Education Sponsors
Gaurav Arya
Founding Scientific Advisor
Department of NanoEngineering, UC San Diego
Professor of Materials Sciences
Education:
Postdoc, Princeton University, Chemical Engineering
PhD, University of Notre Dame, Chemical Engineering
BTech, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, Chemical Engineering
Research Interests:
Professor Arya’s research focuses on the development and application of theoretical and computational methods to: (a) elucidate the molecular mechanisms of gene regulation, and (b) aid in the rational design of biomolecules and nano/biomaterials. His research is very multidisciplinary involving aspects of biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, materials science, engineering, and computer science, and many practical applications in cancer, epigenetics, regenerative medicine, gene and siRNA therapy, and nanotechnology.
Specifically, Arya is interested in understanding the fascinating mechanism by which our genomic DNA is packed inside cells and regulated through histone biochemical modifications to regulate transcriptional gene expression. Another topic of interest is modeling of RNAs to predict their tertiary structure and the folding pathways, and their interaction with proteins. Arya is also currently studying the transport mechanism by which gene regulatory proteins search for their target genes from millions of DNA sequences, and computationally optimizing the design of short peptides for targeting specific DNA sequences. Some other projects in his research group include the design of oscillating hydrogels for cartilage tissue engineering in collaboration with Dr. Varghese from bioengineering, and understanding the microscopic mechanisms of carbon nanotube coiling in collaboration with Dr. Bandaru from mechanical and aerospace engineering.
