PhD Students
Bio: Naren is a second year PhD student who is interested in studying the self-limiting assembly of viral capsids and synthetic structures, through rate equation models and Brownian dynamics simulations using HOOMD. He is aiming to understand various mechanisms that viruses may exploit for efficient assembly and how these strategies can be used in synthetic systems for engineering specific nano-scale structures for potential applications in antiviral therapies. In his free time, he loves to cook, do puzzles and is passionate about south-indian classical music and playing the Veena.
Current project: Self-limiting assembly coupled to Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS)
During infection, viruses like measles, rotavirus and SARS-COV-2 drive the synthesis of viral proteins that phase separate to form membraneless compartments. Naren is using coarse-grained HOOMD simulations to understand how the dynamics and steady state characteristics of virus assembly are modulated by the degree to which viral components preferentially partition into these compartments.
