Profile
Krishanu Ray is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and a Senior Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India. He currently serves as Director of the National Brain Research Centre on deputation. He completed his Master’s in Biophysics, Molecular Biology & Genetics from the University of Calcutta and PhD in Molecular Biology from TIFR under the aegis of Mumbai University. He then worked at the Institute of Molecular Cell Biology, Singapore and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Diego, before establishing the laboratory at TIFR in 1998. He investigates the molecular cell biology of motor proteins and their impact on the development and behaviour of an organism. His studies how kinesin-2, a molecular motor, moves soluble and vesicle-associated proteins in axons and cilia in response to external stimuli by utilising microscopic tools in Drosophila neurons and other tissues.
Current Focus Areas
Axonal Trasport Regulation: Motor proteins implement axonal transport, which is essential for neuronal functions and survival. We ask how a motor protein decides its destination and picks its cargo. Our current work is focused on the roles of insulin signalling and synaptic activity underlying the endosomal trafficking in axons.
Cilia Growth and Function: Cilia are essential for all sensory perceptions. Studying cilia growth and functionalisation is required to understand the mechanism for therapeutic interventions. We use olfactory neurons to investigate how the movements of both soluble and vesicle bound proteins by the microtubule-dependent motor, kinesin-2, regulate the process.
Drosophila Spermatogenesis: Sperm development and differentiation are essential for propagation. We study how cell signalling controls these two processes through cytoskeletal dynamics, particularly through regulating cell cycle check points and Bar-domain proteins.
Selected Publications
Jana SC#, Dutta P, Jain A, Singh A, Adusumilli L, Girotra M, Kumari D., Shirolikar S, Ray K*. (2021) Kinesin-2 transports Orco into the olfactory cilium of Drosophila melanogaster at specific developmental stages. PLOS Genetics 17(8): e1009752. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009752
Dey S, Banker G, and Ray K*. (2017) Axonal transport of Rab4-associated vesicles by heterotrimeric kinesin-2 down regulates synapse assembly in Drosophila. Cell Reports 18:1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.02.034
Girotra M, Srivastava S, Kulkarni A, Barbora A, Bobra K, Ghosal D, Devan P, Aher A, Jain A, Panda D, Ray K*. (2017) The C-terminal tails of heterotrimeric kinesin-2 motor subunits directly bind to αtubulin1. Traffic 18(2):123–133
Kulkarni A, Khan Y and Ray K*. (2017) Heterotrimeric kinesin-2, together with kinesin-1, steers vesicular acetylcholinesterase movements toward the synapse. FASEB J, 31(3):965-974.
Dubey P, Shirolikar S and Ray K*. (2016) Localized, Reactive F-actin Dynamics Prevents Abnormal Somatic Cell Penetration by Mature Spermatids. Developmental Cell, 38:507–521.