Thawani Lab

Akanksha Thawani is a molecular and structural biologist whose research bridges fundamental genome biology with innovative biotechnology. Originally from Delhi, India, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. As an undergraduate, she conducted her thesis research in the lab of Dr. Mahesh Tirumkudulu, studying the biophysics of bacterial motion.

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She earner her PhD in Biological Engineering at Princeton University working with Dr. Sabine Petry, Dr. Howard Stone and Dr. Josh Shaevitz. Her work focused on how the microtubule cytoskeleton emerges and assembles beautifully complex structures that divide the eukaryotic cell.

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She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Working in the laboratories of Dr. Eva Nogales and Dr. Kathleen Collins, Akanksha investigates the molecular mechanisms of retrotransposition in the human genome and develops biotechnological tools based on mobile genetic elements. Her research is supported by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

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Akanksha has been widely recognized for her scientific contributions. She is a recipient of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, the Damon Runyon Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists, and the Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellowship. She was named a STAT Wunderkind, one of the MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35, a Leading Edge Fellow, Exceptional Scholar at The Rockefeller University, Eddie Mendez Scholar at Fred Hutch and others. She also received the prestigious Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center for her dissertation.

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Akanksha is passionate about understanding genome biology and mentoring the next generation of scientists.

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Akanksha's CV can be found here.