I am a microbial-molecular biologist, biotechnologist and natural product investigator with a research background in terpene cyclase enzyme and terpene biosynthesis from Actinobacteria. During my time in the lab, I’ve enjoyed applying my diverse technical skillset to research problems and implementing new methods in investigating the production of secondary metabolites or natural products from a recent genome sequenced Actinobacteria Stackebrandtia nassauensis DSM 44728. I had performed bioinformatics investigation for the terpene synthase gene, based on homology search in S. nassauensis followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based molecular cloning, protein overexpression, immobilised metal ion chromatographic (IMAC) purification using fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) based identification of the terpene metabolites.

I am skilled in microbial bioinformatics, molecular cloning, protein overexpression, protein purification and characterisation, along with several biochemical techniques. I have completed the National Institute of Health's computed-based certified training course on laboratory safety and strictly follow the guidelines of laboratory safety protocols.

Besides the above experiences, I had worked on plant histone deacetylase (HDAC) sirtuin 2 (SRT2) and its role in plant stress physiology during my post-graduate dissertation training at National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi. During this study, I had cloned HDAC gene in RNAi vector (pHannibal) and transformed Arabidopsis thaliana by Agrobacterium mediated floral-dip method and studied in detail about the role of sirtuin.

During my graduate summer research program, I had isolated and purified a serine protease, nattokinase enzyme from Bacillus subtilis and studied its blood-clot dissolving ability.

Currently, I am working as a PostDoc Research Associate in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Virgina specializing in electrophysiology. My research is centered on the SCN8A gene mutation and it's role in the  pathophysiology of epilepsy and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. My training encompasses extensive electrophysiology and molecular techniques, with a strong commitment to advancing our understanding of neurological disorders at the molecular level.

 Education

• Ph.D. in Biochemistry (Thesis submitted)

Department of Biochemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.

• M.Sc in Industrial Microbiology, 2012

School of Life Sciences, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.

• B.Sc in Biotechnology, 2010

Department of Biotechnology, St. Xavier's College, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.

 Reviewer with Journals

• PLOS One

• Current Genetics

• Medicinal Research Reviews

• Food Safety and Health

• Letters in Applied NanoBioscience

• The Applied Biology & Chemistry Journal

• Syncytia