Shithij T

Fourth Year Int.MSc, NISER Bhubaneshwar
shithij.t@niser.ac.in

I am a 4th year Integrated MSc student in Life Sciences at NISER, currently pursuing my MSc thesis under the supervision of Dr. Manjusha Dixit, working on Cancer Genetics. I am interested in Transcriptomics and Gene Regulatory Networks. I have also previously worked in the field of Machine Learning, specifically on Large Language Models for genomics. Beyond research, I enjoy developing web applications and have a strong interest in web security. If I am out of lab and away from screen, I might be playing drums

Publications

FRG1 Regulates Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay by Modulating UPF1 Levels

Ananya Palo, Talina Mohapatra, Anamika Singh, Shithij Thalakkat, Suryasikha Mohanty, Rajeeb Kumar Swain, Manjusha Dixit

In this study, using a range of cellular models with altered FRG1 expression, we demonstrate that reduced FRG1 levels enhance Nonsense Mediated Decay activity.

eLife, 2025 November

Artificial Intelligence in Oral Health

Harisankar Binod, T. Shithij, Antonin Tichy & Subhankar Mishra

A review the applications, benefits, and challenges of integrating AI and specifically ML into oral health, including the detection of oral cancers, dental caries, periodontitis, and other conditions.

Springer, Cham, 2025 March

Experience

Biology Research

Summer Internship on DNA Language Model GROVER

BIOTEC, TU Dresden

Worked with the Biomedical Genomics Group at TU Dresden under guidance of Dr. Anna Poetsch on benchmarking different DNA Language Models on a variety of tasks.

June 2025

Summer Internship Exploring DNA Language Models

NISER Bhubaneshwar

Explored the field of DNA Language Models under the guidence of Dr. Subhankar Mishra

June 2024

8th International Conference on Stem Cells and Cancer

AIIMS Delhi

Attended 8th ICSCC, and presented a poster on the topic "Osteogenic Differentiation induced by GPMVs".

December 2023

Summer Internship in Machine Learning

NISER Bhubaneshwar

Interned with Dr. Subhankar Mishra in Summer 2023, exploring Machine Learning applications in Oral Health, gaining invaluable insights and skills.

June 2023 - July 2023

Web Development

Hosting of Peptaloid Database

NISER Bhubaneshwar

Helped in hosting a Peptide Alkaloid Database

August 2024

Health Facility Quality Certification

Funded by National Health Mission Odisha

Building a web app for the quality certification of the health facilities in the state of Odisha

June 2024

Open Source Projects

Github

Contributor to open-source projects, notably with Coding Club of NISER, showcasing coding skills and collaborative spirit.

Skills

I have been working with different kinds of analysis on single-cell, bulk, and spatial transcriptomics. I use python and R for my data analysis and visualizations. I have worked with libraries such as Seurat, Monocle3, CytoTRACE2, IsoformSwitchAnalyseR, DESeq2, and many more.

Previously, I have worked on Machine Learning projects, specifically on Large Language Models. I mostly use PyTorch for my ML projects. I am also comfortable with python libraries like numpy, pandas, and scikitlearn.

Recently, I have been exploring wet lab techniques. I am currently doing cell culture, qPCR, Western blotting, and other molecular biology techniques as part of my MSc thesis.

Programming Languages

Python
JavaScript
Rust
Julia
R

Web Development Stack

Django
React

Education

National Institute of Science Education and Research

Integrated MSc
School of Biological Sciences

CGPA: 8.27

August 2020 - Present

Govt HSS Mankada Pallipuram

Higher Secondary Education
PCMB Stream

Grade: A+

June 2020 - April 2022

Malabar Special Police Highschool

Highschool Education

Grade: A+

June 2017 - April 2020