Sriram Kumar

I am a first year graduate student pursuing a PhD in Mechanical engineering. I graduated with my Master's degree in Chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University studying the synthesis of modified nucleic acids as building blocks for functionalized nanostructures and studying the folding pathways of biologically relevant RNA. Prior to this, I worked as a research scholar at the Harvard Medical School developing diagnostic tools using miRNA for non-invasive detection of kidney injury during chemotherapy. I graduated with my Bachelor's degree in Chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in India.

Current Projects

  • My research focus currently lies in using dynamic DNA nanotechnology as a nanoforce sensor in biological systems.

Previous Projects

  • Calculated the thermodynamic binding parameters of RNA aptamers – Guanine and preQ1 riboswitches using isothermal calorimetry
  • Studied the folding pathway of TERRA RNA G-quadruplex, P5ab RNA to understand the biological role of intermediates
  • Identified and probed the structural bends and bulges in pri-miRNA to understand their role in biogenesis using single-molecule optical tweezers
  • Synthesized novel branched DNA building blocks for control over junction angles in structured DNA nanotechnology.

Scholarship and Awards

  • IAS-INSA-NASI Fellowship 2011: Research Fellowship awarded to 40 Indian undergraduates

Select Publications

  • Acknowledged for contributions in H. Xu et al. J. Phys. Chem. B, 2017, 121 (10), pp 2220–2229

  • Acknowledged for contributions in V. Chandra et al. Nature Chemical Biology 13, 194–201 (2017)

Contact Information and Links

  • Contact me by email: srasipur {at} andrew {dot} cmu {dot} edu
  • Or find me on LinkedIn