About my research

I am fascinated by the creation and maintenance of order in the bustling environment of the functional unit of all life - the cell. This leads me to ask questions about how intracellular components associate with each other, how certain compartments of the cell change with time, and how we can use that knowledge to create better solutions in medicine and healthcare. I primarily use the tools of microscopy and image processing to answer these questions. Read on to learn more about my research projects.

Acknowledgement: Illustration by David S. Goodsell and Daniel Klionsky. doi: 10.2210/rcsb_pdb/goodsell-gallery-012

Following Phagocytosis

Perhaps the most elusive (and therefore, I'd argue) the most compelling phenomena in our bodies involve our immune system and its response against anything not recognised as 'self'. A particular type of immune cell, the macrophage (Greek: macro - big, phagein - to eat) is responsible for engulfing microbes, cellular debris, and pretty much every other thing that should not be present in healthy tissue to keep our bodies safe from foreign objects. This process of engulfment is called phagocytosis.

I am interested in the events that follow this uptake by macrophages. I follow the maturation of the compartment that encloses the phagocytosed object to delineate the macrophage's response to foreign objects of different materials and sizes. Deciphering this response will guide us to engineer efficient drug and vaccine delivery systems.

More here.

Watch a video about the work here.

High throughput imaging to automate classification of mitochondrial morphology

Powerhouses of eukaryotic cells, the mitochondria play a crucial role in ensuring cellular processes are carried out robustly. As is the case with most biological components, morphology of the mitochondrion is a good predictor of its function, and consequently of overall cellular health.

In collaboration with researchers at the Department of Computer Science and Automation, IISc, we have developed a neural network that can classify cells on the basis of their mitochondrial organisation. Through this tool, we can now further probe cellular interactions that affect mitochondrial function in various diseased states.

More here.

Studying mitochondria-microtubule interactions

Microtubules are a part of the cell's skeleton, responsible for giving the cell its shape and forming a scaffold on which other cellular components are organised and transported.

Mitochondrial function and morphology are closely linked to the stability of the microtubule cytoskeleton, and I have used a mix of molecular biology and microscopy techniques to investigate this association.