I am a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholar at the University of East Anglia as part of the Critical Decade programme. My research interests are in Global Change Ecology, Climate Change and Policy. My project combines quantitative climate science and crop science with qualitative social science to help farmers and agricultural policy makers adapt to climate change.
I graduated magna cum laude with a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bangalore, India in August 2021. My master’s dissertation was a predictive ecology project that involved building models to simulate the potential impacts of climate change on behavior, flock reassortment, survival of temperature sensitive avian species participating in Mixed Species Flocks in the highly biodiverse Eastern Himalayan forests under different warming scenarios. Focussing on thermal tolerances and climate driven range shifts, I studied how climate change could threaten mountaintop species, cause flock breakdown and potentially act as an escalator to extinction. My research was supported by the Indian Institute of Science. I have previously worked on short research projects in Oral cancer genomics, Viral genomics and Protein Science.
Before starting my PhD at the University of East Anglia, I worked as an Educator and Science Communicator for three years in collaboration with several NGOs and Ed -Tech Startups, where I was researching pedagogical frameworks for Global Citizenship Education, Inquiry and Project Based Learning, Education Policies and STEM education. I also developed climate education modules with learning outcomes aligned to sustainable development goals to be implemented in Indian Schools. In my free time, I read and write poetry and make science-based humorous comics.
What are you most excited about in joining the Critical Decade PhD programme?
The critical decade program is a huge opportunity for me and for people who want to make a real change in how we approach the climate crisis. In the last decade, we have seen a rise in extreme weather events. This has been a challenge for some farming communities in India, who are already dependent on natural resources and often unable to afford costly solutions – something that my project addresses. I am excited because I have always been passionate about policy relevant science and I can now pursue this through my project. It is an honor to be able to combine my interests in policy and science while also helping communities adapt to and mitigate climate change. I want to be part of something bigger than myself, and I want to help shape how we all move forward together through interdisciplinary research and learning.
