Assistant Professor, Shoolini University, India
Dr. Tarun Pal is an Assistant Professor at the School of Bioengineering and Food Technology, Shoolini University, Himachal Pradesh, India. A dedicated researcher in computational biology, he has built a strong academic and professional portfolio through diverse roles in academia, research, and industry. Dr. Pal completed his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics from Jaypee University of Information Technology, focusing on disease resistance gene prediction and secondary metabolism in plants. His postdoctoral research at Ben-Gurion University, Israel, advanced his expertise in next-generation sequencing, metagenomics, and big data analytics. With a multidisciplinary approach, he integrates machine learning, molecular docking, and genomic data mining to solve complex biological problems. His cumulative impact factor exceeds 90, and he has experience across teaching, research, and technical industries. Driven by curiosity and innovation, Dr. Pal continues to contribute meaningfully to bioinformatics through impactful publications and applied research.
Professional Profile
Education
Dr. Tarun Pal pursued a progressive academic path in bioinformatics. He earned his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics (2012–2017) from Jaypee University of Information Technology, Solan, India, where his thesis focused on computational tools for predicting disease resistance genes and analyzing NGS data in plant secondary metabolism, under the supervision of Prof. Rajinder S. Chauhan. Prior to that, he completed his B.Tech in Bioinformatics (2007–2011) from the same institution, during which he developed a microbial data warehouse system named “DEVOR” under Dr. Dipankar Sengupta. To further enhance his expertise, he undertook a prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowship (October 2021 – February 2023) at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. There, he gained experience in environmental genomics, big data analysis, and metagenomics, adding international research depth to his academic background. His educational foundation is characterized by strong interdisciplinary focus and computational innovation.
Professional and Administrative Experience
Dr. Tarun Pal brings over a decade of experience in bioinformatics across academia, research, and industry. He currently serves as Assistant Professor at Shoolini University (since August 2024). Previously, he held an academic position at Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology, and Research (2019–2021), and worked as a Research Associate at ICAR-NRCPB, New Delhi, on the tea genome project. His industry experience includes working as a Pharmacovigilance Scientist at Parexel and as an Associate Software Engineer at Accenture, where he focused on Java-J2EE technologies. He was also a Senior Research Fellow (2012–2015) on a DBT-funded project during his Ph.D., which included 5.3 years of teaching assistantship. Throughout his roles, Dr. Pal has taught and developed practical modules on NGS, biological databases, and programming for bioinformatics. His professional journey reflects a rare blend of hands-on lab expertise, computational skill, and academic mentorship.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Tarun Pal has received several recognitions throughout his academic and research career. Notably, he was awarded a competitive Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, from 2021 to 2023, reflecting his expertise in environmental bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing. During his Ph.D., he received the prestigious Senior Research Fellowship from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, under the Center of Excellence scheme—highlighting his contributions to predictive bioinformatics and gene annotation. His work has been published in reputed journals, with a cumulative impact factor of over 90, underscoring the quality and impact of his research. Dr. Pal’s interdisciplinary contributions have been acknowledged in both academic and industry settings, earning him a reputation for excellence in computational life sciences, data mining, and systems biology. His consistent scholarly productivity and research grants mark his growing influence in bioinformatics.
Research Focus
Dr. Tarun Pal’s research focuses on the computational dissection of complex biological systems using bioinformatics and big data technologies. His work spans plant and microbial bioinformatics, metagenomics, next-generation sequencing, and machine learning. He is particularly interested in comparative transcriptomics and genomics, computational mining of biological datasets, and functional gene annotation. His doctoral work centered on predicting plant disease resistance genes and secondary metabolite pathways using NGS data. During his postdoctoral research in Israel, he applied advanced metagenomic techniques to environmental microbiomes and water resource systems. He integrates Hadoop-based big data pipelines, parallel programming, and molecular docking tools to build efficient, scalable solutions for biological discovery. His interdisciplinary research bridges systems biology and informatics, contributing to agriculture, healthcare, and environmental science. Through database development and computational pipelines, Dr. Pal aims to provide actionable insights from large-scale genomic and transcriptomic data for sustainable development and precision biology.
📚 Publication Top Notes
Current scenario and future prospects of endophytic microbes: promising candidates for abiotic and biotic stress management for agricultural and environmental sustainability
Journal: Microbial Ecology, Volume 86, Issue 3, Pages 1455–1486 (2023)
Authors: U. Anand, T. Pal, N. Yadav, V.K. Singh, V. Tripathi, K.K. Choudhary, A.K. Shukla, et al.
Summary:
This comprehensive review discusses the role of endophytic microbes in improving plant resilience against abiotic (drought, salinity, heavy metals) and biotic (pathogen) stresses. The paper highlights their potential in sustainable agriculture by enhancing crop productivity, reducing chemical inputs, and aiding environmental detoxification through plant-microbe interactions.
A review on current advances in machine learning based diabetes prediction
Journal: Primary Care Diabetes, Volume 15, Issue 2 (2021)
Authors: Varun Jaiswal, Anjli Negi, Tarun Pal
Summary:
This review consolidates advancements in the application of machine learning techniques for early and accurate diabetes prediction. It evaluates algorithms like SVM, decision trees, and neural networks and emphasizes the need for explainability, data integration, and robust validation for clinical applicability.
Mining NGS transcriptomes for miRNAs and dissecting their role in regulating growth, development, and secondary metabolites production in different organs of a medicinal herb (Withania somnifera)
Journal: Planta, Volume 241, Pages 1255–1268 (2015)
Authors: I. Vashisht, P. Mishra, T. Pal, S. Chanumolu, T.R. Singh, R.S. Chauhan
Summary:
This study investigates the role of miRNAs in Withania somnifera using NGS-based transcriptome data. It identifies key miRNAs that regulate growth, organ development, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis, offering insights into gene regulation in medicinal plants.
DRPPP: A machine learning based tool for prediction of disease resistance proteins in plants
Journal: Computers in Biology and Medicine, Volume 78, Pages 42–48 (2016)
Authors: T. Pal, V. Jaiswal, R.S. Chauhan
Summary:
The paper presents DRPPP, a computational tool using machine learning to predict disease resistance proteins in plants based on domain architecture and amino acid features. It aids crop improvement by identifying resistance genes for breeding programs.
.Expression analysis of biosynthetic pathway genes vis-à-vis podophyllotoxin content in Podophyllum hexandrum Royle
Journal: Protoplasma, Volume 252, Pages 1253–1262 (2015)
Authors: P. Kumar, T. Pal, N. Sharma, V. Kumar, H. Sood, R.S. Chauhan
Summary:
This study correlates the expression levels of key genes involved in podophyllotoxin biosynthesis with the compound’s content in P. hexandrum. The findings support metabolic engineering strategies for enhancing therapeutic lignan production.
Conclusion
Dr. Tarun Pal exemplifies the ideal blend of academic excellence, research innovation, and interdisciplinary expertise in computational biology and bioinformatics. His educational trajectory, from a B.Tech to a Ph.D. and an international postdoctoral fellowship, showcases a consistent commitment to advancing scientific knowledge. With hands-on experience in both academic and industrial environments, he has successfully contributed to cutting-edge projects, such as genome decoding, NGS data analysis, and the development of bioinformatics tools. His research has been widely recognized, with publications in high-impact journals and involvement in prestigious research initiatives supported by DBT and global institutes like Ben-Gurion University. Currently serving as an Assistant Professor at Shoolini University, Dr. Pal continues to mentor students, conduct impactful research, and push the boundaries of computational life sciences. His contributions make him a valuable asset to the academic and scientific community, and he holds significant promise for future advancements in bioinformatics and biotechnology.