Teerna Saugata Khastgir, MSc

PhD student

phone:+43-1-4277-540 40

room: 232

e-mail

Biographical information

since October 2021: PhD. student, University of Vienna and Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics, Austria.

Working title: The sources of variation fueling adaptive radiation after long-distance dispersal to a biodiversity hotspot.
Supervisors: Ovidiu Paun, Magnus Nordborg, Rui Borges

2016-2021: Integrated MSc. in Systems Biology, University of Hyderabad, India.

Thesis: Modelling and analysis of neuroendocrine regulation of blood pressure: e ffect of chronic stress on hypertension

The past has always intrigued me. It started out with an affinity for History and as my education progressed, spread out to other fields like Archaeology, Linguistics, and Evolutionary Biology. The latter ultimately became my field of choice as I had in the meantime, independently developed a keen interest for Biology too. My integrated Masters in Systems Biology provided me with a broad base in Biology and introduced me to the cusp where it meets the other natural sciences.

During my PhD at the University of Vienna, as a member of the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics, I am investigating the drivers of an adaptive radiation of persimmons on New Caledonia, a biodiversity hotspot. The species in this radiation occupy distinct niches, in particular with regard to differing edaphic and weather conditions. It is fascinating that a small founder population has given rise to such rich diversity over a comparatively short period of time. I intend to look into this very aspect with special focus on testing the hypothesis that adaptive genome evolution can be a by-product of structural variation and transposable element dynamics.



Conference contributions

Khastgir TS, Emelianova K, Groot Crego C, Leroy T, Bruy D, Munzinger J, Paun O. 2023. The drivers of the adaptive radiation of persimmons on New Caledonia, a biodiversity hotspot. SMBE 2023, Ferrara, Italy, 22-27 July 2023 [poster].

Khastgir TS, Emelianova K, Groot Crego C, Leroy T, Bruy D, Munzinger J, Paun O. 2022. The drivers of the adaptive radiation of persimmons on New Caledonia, a biodiversity hotspot. 24th Young Systematists' Forum, NHM London (online), 11 Nov 2022 [oral].

Khastgir TS, Yardeni G, Groot Crego C, Barfuss M, Leroy T, Paun O. 2022. Pervasive hybridization and adaptive radiation. 20th Meeting of the Austrian Botanists, Salzburg, Austria, 22-25 Sep 2022 [oral].

Khastgir TS et al. 2022. The drivers of the adaptive radiation of persimmons on New Caledonia, a biodiversity hotspot. EMPSEB27, Espoo, Finland, 22-27 May 2022 [oral].