28 September 2026 (Navroze Bureau) More than two decades after securing All India Rank 1 in the IIT-JEE in 2000, Nitin Gupta has taken an unusual academic journey—from computer science at IIT Kanpur to bioinformatics and neuroscience in the United States, and eventually back to the same institute as a researcher studying the brains of mosquitoes.
Gupta completed his B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 2004 before moving to the University of California, San Diego, where he pursued a PhD in bioinformatics and systems biology. He later worked at the US National Institutes of Health before returning to IIT Kanpur in 2014.
From IIT-JEE Topper to Computer Science Graduate
Gupta entered IIT Kanpur in 2000 after topping the IIT-JEE.
Although his undergraduate degree was in computer science, his interests gradually moved towards biology and research. After completing his B.Tech in 2004, he chose an academic path rather than following a conventional technology-industry career.
His shift eventually took him into bioinformatics, a field that combines computing, biology and data analysis.
PhD at University of California, San Diego
Gupta joined the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) for a PhD in bioinformatics and systems biology, completing the programme in 2009.
His doctoral research focused on computational and comparative proteogenomics, bringing together computational techniques and biological data.
After completing his PhD, Gupta spent time in a cognitive neuroscience laboratory at UCSD before moving to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a postdoctoral researcher, where he trained in electrophysiology—the study of electrical activity in neurons.
Returning to IIT Kanpur
In 2014, Gupta returned to India and joined IIT Kanpur’s Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering.
The move represented a major change in his career. He had left IIT Kanpur as a computer science student but returned as a researcher working in neuroscience.
Gupta has described research as offering greater freedom than an industry career. He has also spoken about wanting to contribute to India, with the film Swades reportedly influencing his decision to return.
Why Is He Studying Mosquito Brains?
Gupta’s laboratory studies how neural circuits process sensory information and convert it into behaviour.
His research focuses particularly on the insect olfactory system—the neural machinery involved in detecting and processing smells.
Mosquitoes are among the laboratory’s important model organisms. Researchers study how mosquito neurons respond to odours, including smells associated with humans and substances that repel mosquitoes.
The Science Behind the Research
The research asks a fundamental neuroscience question: how does a nervous system decide what is attractive and what should be avoided?
A mosquito’s ability to locate a human host involves detecting complex combinations of chemical signals. Gupta’s team examines the neural activity underlying these responses.
The laboratory uses techniques including in-vivo electrophysiology, histology, behavioural experiments, genetic manipulation and computational modelling to study these neural circuits.
Research on Mosquito Olfaction
One of Gupta’s research areas involves the antennal lobe, a brain region involved in processing smell information in insects.
A 2023 Nature Communications study involving Gupta examined how odours are represented by neurons in the antennal lobe of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The work investigated how combinations of neural activity can encode information about different odours rather than relying on a simple one-neuron-per-smell system.
Beyond Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are not the only organisms studied in Gupta’s laboratory.
The research group also uses grasshoppers and flies as model systems to understand how neural circuits process sensory information and generate behaviour.
The broader goal is to understand fundamental principles of how brains receive information from the environment and translate that information into appropriate actions.
His Work Also Extends to Mental Health
Gupta’s research interests are not limited to insects.
A part of his laboratory has also worked on digital interventions for mental health, including automated cognitive behavioural therapy tools designed to improve access to psychological support.
This work reflects the wider scope of Gupta’s interest in how nervous systems process information and influence behaviour.
Awards and Recognition
Gupta’s academic career has received recognition from several institutions.
His honours include the Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award, the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Fellowship, the Swaranjayanti Fellowship in Life Sciences, the C.N.R. Rao Faculty Award and the S. Ramchandran National Bioscience Award.
In 2025, IIT Kanpur also listed him as a recipient of the Joy Gill Chair professorship and an Excellence-in-Teaching Award.
A Career That Came Full Circle
Gupta’s journey is notable because it combines several seemingly different disciplines.
He began with computer science, moved into computational biology, trained in neuroscience and electrophysiology, and eventually returned to his undergraduate institution to study the neural circuits of insects.
The path illustrates how an academic career can evolve far beyond the discipline chosen at the beginning.
From Rank 1 to Mosquito Neuroscience
Nitin Gupta’s story is therefore not simply about an IIT-JEE topper becoming a professor.
It is about a researcher who moved from computer science to biology and neuroscience, spent years training in the United States, and ultimately returned to IIT Kanpur to investigate one of nature’s smallest but scientifically intriguing nervous systems.
Today, his laboratory’s work on mosquitoes, flies and grasshoppers is aimed at answering a much larger question: how does a brain transform sensory information into behaviour?