RESEARCH PORTFOLIO FOR M.
SC DISSERTATION 1
Continuous Assessment 3 (Weightage 60%)
1. Student Name: Simran Pathania
2. Programme Name:
3. Section:
A. Thrust areas relevant to the discipline:
Thrust areas identified
(Top 3)
1 Entomology
Strength in:
 Specialists in Ladybird
Beetles
 Developmental &
reproductive biology
Behavioural ecology &
evolution
 Pre- & post-copulatory sexual
selection.
 Behavioural and population
genetics
 Identification of major insect
pests of Field and
Horticultural crops.
Funding availability in the area identified
Project Available Funding agency
(with title)
Studying the impact United States
of insect pest on crop Department of
yields Agriculture (USDA),
( (Their vision is to
provide economic
opportunity through
innovation, helping
rural America to thrive;
to promote agriculture
production that better
nourishes Americans
while also helping feed
others throughout the
world; and to preserve
our Nation's natural
resources through
conservation, restored
forests, improved
watersheds, and healthy
private working lands)
National Science
Foundation (NSF),
Paleontological Society
(Their focus area on
Understanding life in all
its forms and sustaining
the Earth's ecosystems
as they face
unprecedented global
challenges. NSF
research helps the world
understand the rules that

2 Marine Biology
Strength in:
 Marine biology is the study of
marine organisms, their
behaviors and their
interactions with the
environment. Because there
are so many topics one could
study within the field, many
researchers select a particular
interest and specialize in it.
 Topic areas include studies
that focus on biochemistry,
physiology, behavior, genetics,
and ecological theory.
3 Parasitology
Strength in :
 Identification &
characterization of parasites
 Molecular phylogeny.
 Protozoology & Infectious
diseases.
govern life and sustain
the complex web of
living things.
Exploring Coral Reef National Oceanic and
Resilience to Climate Atmospheric
Change Administration(NOAA),
National Geographic
Society, Pew Charitable
Trusts (Their mission is
To understand and
predict changes in
climate, weather, ocean,
and coasts,
to share that knowledge
and information with
others, and to conserve
and manage
coastal and marine
ecosystems and
resources. Their vision
is to Resilient
Ecosystems,
Communities, and
Economies; and Healthy
ecosystems,
communities and
economies that are
resilient in the face of
change).
Understanding the Bill and Melinda Gates
Life Cycle of Malaria Foundation, National
Parasites Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases
(With the goal of
improving the lives of
millions of Indian
people, we work in
collaboration with the
Indian government and
other partners on
various issues, from
health care and
sanitation to gender
equality, agricultural
development, and
 financial empowerment
of the most vulnerable
populations. Our areas
of focus in health care
include maternal and
newborn health,
nutrition, family
planning, and the
control of infectious
diseases such as
tuberculosis, lymphatic
filariasis, and visceral
leishmaniasis. We
believe that spurring
innovation is key to
solving these and other
persistent health
challenge )

B. Thrust areas of interest:

Explored Thrust area of interest
Parisitology:

Parasitology is the study of the interaction between parasites and their hosts. In general,
parasitologists tend to concentrate on eukaryotic parasites, such as lice, mites, protozoa and
worms, with prokaryotic parasites and other infectious agents the focus of fields such as
bacteriology, microbiology and virology. Parasites are extremely common, and are responsible
for some of the world's most deadly illnesses, from dysentery and diarrhoea to malaria.
It studies the diverse organisms means that the subject is frequently broken down into simpler,
more focused units that use common techniques, even if they are not studying the same
organisms or diseases. Much parasitological research falls somewhere between two or more of
these definitions. In general, the study of prokaryotes falls under the umbrella of bacteriology
rather than parasitology.

C. Top research papers and details::

Top research papers
S No. Thrust Area of Paper title
research
1 Entomology Trends and opportunities in tick borne disease geography
(journal- medical entomology) Tick-borne diseases are
 becoming more common in many parts of the world, and
their monitoring and control raise difficult issues in
medical entomology, agricultural health, veterinary
medicine, and biosecurity. Spatial approaches can help
stakeholders, managers, and medical geographers
understand the current and future distribution of risk by
synthesizing data generated by integrative One Health
surveillance systems. We discover a wide range of methods
for mapping tick-borne disease, but we also discover
significant gaps: data on the enzootic cycle of tick-borne
pathogens is severely underutilized, and mapping efforts
are mostly limited to Europe and North America.

