Nitasha Menon Visiting PhD Student - Amrita University |
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After making the big move
from Florida to Kerala, India in 2012, Nitasha received her
B.Sc. degree in Biotechnology in 2015 from the Amrita School
of Biotechnology. During this time, she developed an
interest in bacterial pathogens while working on a project
under the guidance of Dr. Sanjay Pal and Dr. Nandita Mishra
funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that looked
at the potential of Staphylococcal amidases in eliminating
pathogenic bacteria in sewage effluents. Her interest in
this area continued as she ventured on to complete her
Master’s in Biotechnology from Amrita. Her Master’s thesis
on investigating the therapeutic potential of natural
products, such as clove bud oil, against multidrug resistant
gram-negative pathogens was largely completed during her
first visit to the Nizet Lab in 2017. Currently, Nitasha is working towards her Ph.D. at Amrita, where she has been uncovering novel bacteriophages to combat multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa under the guidance of Dr. Geetha Kumar. Her research in the Nizet lab focus on exploring alternative methods to target antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii by boosting the activities of the host innate immune system. |