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Nila P

- Research Program Mentor

PhD candidate at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill)

Expertise

Genetics, meiosis, Drosophila melanogaster, DNA repair, recombination,

Bio

I am a Genetics and Molecular Biology PhD Candidate studying meiotic recombination. I'm interested in how the formation and placement of crossovers is regulated during meiosis. For my dissertation project, I am studying the centromere effect, a patterning phenomenon that excludes crossovers in chromosomal regions surrounding the centromere. I am also involved in science writing and science education outreach. Outside of the lab, I enjoy reading medical memoirs, new-adult romances, and historical fiction. I also love swimming, knitting, and digital art!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

A deep dive into model organism meioses

Write a review article on the different stages of the meiotic process in common model organisms such as mice, yeast, flies, worms, etc. This will involve doing literature reviews about the process of meiosis in each of these organisms, and writing a review article about the similarities and differences between them. Spoiler alert: there's a lot that's the same, but there's also a lot that's different!

The Scientists Behind Our Lab Techniques

A short profile of the historic scientists that developed the molecular biology techniques used in laboratories everyday. This project will familiarize you with these techniques, as well as shed some much deserved light on the incredible people who invented many of the methods that have become indispensable today!

Languages I know

Malayalam - fluent, Hindi - proficient, Telugu - intermediate

Teaching experience

As a second year PhD student in Genetics and Molecular Biology at UNC Chapel Hill, I served as a teaching assistant for an Advanced Molecular Biology course in the fall of 2020. I was responsible for leading a weekly hour-long recitation section in which we discussed research articles covered in class. I also graded and contributed questions to exams. Additionally, I tutored a Master's student at NCCU and helped her pass an Advanced Genetics class that she had had trouble passing the last two times she'd taken it. I also volunteered at social welfare schools in Telangana, India from 2017-2019, where I taught mathematics and biology to 8th, 9th, and 12th graders. I am also a current NC DNA Day Ambassador, through which I work with high schoolers from local NC public schools, and talk to them about science and scientific careers.

Credentials

Work experience

IIIT Hyderabad (2015 - 2015)
Summer Research Intern
University of Madras (2016 - 2016)
Indian Academy of Science Summer Research Fellow
International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (2017 - 2017)
Indian Academy of Science Summer Research Fellow
University of Washington (2018 - 2018)
Khorana Scholar - Summer Research Inter

Education

University of Hyderabad
BS Bachelor of Science (2017)
Biology
University of Hyderabad
MS Master of Science (2019)
Biology
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill)
PhD Doctor of Philosophy candidate
Biology

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