About Profile

Area of Interest

Malaria & Other Vector-borne diseases

Research Experience

I have research interests in malaria and other vector-borne diseases, public health system and running projects in remote tribal areas of North East India as well as West Bengal on Malaria, Dengue and other vector-borne diseases, on parasitological, entomological and ecological aspects along with community-based translational studies. She is also engaged in designing and deploying mobile app-based fever surveillance, management, and entomological surveillance in the communities.

Awards & Acheivements

Professional Experience

I have done Ph.D from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India, Post Doctoral research work from the National Institute of Health, USA, and Johns Hopkins University, USA. I joined as Scientist C in Talent Search Scheme in Indian Council of Medical Research, North East, Regional Medical Research Centre, Dibrugarh, India in August 2017. I’ve worked as Scientist in Model Rural Health Research Unit, Tripura and Scientist & Site Manager for MESA-ICEMR NIH project earlier.

Publications

• Borgohain P, Shakya A, Ghosh SK, Gogoi N, Patgiri SJ, Bhowmick IP, Bhattacharyya DR, Singh UP, Bhat HR. Design, In silico study, Synthesis and Evaluation of Hybrid Pyrazole Substituted 1,3,5-Triazine Derivatives for Antimalarial Activity. Exp Parasitol. 2024 Apr 26:108767. doi: 10.1016/j.exppara.2024.108767. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38679125.
• Rajkonwar J, Shende V, Maji AK, Pandey A, Sharma PK, Gunasekaran K, Subbarao SK, Bhattacharyya DR, Raghavendra K, Pebam R, Mayakrishnan V, Gogoi P, Senapati S, Sarkar P, Biswas S, Debbarma D, Nirmolia T, Jena SR, Bayan B, Talukder P, Sihag AK, Bharali HS, Verma A, Mahanta K, Sumer G, Karmakar R, Patgiri SJ, Chaudhuri S, Ganguli S, Kaur H, Bhattacharyya TK, Joshi PL, Goswami B, Baruah K, Pati S, Narain K, Bhowmick IP. First Report of Anopheles annularis s.l., An. maculatus s.s., and An. culicifacies s.l. as Malaria Vectors and a New Occurrence Record for An. pseudowillmori and An. sawadwongporni in Alipurduar District Villages, West Bengal, India. Microorganisms. 2024 Jan 3;12(1):95. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12010095. PMID: 38257922; PMCID: PMC10818895.  
• Vinayagam S, Nirmolia T, Chetry S, Kumar NP, Saini P, Bhattacharyya DR, Bhowmick IP, Sattu K, Patgiri SJ. Molecular Evidence of Wolbachia Species in Wild-Caught Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes in Four States of Northeast India. J Trop Med. 2023 Sep 5;2023:6678627. doi: 10.1155/2023/6678627. PMID: 37706052; PMCID: PMC10497363.
• Biswas S, Rajkonwar J, Nirmolia T, Jena SR, Sarkar U, Bhattacharyya DR, Borkakoty B, Pandey A, Subbarao SK, Majumder T….Bhowmick IP. First Report of Rubber Collection Bowls & Plastic and Bamboo Water Containers as the Major Breeding Source of Ae. albopictus with the Indigenous Transmission of Dengue and Chikungunya in Rural Forested Malaria-Endemic Villages of Dhalai District, Tripura, India: The Importance of Molecular Identification. Biomedicines. 2023; 11(8):2186. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11082186.
• Sumitha MK, Kalimuthu M, Kumar MS,.....Bhowmick IP...Gupta B. Genetic differentiation among Aedes aegypti populations from different eco-geographical zones of India. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2023 Jul 27;17(7):e0011486. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011486. PMID: 37498944.
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Nirmolia T, Pandey A, Subbarao SK, Nath A, Senapati S, Tripathy D, Pebam R, Nag S, Roy R, Dasgupta D, Debnath J, Gogoi K, Gogoi K, Borah L, Chanda R, Borgohain A, Mog C, Sarkar U, Gogoi P, Debnath B, Debbarma J, Ranjan Bhattacharya D, Joshi PL, Kaur H, Narain K. Reply to Deora et al. Multiplexing for Plasmodium spp.? Think Again! Comment on "Bhowmick et al. Dry Post Wintertime Mass Surveillance Unearths a Huge Burden of P. vivax, and Mixed Infection with P. vivaxP. falciparum, a Threat to Malaria Elimination, in Dhalai, Tripura, India. Pathogens 2021, 10, 1259". Pathogens. 2022 Jul 26;11(8):832. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11080832. PMID: 35894055; PMCID: PMC9332397.
• Patgiri SJ, Gohain GG, Goswami SK,.…Bhowmick IP,.…Kaur H. Development and On-Field Deployment of a Mobile-Based Application 'MoSQuIT' for Malaria Surveillance in International Border Districts of Northeast India-Challenges and Opportunities. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Feb 23;19(5):2561. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19052561. PMID: 35270256; PMCID: PMC8909168.
• Bhowmick IP, Pandey A, Subbarao SK, Pebam R, Majumder T, Nath A, Nandi D, Basu A, Sarkar A, Majumder S, Debbarma J, Dasgupta D, Borgohain A, Chanda R, Das M, Gogoi K, Gogoi K, Joshi PL, Kaur H, Borkakoti B, Ranjan Bhattacharya D, Khan AM, Sen S, Narain K. Diagnosis of Indigenous Non-Malarial Vector-Borne Infections from Malaria Negative Samples from Community and Rural Hospital Surveillance in Dhalai District, Tripura, North-East India. Diagnostics (Basel). 2022 Feb 1;12(2):362. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12020362. PMID: 35204453; PMCID: PMC8871021.
