PEOPLE

Howdy! My name is Jahanavi Nikkam, and I am a senior Biology Honors major at Texas A&M University with a minor in Japanese. My research journey started out in the Chakraborty Lab at Texas A&M Health Science Center, focusing on the tumor microenvironment of cholangiocarcinoma using 3-D spheroid models, exploring chemotherapy-induced senescence. This experience gave me a peek into microbiology and genetics, but it didn't fit me perfectly. I am now exploring the fields of host–microbe interactions and environmental stressors in Dr. Motta's Lab and have been having so much fun working with bees! I am still looking to deepen my knowledge within this field and pursue more research once I graduate, with plans to enter the medical field!

BCurrently, I am investigating the impact of agrochemicals on honey bee gut microbiota using both microbiota-colonized and microbiota-deprived bees in controlled in vivo experiments.

Outside of the lab, I play volleyball (badly), practice singing with my guitar, and eat a lot of food. In the future, my dream life would be travelling between my hometown of Bangalore, India, and somewhere in Japan.

You can contact me at:

jahannavinikkam at tamu dot edu