About Me
I am a research scientist striving to understand gene regulation and genetics of complex diseases. I got my Ph.D. in Bioinformatics in the Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan , and have since then been working as a scientist at Roche.
This blog, called shorts, is a destination to satisfy my cravings for writing, communicating science, discussing code, and talking about books. The name of the blog also encapsulates my philosophy of being concise and clear in communicating these things; although I have struggled to adhere with this philosphy in the face of great opportunities.
My older blog is now merged with Shorts, with the notable exception of the following posts:
Science
Science provides intellectual freedom. It enables us to explore and understand the nature of reality around us—from tiny atoms, living cells and organisms, to the magnanimous universe. Doing science requires a careful and systematic investigation, perseverance, and an unshakable curiosity to seek knowledge. Yet, many mistake the path of science to be cold and lonely. It is not. It cannot be. It is the largest and most rewarding collective experience of the mankind.
I am interested in understanding the organization and the structure of the human genome. How is the information about an individual encoded in genome and epigenome? How are the millions of events happening within our bodies orchestrated? What happens when the order of events is disrupted and why does it lead to a disease?
These are some of the questions that my research attempts to answer by drawing from integrated experimental, quantitative, and computational approaches at Roche, and previously at the University of Michigan for my dissertation research with Dr. Steve Parker.
A list (hopefully evolving) of published, public, or in progress work where I have contributed is available on Google Scholar.
Programming
I am hooked to open-source software development — an ambitious outgrowth of my personal interest to create free (as in free speech!) and open-source content. In 2016, I was selected for Google Summer of Code program, where I contributed to OpenSNP.org under umbrella of Open Bioinformatics Foundation.
I was also one of the maintainers and contributing member of MetaKGP, a knowledge-wiki for my undergraduate institution.
Few other open-source projects where I have contributed significantly are:
I have used Python, R, Ruby, JavaScript at some point in career. Currently trying to learn Nim.