Purva Vats, Ph.D.

Associate Research Scientist

Supervises wet lab, building amplicon, genomic and metagenomic libraries using various approaches to sequence on variety of platforms (illumina as well as PacBio) to study the understanding of the relationship between the microbiome and metabolic diseases.

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About Purva Vats, Ph.D.

I have worked in the area of microbiology and molecular biology for over 15 years during which time I focused on the study of cell division and cytoskeletal regulation in prokaryotes. I have extensive experience in microbiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, protein interaction and purification, western blotting, immuno-blotting, microscopy [which includes immunofluorescence microscopy (single label and double label), epi-fluorescence, phase contrast, single molecule fluorescence microscopy, PALM FRAP]. I have an expertise in bacterial cell imaging and bacterial genetics research.

My current research is in the area of microbiome where I am primarily involved in managing several projects and supervises wet lab. As a result of my research experiences, I am aware of the importance of frequent communication among project members and of constructing a realistic research plan and timeline. I am also involved in making various types of amplicon as well as whole-genome shot gun libraries to sequence on different illumina platforms (MiSeq, NextSeq, HiSeq) and PacBio to study the relationship between microbiome and several diseases.

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Education and experience

Education:

Institute of Microbial Technology, Ph.D. 01/2003 Microbiology/Biotechnology
(Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi, India)
Dept. of Microbiology, Panjab Masters in Science 08/1997 Microbiology (Honors)
University, Chandigarh, INDIA
Dept. of Microbiology, Panjab Bachelor in Science 08/1994 Microbiology (Honors)
University, Chandigarh, INDIA

Professional Experience:

June 2014-Present : Associate Research Scientist, The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut
Sep 2010-May 2014 : Research Associate Scientist-I, Dept. of Molecular Biology and Biophysics (previously known as the Dept. of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology), University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut
Sep 2004-Aug 2010: Post-doctoral research fellow, laboratory of Prof. Lawrence Rothfield, Dept. of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut
Jan 2003-May 2004 : Post-doctoral research fellow, laboratory of Dr. Anand K. Bachhawat, Dept. of Molecular Biology and Yeast Genetics, Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India
2000-2003 : Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India
1998-2000: Junior Research Fellow, Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India

Awards and Honors

2009 Selection of “E.coli cytoskeleton micrograph” on the cover page of Molecular Microbiology.
2007 Selection of research article, “Duplication and segregation of the actin (MreB) cytoskeleton during the prokaryotic cell cycle,” published in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences USA, by Faculty of 1000 Biology, which comprehensively and systematically highlights and reviews the most interesting papers published in the biological sciences, based on the recommendations of a faculty of well over 2,300 selected leading researchers.
2000-2003 Awarded National Senior Research Fellowship by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (premium funding agency), government of India
1998-2000 Awarded National Junior Research Fellowship by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, government of India
1997 Awarded the University Gold Medal for standing first in the Masters of Sciences (Honors) program in Microbiology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
1994 Awarded the University Gold Medal for standing first in Bachelors of Sciences (Honors) Microbiology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
1992-1997 Awarded a National Scholarship during my Bachelors (Honors) and Masters (Honors) programs, from the government of India

Selected Publications

Highlighted Abstract

The Escherichia coli actin homologue MreB is part of a helical cytoskeletal structure that winds around the cell between the two poles. It has been shown that MreB redistributes during the cell cycle to form circumferential ring structures that flank the cytokinetic FtsZ ring and appear to be associated with division and segregation of the helical cytoskeleton. We show here that the MreB cytoskeletal ring also contains the MreC, MreD, Pbp2 and RodA proteins. Assembly of MreB, MreC, MreD and Pbp2 into the ring structure required the FtsZ ring but no other known components of the cell division machinery, whereas assembly of RodA into the cytoskeletal ring required one or more additional septasomal components. Strikingly, MreB, MreC, MreD and RodA were each able to independently assemble into the cytoskeletal ring and coiled cytoskeletal structures in the absence of any of the other ring components. This excludes the possibility that one or more of these proteins acts as a scaffold for incorporation of the other proteins into these structures. In contrast, incorporation of Pbp2 required the presence of MreC, which may provide a docking site for Pbp2 entry.

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