PhD Program
- About
- Details of PhD Mentors
- PhD Admissions
- PhD Students
Guided by expert faculty, a rigorous course work and a host of innovative academic programs, SJRI's PhD program is designed to provide rigorous training, ample resources, and a supportive environment for aspiring. The program offers a wide range of research areas, including biostatistics, epidemiology, mental health, medical technology, cancer biology and nutrition. This diversity allows students to pursue their specific interests. SJRI is currently recognized as a Research Centre for the doctoral program by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).
Enrolled candidates will be guided by supervisors registered as guides under MAHE. While students will have to conform to the rules and regulations of MAHE, SJRI aims to ensure the highest quality and uniformity in academic standards for all admitted students. To fulfill this aim, students pursuing their doctoral program at SJRI need to follow the Institute’s guidelines.
Interested students can view the prospectus HERE.
Students with UGC-CSIR-NET JRF, ICMR-JRF, or DBT-JRF (Category 1) fellowships, which provide a stipend for five years, are eligible to apply throughout the year. Admissions for JRF candidates depend on the availability of positions with faculty, with interviews conducted periodically. Admissions for Non-JRF candidates are conducted once annually, between March and July.
Dr. Rebecca Kuriyan Raj
Professor and Head, Division of Nutrition, St. John’s Research Institute ; Professor, Department of Physiology, St. John’s Medical College ; Head, Clinical Nutrition Service, St. John’s Medical College Hospital
Know More
Dr. Anura V Kurpad
Professor & Former Head Founding Dean, St. John's Research Institute, Division of Nutrition
Know More
Calendar of events
| S.I. No | Date & Day | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 Apr, 2026 | Prospectus and online application available on SJRI website |
| 2 | 14 May, 2026 | Last date for submitting online application |
| 3 | 15 May, 2026 | Notification for shortlisted candidates for Entrance Exam : 15th - 20th May 2026 |
| 4 | 25 May, 2026 | Entrance exam (Syllabus) : 25th-30th May 2026 (Monday-Saturday) |
| 5 | 01 Jun, 2026 | Notification of qualified candidates for interview: 1st-4th June 2026 (Monday-Thursday) |
| 6 | 08 Jun, 2026 | Interview: 8th-16th June 2026 (Monday-Tuesday) |
| 7 | 17 Jun, 2026 | Announcement of selected candidates on website: 17th-20th June 2026 (Wednesday-Saturday) |
| 8 | 01 Jul, 2026 | Joining the doctoral program and fee payment: |
Details of Available PhD Seats
| Division/Subject Area | Name of the guide | Research area and details | Number of students who have qualified for junior research fellowship with stipend (UGC-CSIR NET/DBT/ICMR) or equivalent | Number of students without fellowship | Total number of proposed students (Fellowship+ Non fellowship) | Eligibility (Qualifying degree) restrictions if any due to nature of proposed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrition | Dr.Arpita Mukhopadhy ay | Molecular Physiology. Metabolic disorders, Nutrition | 2 | 0 | 2 | Masters in Life sciences/Nutrition and allied subjects |
| Dr. Pratibha Dwarkanath | Maternal and child nutrition, Public Health | 1 | 0 | 1 | Masters in food & nutrition, Food Science & Technology, Public Health, Life Sciences | |
| Dr. Ambily Sivadas | Population Genomics, Rare disease genomics, Integrated Omics | 0 | 2 | 2 | Masters in bioinformatics/Statistics | |
| Molecular Medicine | Dr. Jyothi S Prabhu | Molecular Oncology, Digital Oncology | 1 | 1 | 2 | Post graduation in any branch of Life sciences |
| Molecular Biology & Genetics | Dr. Sweta Srivastava | Cancer Biology (Role of Rho GTPases in cancer) | 0 | 1 | 1 | MSc (Life Sciences) or M. Pharm or A 4-year/8-semester Bachelor's degree program with an aggregate of 75% or an equivalent grade |
| Biostatistics | Dr.Sumithra Selvam | Longitudinal data analysis - Latent growth mixture modelling | 1 | 0 | 1 | Masters in Biostatistics/Statistics |
| Health and Humanities | Dr.Manjulika Vaz | Health Humanities, Research Ethics and Public engagement | 1 | 0 | 1 | Any master's degree with some interest or involvement in health humanities, bioethics, and public engagement. |
| Total PhD available seats | 10 | |||||
| Student Name | Research Domain |
| Zeeshan Shamshuddin | Nutrition |
| Dr. Rani Joseph | Mental Health and Neurosciences |
| Shashank KM | Mental Health and Neurosciences |
| Debjani Gupta | Nutrition-Human Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Mother and Child Nutrition |
| Namratha TS | Nutrition-Human Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Mother and Child Nutrition |
| Aditi Yadav | Nutrition - Molecular Physiology |
| Kripa Maria Rasquinha | Biostatistics - Quantitative Methods in Nutrition |
| Ashikh Ahamed | Biostatistics - Quantitative Methods in Nutrition |
| Aaminah Kausar | Nutrition - Public Health Nutrition |
| Samreen Sharieff | Nutrition - Public Health Nutrition |
| Beena Bose | Clinical Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Mother and Child Nutrition |
| Greeshma Ramalingaiah Mulakate | Clinical Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Mother and Child Nutrition |
| Chandrika Verma | Molecular Medicine (Cancer Biology) |
| Ria Popli | Health and Humanities |
| Sowmya HR | Mental Health and Neurosciences |
| Shreyasi Das | Mental Health and Neurosciences |
| Aswathi Saji | Biostatistics - Survey Data Analysis and Multilevel Modelling |
| Rajesh Majumder | Biostatistics - Quantitative Methods for Public Health Nutrition |
| Gowri Bhatnagar | Clinical Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Mother and Child Nutrition |
| Sharon Eveline J | Molecular Biology and Genetics |
| Apoorva D | Molecular Medicine (Cancer, Biological Pathways, Cell Biology) |
| Chandrakala M | Molecular Medicine (Cancer, Biological Pathways, Cell Biology) |
| Meghna Achar | Mental Health and Neurosciences |
| Nischitha R Rao | Mental Health and Neurosciences |
| Mariyam Farooqui | Nutrition |
| Esha Bhuiya | Molecular Physiology, Nutrition |
| Chaitra Anand Kilpady | Nutrition - Infant Growth and Development |
| Akshatha A Kamath | Nutrition - Human Nutrition |
| Guruprasad PN | Nutrition-Human Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Mother and Child Nutrition |
| Zoha Sadaqat | Molecular Medicine |
| Nikhil C Nadiger | Nutrition |
| Nandini Chopra | Nutrition |
| Snijesh VP | Molecular Medicine |
| Chandni Halcyon Peris | Nutrition |
| Deepa P | Nutrition |
| Shruthi Pai | Nutrition |
| Sindhu Kashyap | Nutrition |
| Dr. Nirupama S | Nutrition |
| Smitha Joseph | Biostatistics |
| Franciosalgeo G | Biostatistics |
| John Michael Raj A | Biostatistics |
| Ramya DP | Food Science and Nutrition |
| Rohini Bhadra | Physiology |
| Shinjini Bhattacharya | Physiology |