Office Address: 60 College Street, New Haven, CT-06520

Professional Experience

Yale University May 2017 - Present
Postdoctoral Associate

  • Implemented data science methods like Regression, Monte Carlo simulations and Market Basket analysis to a dataset of 37,000 clinical isolates, and identified novel patterns of serotype replacement in Streptococcus pneumoniae.
  • NGS analysis of microbial cultures isolates to assess genomic variants and identify genes that regulate polysaccharide capsule composition and structure.
  • Built shiny apps and generated R markdown documents to communicate research findings to the group and collaborators.

University of Kentucky Aug 2011 – May 2017
PhD (GPA: 3.7/4.0)

  • Thesis Project: Applied statistical methods like multiple regression, principal component analysis, outlier analysis to identify novel candidate genes affecting sleep. Performed Bayesian imputation in a dataset with more than 34 million observations collected from nearly 10 thousand mice, and implemented decision tree and random forest algorithms to identify key predictors of sleep behavior.

  • Business: Worked with team at Signal solutions LLC to optimize piezoelectric sleep wake monitoring system for mice. Provided troubleshooting and experimental design support to labs using the technology, and provided inputs in algorithm development. Presented the technology and novel findings at international meetings and conferences.

  • Consulting: Conducted literature survey, provided inputs on study design, and performed data analysis for a human study conducted to assess the new air conditioning product at Big Ass Solutions LLC.

  • Project Management: Conducted a study to assess the effect of meditation on performance. Authored successful grant application and IRB protocol to collect performance and EEG measures from subjects. Recruited 30 subjects and mentored and supervised 3 undergraduate students as part of the project.

  • Teaching: Conducted practical lab courses in physiology, evolution, scientific research, and introductory biology for more than 400 students thus far composed of biology majors and non-majors.

  • Relevant Coursework: Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, Genomics, Programming, Correlation and Regression, Statistical Genetics, Multivariate Methods, Biometry, Machine Learning, Medical Informatics

Advanced Center for Treatment, Education & Research in Cancer (ACTREC) Sep 2009 – Jan 2011
Research Assistant

  • Performed immunohistochemistry on patient tumor samples and collected expression data for cytokeratin protein biomarkers.
  • Conducted survival and sensitivity analyses to assess the prognostic value and their role as prognostic markers in human oral pre-cancer and cancer.

HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. Aug 2008 – Aug 2009
Cell Culture Analyst

  • Tested cell culture media for plating efficiency and helped to develop and test skin culture media.

Education
PhD Biology, University of Kentucky, USA May, 2017
MSc Bioinformatics, Nottingham Trent University, UK June, 2008
BSc Microbiology, Barkatullah University, India June, 2006

Skills
Software: Microsoft Office, JMP, SPSS, and Endnote
Programming: Proficient in R (dplyr, tidyr, shiny, plotly, ggplot), Python, Perl and Matlab
Bioinformatics: BLAST, ClustalW, Ensembl, NCBI, MGI, OMIM, GO, UCSC Genome, IGV etc.

Awards

  • Ribble Mini Grant Competition (2014, 2016), University of Kentucky
  • JAX Scholarship for Systems Genetics training, The Jackson Laboratory
  • HHMI Scholarship for Microbiome Analysis Workshop, The Jackson Laboratory
  • International Student Ambassador, Nottingham Trent University

Certifications

  • Graduate Certificate in Applied Statistics (GCAS), University of Kentucky
  • Systems Genetics, The Jackson Laboratory
  • Microbial Community Analysis, The Jackson Laboratory
  • Linux Essentials and System Administration (RH033, RH133), Red Hat Inc.