• Pal Bhowmick I, Chutia D, Chouhan A, Nishant N, Raju PLN, Narain K, Kaur H, Pebam R, Debnath J, Tripura R, Gogoi K, Ch Nag S, Nath A, Tripathy D, Debbarma J, Das N, Sarkar U, Debbarma R, Roy R, Debnath B, Dasgupta D, Debbarma S, Joy Tripura K, Reang G, Sharma A, Rahi M, Chhibber-Goel J. Validation of a Mobile Health Technology Platform (FeverTracker) for Malaria Surveillance in India: Development and Usability Study. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Nov 10;5(11):e28951. doi: 10.2196/28951. PMID: 34757321; PMCID: PMC8663496.
• Pal Bhowmick I, Tulika Nirmolia, Apoorva Pandey, Sarala K Subbarao, Aatreyee Nath, Susmita Senapati, Debabrata Tripathy, Rocky Pebam, Suman Nag, Rajashree Roy, Dipanjan Dasgupta, Jayanta Debnath, Kongkona Gogoi, Karuna Gogoi, Lakhyajit Borah, Rajdeep Chanda, Arup Borgohain, Chelapro Mog, Ujjwal Sarkar, Phiroz Gogoi, Bishal Debnath, Jyotish Debbarma, Dibya Ranjan Bhattacharya, Pyare Lal Joshi, Harpreet Kaur, Kanwar Narain. Dry Post Wintertime Mass Surveillance Unearths a Huge Burden of P. vivax, and Mixed Infection with P. vivax P. falciparum, a Threat to Malaria Elimination, in Dhalai, Tripura, India, Pathogens, V10, issue 10, 10.3390/pathogens10101259.
• Saurav Jyoti Patgiri, Dibya Ranjan Bhattacharyya, Ipsita Pal Bhowmick, Md. Atique Ahmed. Deciphering asymptomatic malaria – the missing link in India’s fight against the disease? Curr. Sci. 2020 May; 118(9): 1333-34.).
• Nilanju Pran Sarmah, Ipshita Pal Bhowmik, Devojit Kumar Sarma, Chandra Kanta Sharma, Gajendra Kumar Medhi, Pradyumno Kishore Mohapatra, Jagadish Mahanta, and Dibya Ranjan Bhattacharyya, Role of Anopheles baimaii: potential vector of epidemic outbreak in Tripura, North-east India, Journal of Global Heath Reports, 2019, 03-e2019036.
• Chakrabarti R, White J, Babar PH ...,Pal Bhowmick I, ...Rathod PK. Decreased In Vitro Artemisinin Sensitivity of Plasmodium falciparum across India. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2019 Sep 23;63(10):e00101-19. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00101-19. PMID: 31332065; PMCID: PMC6761557.
• Thriemer K, Ley B, Bobogare A, Dysoley L, Alam MS ...Bhowmick IP...Price RN. Challenges for achieving safe and effective radical cure of Plasmodium vivax: a round table discussion of the APMEN Vivax Working Group. Malar J. 2017 Apr 5;16(1):141. doi: 10.1186/s12936-017-1784-1. PMID: 28381261; PMCID: PMC5382417.
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Bosch J., Andersen J, Srinivasan P, Miller LH, Binding of aldolase  and GAPDH to cytoplasmic tails of Plasmodiium falciparum merozoite DBL and RH family ligands. Mbio. 2012 Sep 18;3(5):PII: e00292-12
• Singh S, Alam MM, Pal-Bhowmick I, Brzostowski JA, Chitnis CE. Distinct external signals trigger sequential release of apical organelles during erythrocyte invasion by malaria parasites. PLoS Pathog. 2010 Feb 5; 6(2):e1000746,
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Kumar N, Coppens I, Sharma S, Jarori GK. Plasmodium falciparum  enolase stage-specific expression and sub-cellular  localization.   Malar J. 2009 Jul 30; 8:179-195.
• Vora HK, Shaik FR, Pal-Bhowmick I, Mout R, Jarori GK. Effect of deletion of a plant like pentapeptide insert on kinetic, structural and immunological properties of enolase from Plasmodium falciparum. Arch Biophys Biochem, 2009 May 15; 485(2):128-38.
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Mehta M, Coppens I, Sharma S, Jarori GK. Protective properties and surface localization of Plasmodium falciparum enolase. Infec Immun. 2007 Nov; 75(11):5500-8,
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Jarori GK, Pande RP,  Jarori GK, Kar S, Sahal D, Structural and functional studies on Ribonuclease S, retro S and retro-inverso S peptides Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2007 Dec 21;364(3):608-13.
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Vora HK, Jarori GK. Sub-cellular localization and post-translational modifications of the Plasmodium yoelii enolase suggest moonlighting functions. Malar J. 2007 Apr 16;6: 45-52,
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Krishnan S, Jarori GK. Differential susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum versus yeast and mammalian enolases to dissociation into active monomers. FEBS J. 2007 Apr; 274(8):1932-45.
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Vora HK, Roy J, Sharma S, Jarori GK. Generation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies specific to Plasmodium falciparum enolase. J Vector Borne Dis. 2006 Jun; 43(2):43-5
• Pal-Bhowmick I, Sadagopan K, Vora HK, Sehgal A, Sharma S, Jarori GK. Cloning, over-expression, purification and characterization of Plasmodium falciparum enolase. Eur J Biochem. 2004 Dec; 271(23-24):4845-54.

