Research
I am a molecular microbiologist by training. I obtained my Master's degree in Biotechnology from Bharathidasan University, India (2006-2008). Followed which, I had a short project assistant term at National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR), India, where I isolated, purified and maintained stocks of microorganisms from various environmental samples as a part of a long term project “Screening of bioactive molecules from environmental samples”. I was awarded the Biotech Consortium India Limited Fellowship by DBT Biotech Industrial Training Program and placed as Junior Bioinformatician at Metaome Science Informatics, Bangalore (2009-2010). Later I availed a DST INSPIRE Fellowship for pursuing a doctoral degree, through which I joined Dr. Aswin Sai Narain Seshasayee’s lab at National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru. During my Ph.D., I examined the role of horizontally acquired genes and characterized the role of an essential prophage gene called racR from the cryptic rac prophage, in the model organism Escherichia coli K12 MG1655. I was able to show that the essentiality of this gene is attributed to its repressing role of adjacent toxins in the same prophage named ydaS and ydaT.
This created a lot of curiosity in me to understand the basic biology of bacteriophages. Bacteriophages are seen from the bathypelagic zone of the ocean until the GI tract of humans, making them certainly the most abundant and diverse biological entities of our planet. At present, I am investigating the role of bacteriophages in one of the clinically significant Liverpool Epidemic Strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa abundant of Cystic Fibrosis patients in the University of Liverpool. Phages are an attractive and promising option available to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR), however the same could provide competitive advantage to their host as lysogens acting as a double edged sword.