Describe your background
I completed my Bachelor's with a major in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Materials Science from BITS Hyderabad, India.
Describe your area of research and/or your area of specialty
During my MS at UCSD, my research focused on developing nucleic acid delivery strategies for cancer applications. Specifically, my thesis investigated the use of Potato virus X (PVX), a plant virus, as a nanocarrier for self-amplifying mRNA. This approach involved separating the PVX capsid from its native genome and enabling the capsid to reassemble around self-amplifying mRNA encoding a gene of interest, with potential applications in antigen expression for vaccines or as an immunotherapy platform.
Describe your involvement within the department and UC San Diego (were/are you involved in student orgs, recreation, certificate programs, internships, etc. outside of curricular requirements?)
I was involved in multiple outreach events conducted by BEGS, where I volunteered for the EXPO Day Festival at Snapdragon stadium and also was involved in teaching multiple STEM concepts to high school students. Additionally, I was part of an elementary science outreach program outside the department which helped promote next generation science standards to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at Lafayette Elementary. During my second summer, I did an internship with Eli Lilly, San Diego where I contributed to cell based assay development and optimization as part of the high throughput screening automation team.
What has been your favorite part about your graduate experience in the program?
The cohort, the flexibility to conduct any kind of research, and graduate events.
Any thoughts or advice you'd like to share with prospective graduate students?
1) Be confident in your achievements, no matter how small.
2) Show up for any and all events that are relevant to your intended career trajectory, you never know what might work out. The self-belief and confidence mindset will allow you to put yourself out there, helping you increase your visibility and attract more opportunities.
If you are an Alumni from our program, what is your current role, or what are your career prospects and plans for the future?
I will be joining Eli Lilly as a full-time employee in Jan 2026 as a Sr. Scientist.