divz-k

Hi! I’m a computational and molecular biology PhD student at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. I’ve spent the last few years diving deep into sequencing data and conducting large-scale, high-throughput experiments to acquire it. I enjoy working with big data and finding simple, effective ways to communicate those insights.

Academic Journey

I did my undergrad at the Indian Institute of Science, where I majored in Biology. I then moved to Israel to do my Masters at the Weizmann Institute of Science, where I later continued for my PhD in Prof Naama Barkai’s lab.

I was inspired to be a molecular biologist in high school, when I had first learned of the central dogma, despite not having a clue of what such a career would look like. I was set on my way to becoming a molecular biologist, until I took a course in the 3rd year of my undergrad: DNA protein interactions and Nanobiology, which opened my eyes to a very unique perspective on the same. Following this course, I worked in four single molecule labs. My interests have diversified since then, yet this course showed me the beauty of thinking of science from different perspectives, which has stuck with me.

In my PhD at Prof Naama Barkai’s lab, I dove into the heart of fundamental molecular biology, this time using computational data methods, dissecting how transcription factors find their genomic target sites. In specific, I focussed on the intrinsically disordered regions that are enriched in the transcription factors, and their role in shaping transcriptional regulation.