2 Marine Biology Plastic debris in the marine environment

(journal- marine environment)
It examines the history and impact of plastics
in the marine environment. Current solutions
that aim to mitigate plastics accumulation in
the environment and the future challenges of
plastic as a material.

3 Parasitology Advances and opportunities n malaria

population
(journal- advances in parasitology)
The potential value of these applications to malaria control
strategies, together with the increasing diversity of
genomic data types and contexts in which data are being
generated, raise both opportunities and challenges in the
field. It discusses advances in malaria genomics and
explores how population genomic data could be harnessed
to further support global disease control efforts. It helped
advance our understanding of basic disease biology and
drug and insecticide resistance, and have informed vaccine
development efforts. Population genomic data are
increasingly being used to guide our understanding of
malaria epidemiology, for example by assessing
connectivity between populations and the efficacy of
parasite and vector interventions.
 D. Tools/Instrumentation/Equipment/Software identified:
List of instrumentation/equipment/resources identified for the research work
(can be referred from the research papers gone through)
S No. Name of instrument/equipment/software
1
Entomology- statistical and data analyses software is used to process
and analyse collected data, allowing researchers to identify trends and
patterns and geographic information systems (GIS) tools help
researchers create maps and perform spatial analyses to understand the
distribution of tick-borne diseases.

2 Field surveys like (traps, canopy fogging and visual surveys) insect collecting kits,
microscopes for examine the parasite wasp, soil sampling equipment, GPS devices
are also used in this paper
3
Parasite databases encompass a collection of comprehensive information pertaining
to diverse parasite species, hence facilitating the endeavors of researchers in the
identification and classification of parasites. Two notable examples of databases in
the field of biodiversity and genomics are the Global Biodiversity Information
Facility (GBIF) and the Parasite Genomic Database (ParaSite).

4 Microscopes play a crucial role in the examination and categorization of parasites.

Different varieties of microscopes, such as light microscopes and electron
microscopes, are employed in the examination of diverse facets pertaining to
parasites.

5 Parasitologists employ molecular biology tools such as Polymerase Chain Reaction

(PCR) and DNA sequencing to conduct genetic investigation of parasites. Sequence
analysis is a common application of software tools like Geneious or CLC Workbench
6 Epidemiological software, such as EpiInfo and R, can be employed for the purpose
of modeling the transmission of parasite diseases, examining the dynamics of
disease occurrence, and evaluating options for disease control

7
Parasitology- for data collection and research process they used the
allozyme technique (analysing the differences in enzyme structure
between organisms) and for the analyses of publication trends on
parasitic organisms they use all parasite related publication from each
molecular period.
8
RDTs and PCR test is also used to treatment of malaria, mosquito
traps, larva surveys, clinical trials, GIS software, and satellite imagery
(study the spatial distribution of malarial cases), statistical software for
data analyses and modelling.

9 Population genetics software programs such as STRUCTURE,

Arlequin, and DnaSP are commonly employed in the analysis of
population genetic data, facilitating the inference of evolutionary
trends within populations.

10 Phylogenetic visualization tools, such as FigTree and iTOL, are employed in the
production of visual depictions of phylogenetic trees intended for scholarly
dissemination and professional discourse.

11 Image analysis software is utilized by parasitologists to quantitatively

assess and measure parasites present in microscopic pictures.

12 Parasite Life Cycle Modeling Software: Software applications such as

Berkeley Madonna and Stella have been developed to facilitate the
modeling of parasite life cycles. These programs have proven essential
in enhancing comprehension of disease transmission dynamics.

E. Literature Review (At least 8-10 latest research papers from the thrust area
chosen):
S Title Year of Authors Problem Technique/ Brief Probable
No. of publication identified Methodology understanding research
paper used from the gap/
paper Future
scope

F. Identification of Journals/Conference:
Identification of tentative journal/International Conference for completing the mandatory
research requirements
S No. Journals identified in the thrust area of International Conference identified
interest (Scopus indexed) for paper
presentation