Research Interests
Broadly, I am interested in understanding how marine organisms interact and develop, and hope to comprehend the fundamental interconnectedness of the mysteries that swim in the Earth’s oceans. I am currently a second year PhD student at the University of Chicago and the Patel lab at the MBL, where I work on development and regeneration in the marine amphipod crustacean, Parhyale hawaiensis. I am particularly interested in understanding how these amphipods are able to regenerate their germline – where ablation of the progenitor germline cell at the 8-cell stage counterintuitively leads to the development of a fertile adult. This presumably occurs via an inductive mechanism, where the soma converts to the germline – a phenomena which so far has not been observed in any other bilaterian.
Background
During my post-embryonic development, I was introduced to the mysteries of the ocean while obtaining my SCUBA diving certification off the west coast of India. From hearing the clicks of fish and crustaceans to the curious mutualistic behaviour of the Shrimp Gobi, my diving experiences sparked my interest in oceanography and the marine sciences, motivatingme to pursue an undergraduate degree in biology. As an undergraduate at Azim Premji University (India), I realized the potential to study biology through a diverse array of tractable systems while studying morphogenesis and regeneration in the model organism – Hydra vulgaris.
I was then determined to pursue a master’s degree in marine science to hone my interest in studying life in the ocean. At the School for Marine Science and Technology (University of Massachusetts), I used ocean colour data from hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance datasets and NASA satellites to assess distributions of phytoplankton size classes in the river-influenced regions of the Gulf of Mexico. During this time, my interest in marine science wasenriched by multiple month-long research cruises sailing on the R/V Sally Ride in the oxygen deficient zone in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific, and was where I developed my liking for field work. Many of my scientific efforts have also been augmented by hand-drawn illustrations, which I believe are a stimulating aid to the learning process(https://neeharikaverma.wordpress.com/). I am also interested in scientific education and communication (https://oceanbites.org/author/nverma/) – skills that I hope to develop over the course of my PhD.