Nishant Kumar

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  • India Alliance Fellow, National Centre for Biological Science, Bangalore & Department of Biology, University of Oxford

I am Nishant Kumar, a Field Biologist exploring how humans and animals co-exist in shared spaces. Specifically, I investigate the evolving dynamics of human-animal relationships in tropical parts of the world, with a focus on the impacts of both accidental and intentional feeding of wild animals (from food waste and ritualistic practices). I look at animals like street dogs, kites and monkeys that come into conflict or contact with humans and how that increases the risk of disease transmission across species.

I am a DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Fellow (2023 – 2027), hosted at the the National Centre for Biological Science, TIFR, in Bengaluru, India.
The Department of Biology, University of Oxford, is my overseas host.

Throughout my studies as part of Delhi University and the Wildlife Institute of India, I observed how human activities can affect the relationship between people and nature; I studied multiple life forms, from insects to higher vertebrates, with a particular focus on black kites (a species of opportunistic avian predators). I continued this research during my DPhil at Oxford between 2014 -2019. Funding (called a seed grant) from the India Oxford Initiative (2019 – 22) helped to expand my research and led to the development of an organisation called THINKPAWS. Through THINKPAWS, my research now includes dogs, rhesus macaques (a species of monkey), livestock, and poultry.

Experience

  • 2023–present
    DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Fellow; Co-founder and Chief Scientist: Thinkpaws Foundation, Delhi , National Centre for Biological Sciences (TIFR) Bangalore, India (Fellowship Host). Department of Biology, University of Oxford (Overseas Host)
  • 2023–2025
    Assistant Professor, Dr B R Ambedkar University Delhi
  • 2023–2023
    DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Fellow, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun

Education

  • 2019 
    University of Oxford, D.Phil. in Zoology
  • 2013 
    Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, M.Sc. in Wildlife Science
  • 2011 
    University of Delhi (Sri Venkateswara College), B.Sc. Honours (Zoology)

Grants and Contracts

  • 2023
    DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Fellow
    Role:
    Principal Investigator
    Funding Source:
    DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance

Professional Memberships

  • British Ornithologists Union
  • British Ecological Society

Contact Nishant for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision