About
I was born and raised in Madurai, India, where I pursued my undergraduate degree in zoology from The American College. I received my master’s degree in nanoscience at the University of Madras in Chennai, India, where I studied crystal habits and structure of Z-DNA crystals with Gautham Namasivayam. I moved to the US to pursue a PhD in chemistry at New York University, working with Ned Seeman, where my research focused on two- and three-dimensional DNA crystals self-assembled from designed DNA motifs. I later moved to University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) for my postdoc with Ken Halvorsen, where I worked on developing a molecular assay for nucleic acid detection. After that, I spent two years working as a Senior Scientist at Confer Health, Inc., a start-up based in Boston. I'm currently a Senior Research Scientist at The RNA Institute at SUNY Albany with my own independent research laboratory. My guiding light for longevity in research is my motto that "science is fun". I love DNA, with an inclination towards the physical characteristics of the molecule. I like to write about current research in DNA nanotechnology, and am also keen on following the publishing circuit, journal characteristics and peer-review process. When I'm not doing science, I like to sing, write poetry, and watch movies, even the crappy ones.