I am a post-doctoral research associate at Caltech (Geobiology), where I work with Prof. Victoria Orphan. I am interested in exploring the fuctional, structural, and ecophysiological differences in the Earth's subsurface microbiome by employing electrochemical tools.

I thrive to constantly explore and understand the world around us. I started my research journey with Prof. R Vijaya at IIT Bombay studying photonic crystals as a part of my MS (Physics) thesis. During my Ph.D., I smoothly transitioned into the world of biophysics probing the fundamental aspects of biological charge transfer with Prof. Moh El-Naggar at USC. I deployed in-situ and ex-situ electrochemical reactors to colonize and enrich for subsurface microbes residing in extreme environment such as aquifers of Death Valley, CA, USA and boreholes of Sanford Underground Research Facility, SD, USA.

Currently, I am investigating the process of anaerobic chitin degradation wherein chitin, a long-chain polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, is broken down by microorganisms through multiple steps in an anoxic environment. During this process, chitin is hydrolyzed into smaller metabolic intermediates, such as chitooligosaccharides, which microorganisms can further metabolize to produce energy and other valuable compounds. Anaerobic chitin degradation in marine sediments is an essential process for cycling carbon and nutrients in marine sediment ecosystems. My current research unravels the complex interplay between microbial communities inhabiting the subsurface thriving on chitin degradation and mineral respiration.

After gaining knowledge of the less explored unseen microbial world in and around us, I am intrigued by their indispensable role in the biogeochemical cycling of major nutrients and transforming chemical compounds necessary for sustaining life on earth.