Molecular Fluctuations: Bridging Structure and Function

I am a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University, with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). Previously, I was a Carver Bioscience Postdoctoral Research Associate at Iowa State University.

My research focuses on: (i) developing methodologies to probe molecular transport and interactions, (ii) elucidating the anomalous dynamics of disordered materials such as supercooled liquids and polymer melts, and (iii) investigating the structural and functional dynamics of biomolecular assemblies.

Currently, at Columbia University, my research centers on two primary objectives: (i) the development of advanced fluorescence imaging methodologies integrated with statistical mechanical modeling and analysis, and (ii) understanding the dynamics of supercooled liquids and polymer films. By analyzing probe dynamics within a generalized Langevin equation framework and, more recently, through barrier-crossing processes on complex energy landscapes in plasticized polystyrene, I have identified signatures of nanoscale confinement and viscoelastic relaxation. In parallel, I have developed fluorescence techniques, including TIRF-based three-dimensional orientation imaging, as well as a method to extract microscopic susceptibility spectra directly from single-molecule thermal fluctuations, enabling molecule-resolved mapping of local relaxation dynamics.

At Iowa State University, I employed fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) combined with time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) on a custom-built confocal microscope to demonstrate nanostructuring associated with liquid–liquid phase transitions in phosphonium-based ionic liquids.

During my doctoral studies, I developed spectrally resolved sensitized emission/FRET imaging to authenticate biomolecular interactions. This approach enabled the investigation of liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) and its progressive maturation in pathologically relevant α-synuclein (α-Syn) systems. I further applied sensitized emission imaging to probe local surface polarity in α-Syn fibrils. In parallel, I pioneered polarization-resolved single-molecule tracking to identify transient pauses during tracer transport, revealing nanoscale glassy domains within pool of rubbery polymer thin films well above the glass transition temperature. Additionally, I introduced helical anisotropy imaging to uncover structural heterogeneity in amyloid fibrils.