Team

Core Team

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Dr Ponnari Gottipati is a Research Management, Science Education and Engagement consultant in Hyderabad. In addition to co-leading SaS, she currently consults for LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, and Sree Padmavathi Venkateswara Foundation, Vijayawada in Research Management. Trained in Molecular Biology, with a PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK, and a Postdoc from the University of Oxford, UK, she was previously at the DBT Wellcome Trust India Alliance as Grants Manager.  Celebrating science through engagement and outreach enthuses and inspires her!

@PonnariG

Dr Sarah Iqbal trained as a researcher in Life Sciences and is currently an independent science engagement consultant in India. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford, UK, and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Scripps Research Institute, USA, before joining the Indian science funding agency, DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance (India Alliance) as their Communications and Public Engagement Lead. She is currently working as an independent consultant at the newly formed not-for-profit, Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology (FAST-India) in New Delhi, and serving as a strategic adviser to the India Science Festival.
Sarah is interested in exploring pathways to build capacity in science engagement in India and developing creative, inclusive and participatory tools and approaches to enable public and policy engagement with science towards building an equitable, healthy and sustainable future.

@SarahHyder

Dr Somdatta Karak is trained as a molecular and cellular Neuroscientist at the University of Göttingen and had been a Teach for India Fellow. In her current role, she designs and handles the communication channels at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad. Through these, she informs and engages with students, educators, industries as well as the general public of the research and other activities at CCMB. She loves working towards building a more informed society.

@SomdattaKarak

Chandrika Konwar is the Program Associate on the APSI-India project. Armed with a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Delhi, Chandrika's academic journey delved into unraveling the gene regulation of cell death, cancer, and aging. Her intellectual pursuits led her across borders, as she undertook a significant part of her doctoral research as a Fulbright Scholar at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA.
Beyond her scholarly endeavors, Chandrika is a fervent advocate for open science with a profound commitment toward science communication, policy, and sustainability. Her holistic approach mirrors a strong passion for public health and a dedication to fostering collaborative efforts that transcend disciplinary boundaries.

@ChandrikaKonwar

Khushi Goel is a Project Associate for AMR workshops at SaS. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from the University of Delhi. In her previous roles, she served as a Science Communication Intern at the Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology (FAST-India) and as a Research Associate at the Center for Civil Society (CCS). At CCS, she contributed to a project focused on evaluating and benchmarking best practices for science research management in India.
Currently taking a gap year, Khushi is actively exploring her next academic pursuit. During this period, she is dedicated to bridging the gap between science and society through her passion for science communication, public engagement, and science advocacy. Engaging in discussions to demystify scientific concepts is her favorite pastime.

@KhushiGoel__

Sanjukta Mondal is a Project Associate for AMR workshops at SaS. She holds a master's degree in industrial chemistry from Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences and works as an independent science communicator and journalist.
Apart from journalistic science stories, she writes popular science articles on various scientific topics and crafts scripts/storyboards for investigative video essays that expose misinformation and debunk pseudoscience. She is also passionate about using social media to reach a wider audience and create digital content that makes science fun and accessible.

@sm_essem

Collaborator - Grassroots Comics

Mr Sharad Sharma is a cartoonist based in New Delhi. He has experience of working in newspapers, magazines and electronic media before he founded World Comics India introducing Grassroots Comics as an alternate medium to mainstream comics. He has been conducting grassroots comics workshops all across India and also internationally to initiate social campaigns on various issues. He has also published several books and manuals and won awards for his work in the social sphere.

@Sharadji; @WorldComicsNet

Partners

Supporters

Acknowledgements

  • Dr Raghunand R. Tirumalai, Tuberculosis Researcher, CCMB, Hyderabad
  • Dr Priyamvada Chugh, Consultant, Communications team at Unitaid
  • Dr Sivranjani Santosh, Pediatrician, Magna Clinics, Hyderabad
  • Dr Sweena Chaudhari, Immunologist, Tardigrade Pvt Ltd
  • Dr Rupinder Kaur, Microbiologist, Center for DNA fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad and DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Senior Fellow
  • Dr Shahid Jameel, Virologist, former CEO, DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance
  • Mr Chiru Yerra, VFX Animator, Mr Sunny Blake Ganta, Visual Effects Creative Director and Mr Maheswar Kudupudi, Animator

We, at SaS, would love to work with other like-minded organisations/individuals working in this space in India, so please reach out to us at sasindia2018@gmail.com