Oral Presentation

1. Online presentation on the topic “Assessment of the malaria situation and the role of Anopheles species in its transmission in selected international border areas adjoining the Districts of the North-Eastern States and the North-East corridor” on 28th March 2024 as a Resource Person in a 3-day Training on Malaria for Medical Officers, organized by the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme, Mizoram
2. Identification techniques of Malaria Parasites and Vectors and Parasitological, Entomological and Epidemiological studies in a high malaria-endemic area of North East India,  Workshop, Dept of Physiology, Tripura University, 23rd March, 2024
3. “Parasitological, Entomological and Epidemiological studies in a high malaria-endemic area of Tripura”, Regional Review Workshop, National Vector Borne Disease Program, Agartala, Tripura, 14-16th March, 2024
4. Presented Mobile app- FeverTracker for Health Workers and MosquiTracker in ICMR RMRC Dibrugarh  booth at  Marketplace of North Eastern States Stakeholders Brainstorming Meet to Tackle Health Research Gaps'  at Shillong, Meghalaya, organised by ICMR-RMRCNE, Dibrugarh, Dated 22nd February 2024.
5. “Parasitological, Entomological and Epidemiological studies in a high malaria-endemic area of Tripura”, NDMC Workshop , IIT Bombay, 29th November, 2023
6. Presented Mobile app- FeverTracker for Health Workers in ICMR booth at G20 Health Ministers’ Summit, Gandhinagar , 16-18th Aug, 2023
7. “Healthy Village : Experiences from the Malaria and other Vector Borne Disease surveys in Rural Tripura”, State-Level Training on Healthy Village, Dept of Panchayat, Tripura, 21st November, 2023
8. “Parasitological, Entomological and Epidemiological studies in a high malaria-endemic area of Tripura and other NE India sites”, 16.10.2023, Scientific Advisory Group Meeting , NIH-ICEMR (National Institute of Health -International Centre for Excellence in Malaria Research), Chicago, 16th October, 2023
9. “Fever Tracker for Health Workers : Development and deployment of a pictorial local language based  mHealth Technology Platform : for strengthening  real time fever surveillance from remote grass-root level” at ICMR Summit, Delhi, India- 23rd June, 2023
10. “Community studies related to vector-borne diseases in North-Eastern India'' at ‘National Workshop on "Qualitative Methods in Health Research" by Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine in collaboration with World Health Organization, India at Dehradun, India, 30-31st March, 2023
11. “Parasitological, Entomological and Epidemiological studies in a high malaria-endemic area of Dhalai District, Tripura: A Study of Targeted and Tailor-made Intervention cocktail for accelerated malaria control in Jhum (shifting) cultivators Tribal Communities” , 23rd  -24th September, Tropacon 2022,Kolkata
12. “A Study of Targeted and Tailor-made Intervention cocktail for accelerated malaria control in Jhum (shifting) cultivators Tribal Communities of Dhalai, Tripura State, India, at the symposium on 'Malaria prevention and control in mobile and hard to reach populations' at Paramaribo, Suriname, 6-8th April, 2022
13. “Development and deployment of a pictorial local language based mHealth app for strengthening and streamlining real time malaria surveillance from grassroot level  “  at Health Research Conclave, India  International Science Festival 2020
14. "Tailor-made and Targeted Additional Interventions for Accelerated Malaria Control in Hot Foci areas of North East India" at Health Research Conclave, IISF , Kolkata , 7-8 Nov, 2019.
15. "Tailor-made and Targeted Additional Interventions for Accelerated Malaria Control in Hot Foci areas of North East India"   at   "30th National Congress of Parasitology & Global Summit on Malaria Elimination” September 26-28, 2019, JNU, India
16. " Studies on malaria in different tribal dominated regions of North East India” National Consultation on Tribal Health Research " at DMRC, Jodhpur on 9th Aug titled " Studies on Malaria in Different Tribal Dominated Regions of North East India”
17. “ Plasmodium enolase : A study in its structural , biochemical characterization and moonlighting functions”  at Tropacon ,2014 , RMRC-NE ICMR Dibrugarh

Projects

Ongoing Projects

Completed Projects

Staff