From:
Delhi, India
Education:
Ph.D. Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, UC Davis
M.S. Biotechnology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
B.S. Microbiology, Delhi University, India
Hobbies:
I love spending time with my friends and family. I like to go to beach during summer and to snow during winters. And sometimes I just enjoy spending time relaxing and watching Netflix😊.
Research Interests:
Hailing from India, I came to United States for pursuing a Master's Degree in Biotechnology at Georgetown University, Washington DC. Thereafter, I worked as a research technician for 5 years before joining PhD program at UC Davis Graduate School. My previous work focused on exploring the structure and function of ion channels. I have received extensive training and experience in electrophysiology, molecular biology, Immunohistochemistry, live imaging and microscopy.
My research interests and current focus encompasses the merging of several disciplines, including physiology, medicine, developmental biology, neuroscience, biochemistry and molecular biology all converging into my goal of elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying one of the most common and serious birth defects known as neural tube defects (NTDs).
As a graduate student in Dr. Borodinsky's lab, I decided to work on investigating the mechanisms by which antiepileptic drugs affect neural tube formation during pregnancy by identifying the role of neurotransmitter signaling during neurulation. My thesis findings demonstrate that glutamate signaling is present in the folding neural plate and is necessary for neural tube formation. Downregulating glutamate signaling directly or by incubating Xenopus laevis embryos with the antiepileptic drug valproic acid causes NTDs.
My discoveries during my PhD open up a great opportunity to develop a project with potentially paradigm-shifting implications. Hence, I decided to continue my training in Dr. Borodinsky's lab as a postdoctoral scholar to investigate the molecular mechanisms of glutamate release and identifying the downstream targets of glutamate signaling during the early stages of nervous system development when there are no synapses.
The results from this research will help us understand the mechanisms regulating the folding of the neural plate and closure of the neural tube to prevent and treat neural tube defects.