Faculty/Staff
Kavi Mehta, PhD, Assistant Professor
Background: I am a native Wisconsinite. My dad was a chemical engineer and my mom a school teacher. I attended UW-Madison and received a BS in Biochemistry and French. I completed my PhD in Human Papillomavirus virology at Northwestern University in Dr. Laimonis Laimins’ lab after a stint in industry. I did my postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University studying mechanisms of DNA Repair in Dr. David Cortez’s laboratory.
Interests: Cooking, eating, travel, music, & renewable energy.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Graduate Students
Dhruthi Suresh, MSc, Graduate Student
Background: I am originally from Bengaluru, India. I got my undergraduate degree from RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, where I majored in Biotechnology. I then completed my masters from UW-Madison at the School of Medicine and Public Health, where I studied cell cycle dysregulation in Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) associated head and neck cancers.
Interests: Cooking, reading, music (I’m always humming some song), traveling, Netflix-ing.
Gopishankar Thirumoorthy, MSc, Graduate Student
Background: I grew up in the vibrant city of Coimbatore, India. I started off with a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Dr. N.G.P Arts and Science College, and then went on to do my master’s at Christ University in Bangalore. During my studies, I got involved in research, focusing on biomedical engineering and exploring into the applications of nanoparticles. After that, I transitioned to work in the field of DNA damage repair as a research assistant in Dr. Ashok Venkitaraman’s lab at CCBT, InStem, Bangalore, where I worked on uncovering the unknown regulators of BRCA1.
Interests: Fitness enthusiast, Cinephilia, Travel & Cooking.
Mascots & Pets
Animal, BLT, Mascot
Background: I have a BLT from the university of sandwiches.
Interests: Munchies, drums, kindness, & chaos.