About


I am a Ph.D. student in the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences (MCIBS) program in the Department of Biology at the Pennsylvania State University. Currently, I am being supervised by Prof. Kateryna D. Makova. My scientific interests lie at the intersection of computational genomics and bioinformatics, focusing on the comparative genomics of primates. I currently work on the evolutionary variation in non-B DNA structures across primate species and their implications within the genome. Furthermore, my research endeavors extend to investigating the human pangenome, with the aim of unraveling the impact of G-quadruplexes (G4s) on human evolution. I am driven by the question of whether these G4 structures have played a pivotal role in shaping the evolutionary trajectory of humans and contributed significantly to their diversification.


I obtained my dual Bachelor's and Master's degree (BS-MS) in Biological Sciences from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, India in 2022. Through my Master's thesis, I worked under Dr. Susmita Roy investigating the drug-mediated conformational changes in KRas–a protein involved in the Ras/Raf/MAPK pathway. I used Molecular Dynamics simulations and free-energy based enhanced sampling techniques (Metadynamics) to study the effects of the two drugs: Sotorasib (AMG510) and Adagrasib (MRTX849).

Contact


Saswat Kumar Mohanty

Ph.D. student



Department of Biology

The Pennsylvania State University

311 Wartik Laboratory, University Park, PA, 16802