My academic journey began with a bachelor’s degree in Genetic Engineering from SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Tamil Nadu, India. During my undergraduate studies, I had the valuable opportunity to conduct my thesis research at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, which provided my first exposure to an international research environment. Following graduation in 2019, I worked as a Junior Research Associate in Analytical R&D for two years at Hetero Biopharma, Hyderabad, India. It was during this time that I discovered my passion for mass spectrometry in biopharmaceutical development, realising its crucial role in understanding and characterising therapeutic molecules.

Building on this foundation, I pursued a master’s degree in Biopharmaceuticals with a focus on drug discovery and development at Uppsala University, Sweden, completing it in 2024. During this period, I expanded my industrial expertise through an internship and master’s thesis at Cytiva in Uppsala, where I gained experience in small-molecule (extractables and leachables) characterisation using LC-MS. This background, combined with my belief that the future of pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals relies heavily on nucleic acid-based treatments, led me to join the Gabelica group to work on oligonucleotide characterisation. Furthermore, being part of such a vibrant research consortium will help me learn from experts, grow personally and professionally, and enhance my technical proficiency in IMS.

I am really excited about the secondments and all the planned workshops and training days in general. I am certain that the work we collectively do throughout the MobiliTraIN project, in bringing standardisation and guidelines, will help drive the ion mobility field towards greater regulation in the years to come.