Research Interests

• Multiscale Mechanical Characterization and constitutive modelling of tissues and soft fiber reinforced materials.
• Cell mechanobiology, cell substrate-interactions under mechanical stimuli.
• Role of mechanics in the growth and remodeling of living systems.
• Mechanics of bioinspired and biomimetic materials, biomedical devices for mechanical manipulation.

** I am looking for motivated Undergraduate and Graduate students (Masters and Phd) and Postdoctoral researchers to kickstart our research group at BITS Hyderabad. If you feel interested in my research or have exciting questions that we can address together please feel free to reach out to me!

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Past and Ongoing Research Projects

2022 - Ongoing
Current Funded Research Projects at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad

Tear Fracture and Surface Instabilities in Bioinspired Fiber Reinforced Elastomers - Role - PI Duration - 2 years, Amount -20 Lakhs, Year of Sanction -2023, Sponsoring Agency - BITS Pilani
Design and Development of Topologically Optimized Cellular Structures for Orthopedic Implant Applications - Role- Co-PI (along with Prof. Nitin Rameshrao Kotkunde (PI) & Dr. Pardha Saradhi G.V (Co-Pi)) -Duration - 2 years, Amount -2 Lakh, INR, Year of Sanction -2023, Sponsoring Agency - BITS Pilani- SPARKLE initiative.
Development and mechanical characterization of Self-healing polymers for sealant applications – Role – PI (Co-Pi- Dr. Nilanjan Dey and Dr. Prabakaran Saravanan), Duration – 4 years, Amount – 24.3 Lakhs Year of Sanction -2024, Sponsoring Agency – WIPRO (Wipro WIN Research Fellowship scheme).

Post-doctoral Research at Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, USA,

Multiscale biomechanics of ovine and murine knee joint and ovine tissue explants (working with Dr. Deva Chan, MRI Laboratory.)
Mechanical characterization of 3d printed HA scaffolds for tissue engineering (collaboration with Dr. Juana Mendenhall, Morehouse College, USA)
Design and fabrication og pneumatically controlled device for uniaxial and biaxial cell stretching- Collaboration with Dr. Alex Chortos and Jue Wang (Mechanical Engineering Department, Purdue University).

2016 - 2022

Doctoral Research at Biomechanics Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Design and Fabrication of a microscope mountable stretcher for cells and tissues.
Quantifying changes in the mechanobiology of fibroblasts under uniaxial cyclic stretch.
Mechanical characterization of biomimetic Fiber Reinforced elastomers (FRE).
Measurement of cellular traction forces under cyclic stretch

2016 - Ongoing

Other Projects in Collaboration

Effect of TGF-β on elastic and viscoelastic properties of breast cancer cells using AFM- In collaboration with Dr. Ankur Kulkarni ( Biomechanics Laboratory, IISc)•
Mechanical characterization of composite laminates for aerospace applications- In collaboration with Dr. Dinesh k. Harursampath and S.B Md KhajaMouniuddin (Dept. of Aerospace Engg, IISc)
Role of growth-induced buckling in determining meristem morphologies in plant stem cell mutants - Collaboration with Dr. Pradeep Das and Lea Rambaud (ENS Lyon, France).
Substrate stiffness dependent ECM remodeling in fibroblasts- Collaboration with Dr. Brijesh K. Verma (Biomechanics Laboratory, IISc).
Mechanical transfer of graphene from copper sheets to polymeric interphases - Project funded by Hindustan Unilever, Collaboration with Prof. Srinivas Raghavan (Cense, IISc) and Prof. Praveen Ramamurthy (Materials Eng. IISc).
Quantifying tissue stiffness of Human Cornea using AFM - Collaboration with Narayan Nethralaya and Anshul Srivastava (Biomechanics Laboratory, IISc).
Measuring cell stiffness in Mfn2-null fibroblasts using AFM- Collaboration with Dr. Qing Deng and Yueyang Wang (Biological Science Division, Purdue University).
Ex-vivo biomechanical comparison of two palmar tension band techniques for equine metacarpophalangeal joint -Collaboration with Dr. Timothy Lescun and Stephanie Hansen (College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University).