Vishi Kherotia

I am a rising third-year undergraduate student at Ashoka, majoring in biology with a minor in physics. I have always been interested in studying biology through a physical lens, and after taking cell biology, my interest in the subject has grown immensely. My first lab experience was in a Functional RNA Lab, where we investigated how RNA function, structure, and diffusion dynamics are influenced within liquid-liquid phase-separated droplets to understand how life could have evolved in these chemical systems and directed evolution. The skills I acquired included PCR, SDS-PAGE, in vitro transcription, protein purification, and ImageJ for analysis. This summer, I am at NCBS working with Prof. K. Vijayraghavan and Dr. Vinothkumar Kutti Ragunath on a project examining TANGO1, a large protein complex responsible for the secretion of large proteins from the ER to the Golgi. The goal is to purify TANGO from the salivary glands and fat body of Drosophila larvae and examine the configuration of the protein during secretion using Cryo-EM to determine the model by which it achieves this (e.g., by forming a ring). I am also involved in some microbial work in Dr.Vinoth's lab, where I am overexpressing and purifying GFP-Nanobody. Skills I have developed include salivary gland dissection from third instar larvae, fly handling, co-immunohistochemistry, competent cell preparation, transformation, IPTG induction, PCR, SDS-PAGE, confocal microscopy, etc.