Jadavpur University. Her research focuses on the Oral narratives of Adivasi women who took part in the resistance movements against development-induced displacements. Jharkhand is the place where Sudeshna did most of her field works. This research tries to understand Adivasi resistance movement as the imperative way of looking at life; a ‘Darshan’. This ‘Darshan’ is intrinsically connected with a practice of caring for other and sharing the knowledge. It is a way of extending the periphery of subjective world. This project, in turn, has made Sudehshna inquisitive about the theories of connection and cooperation and the relation between them.Marketing and fund-raising executive
Rakesh Mitra is a marketing executive with more than a decade of
multi-industry experience in marketing and branding coupled with a technology-driven approach to comprehend the interplay between societal changes & marketing. His perpetuating quest is to gain an understanding of sensory marketing, neuro-marketing, religious branding, and combining sharp analysis with small data and contextual branding. He is also interested in human culture and its implication in marketing.
Balaji Chattopadhyay is an Assistant Professor at the Trivedi
School of Biosciences, Ashoka University. He completed his PhD from Madurai Kamaraj University and pursued postdoctoral research at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, India, and the National University of Singapore, Singapore. Balaji is an evolutionary biologist whose research incorporates high-throughput genomic data alongside biological and ecological data to understand the effects of climate change on the evolution of wildlife.
Dr. Kritika Garg is an evolutionary biologist specializing in 
population genetics and behavioral ecology. She joined Ashoka University as a Ramalingaswami Fellow in 2021. Her lab uses an interdisciplinary approach to understand the evolution of species across time scales, particularly in regards to the role of sexual selection in speciation in the wild and to understand domestication in the Indian subcontinent.
Dr. Subhasis Mahato is an ecologist and associated with the 
Department of Forestry, PRMS Mahavidyalaya, West Bengal, since August 2018. He is actively engaged in ecology and conservation research and teaching. He has a long work experience in the western Himalayan region with multiple organisations like WII, H.N.B.Garhwal University etc. His study area includes traditional resource conservation like sacred grove, ecosystem services, agroforestry, carrying capacity assessment and other related topics. His current activity includes documentation and understanding selected ecological aspects of the state of West Bengal.
Tapan Priya Ray is a medical doctor with more than forty 
years of experience in health service. He has also been involved in other activities pertaining to societal development especially education in various capacities.
Past Members