@ BRIC-inStem
Our Laboratory
The Epithelial Barrier lab @ BRIC-inStem was established in January 2022 by Dr. Diya Binoy Joseph. It is a part of the research theme on Mechanisms of Barrier Tissue Homeostasis at BRIC-inStem. The laboratory conducts fundamental research on epithelial barriers which line organs and are crucial to protecting the body from dangerous microbes.
Principal Investigator
Diya Binoy Joseph
Assistant Professor (Scientist-E)
BRIC-inStem
Diya is a faculty member and principal investigator at the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (BRIC-inStem) in Bengaluru. She has a degree in B. Tech. Biotechnology from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, India. In 2018, Diya completed her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. Her work involved using transgenic mouse models to look at the role of DNA methylation in lower urinary tract and prostate development. In 2019, Diya moved to UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, USA for postdoctoral training where she was an American Urological Association Research fellow studying cellular heterogeneity and treatment response in Benign prostatic hyperplasia patients using single cell and spatial transcriptomics approaches.
Diya moved to inStem in January 2022 to start her independent lab. She is the recipient of a DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance Early career fellowship and a Start-up research grant from DST-SERB.
Professional Experience
2026-Present: Assistant Professor (Scientist-E), BRIC-inStem, Bengaluru
2022-2026: Fellow E/Scientist-D, BRIC-inStem, Bengaluru
2019-2021: Postdoctoral Researcher, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
2013-2018: Graduate Research Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Education
2018: PhD, Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2013: B. Tech Biotechnology, NIT-Calicut
Awards and Distinctions
2026 Invited Talk, "Making and Breaking Barriers" IISc, Feb 16, 2026 2025 Invited Talk, BRIC Spotlight Series, Dec 12, 2025 Invited Talk, DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance Conclave, Hyderabad, June 18, 2025 Invited Talk, Genome Analysis and Technology Conference, IISER Pune, April 5, 2025 Invited Talk, Regional Young Investigators Meeting, IIT-Madras, January 23, 2025 Invited Talk, NCBS Annual Talks, January 15, 2025 2024 Invited Talk, 7th Omics workshop, NCBS, October 16, 2024 Invited Talk, Indian Society for Developmental Biology, inStem, February 22, 2024 Invited Talk, 3rd Subhash Mukhopadhyay Symposium, IISc, January 14, 2024 2023 BDBio IISc, Big Data Algorithms for Biology, Best Post award (1 of 3 awarded) 2022 DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance Early Career Fellowship DST-SERB, Start-up Research Grant Selected for DST-Inspire Faculty Fellow (declined) 2021 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting Early-career investigator travel award 2020 American Urological Association (AUA) Research Scholar Award 2020 Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) virtual travel award 2019 CMB Graduate Program Exceptional Thesis Award 2018, University of Wisconsin-Madison Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) travel award for podium presentation 2018 CMB Graduate Program travel award, University of Wisconsin-Madison 2017 Gregory F. Daniels award for conference travel, University of Wisconsin-Madison Scholarship to attend Epigenomics course at Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids 2016 Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR) travel award for podium presentation American Urological Association (AUA) Summer Research Conference travel award 2013 Qualified GATE examination with All India Rank: 3 in Biotechnology (Score 984/1000) ‘Best Outgoing Student’ of NIT-C Class of 2013, Gold Medal 2012 Khorana Scholarship, Dr. Arul Chinnaiyan group, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Qualified for CSIR-NET Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) with rank 29 in Life Sciences Innovative project award NIT-C Alumni Association
The Team
Aparna Mandal
PhD Student
Aparna Mandal has a Master's in Human Physiology from Vidyasagar University. For her PhD project, she is working on understanding how the urethra responds to infection. In addition, she is investigating the impact of ovarian hormones on urethral homeostasis. She has expertise in mouse UTI models, ovariectomized models and transgenic mice for lineage tracing.
Jasmine
PhD Student
Jasmine has an Integrated BS/MS degree from IISER, Mohali. For her PhD project, she investigated early patterning in the developing lower urinary tract. Her work led to the first single cell transcriptomic atlas of the female mouse urethra. She is currently working on understanding the role of NF-kB in maintaining barrier integrity in the bladder and oesophagus.
Richelle Rodrigues
Project Associate
Richelle has a Master's degree in Biotechnology from St. Xavier's college in Mumbai. She completed her Master's Dissertation in our lab lab, working on immune cell heterogeneity in the female reproductive tract. She is currently working as a Project Associate in the lab contributing to multiple ongoing projects. Her expertise includes human stem cell culture, organoid generation and image analysis.
Apoorva Roy
PhD Student
Apoorva has a Master's degree in Biotechnology from Alagappa University. For her PhD project, she is investigating how microbial cues influence immune defenses in the female genitourinary tract. She uses transgenic animals, primary cell culture and organoids to address how commensal microbes impact epithelail gene expression and immune cell organization in the female genitourinary tract.
Sisira Surendran
Project Associate
Sisira has a an Integrated Master's degree in Biological Science from Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT). She is currently working as a Project Associate in the lab contributing to multiple ongoing projects.
Lab Photos
The Lab at Dinner, July 2026
Lab Alumni
2026
Amlan Banerjee, Graduate student
Mrinal Samtiya, Bridging Postdoctoral Fellow
Shreya S, Summer intern, BRIC-inStem Summer Research Fellows Programme (SuRF)
Shourishree Sit, Summer intern, INSA Summer Research Fellowship Program (SRFP)
Sharvari Vichare, Master's dissertation student
2025
Revanth Gowda, Master’s dissertation student
Tania Elizabeth Manoj, Summer intern
Surya K, Summer intern
2024
Kavya TT, Project Associate I
Anubhuti Anushree, Summer intern
Arjun Suresh, Master’s dissertation student
Davood Irshad Meer, Master’s dissertation student
Divyeksha H Baraiya, Project Associate I
2023
Shreya Chakraborty, Project Associate I
Cynthia Marian Elizabeth Francis, Project Associate II
Neha Sathish, Summer Intern
Arshid Reshi, Master’s dissertation student