Jitendra Narayan Email & Phone Number

Noida, Up, In

Namur, Walloon Region, Belgium

I completed my first postdoctoral fellowship in bioinformatics at the University of Namur in Belgium, where I was mentored by Dr. Karine VAN DONINCK. My study in Karine's Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics and Ecology (LEGE) focused on Bdelloid rotifers, which are known for their amazing stress tolerance under a variety of conditions such as increased radiation, desiccation, and freezing.The discovery of Bdelloid rotifers' ability to tolerate high radiation doses has significant implications for understanding the mechanisms underpinning genome repair and adaption to harsh environments. In order to better understand these occurrences in Adineta vaga, I (we) assembled the genome at the chromosomal level using data from Illumina, PacBio, Nanopore, and Hi-C technologies. Overcoming hurdles posed by A. vaga's strong heterozygosity, we developed unique tools and workflows for chromosome-scale phased genome assembly.Concurrently, I contributed to the creation of tools for investigating horizontal gene transfer and implementing contaminant filtering in the genome assembly workflow. These resources are available to the public via my GitHub repository, https://github.com/jnarayan81. My three-year stay at the LEGE lab gave me an unequalled opportunity to hone my talents as a researcher, instructor, programmer, and mentor.