Core Team

DIRECTOR

Dr. Jayashree Ratnam currently serves as Director of the Wildlife Biology and Conservation Program at the National Centre for Biological Sciences. She was Associate Director from 2014 to 2020. Following a PhD from Syracuse University, USA, she worked as a research scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Labs at Colorado State University, USA, and as a Facilitator for the Earth and Biosphere Institute, University of Leeds. She is a community and ecosystems ecologist with interests in tropical terrestrial systems. Her current research focuses on the biophysical and anthropogenic drivers of tropical savanna and rangeland structure and function, forest-savanna transition zones, and long-term tree dynamics in tropical forest communities. She is also interested in curriculum and program development at the graduate level. She teaches Basic Ecology, Plant Animal Interactions, and a seminar-style readings course in Classical Papers in Ecology and Conservation Biology.

ACADEMIC FELLOW

Dr. Vivek Ramachandran is an Academic Fellow at the Wildlife Biology and Conservation Program, National Centre for Biological Sciences. He has a PhD from ATREE, Manipal University in Conservation Sciences. Following which he was a Post-doctoral scientist at NCBS. He has worked in various research and conservation organisations such as SACON, CWS, and ATREE and recently was the scientist-in-charge and curator at the NCBS Museum - Research Collections and Field Stations facility. His interests are in the ecology and distribution of lesser-known taxa especially, small mammals and endangered species research and conservation. He teaches Vertebrate Ecology and leads the field components of the program.

DIRECTOR EMERITUS

Dr. Ajith Kumar was Director of the Wildlife Biology and Conservation Program from its inception till 2020. He has a PhD from Cambridge University on the ecology of the Lion-tailed Macaque, and was a faculty at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore. His research interests include  the ecology of primates and small mammals in the Western Ghats and Himalaya. He has mentored several students of the MSc course on research topics ranging from primate food choice to the effects of human disturbance on small carnivores. An enthusiastic field biologist, he still accompanies students on field trips.