Sharanya Paul

Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India

MS, Biotechnology, Illinois State University, 2026

Sharanya Paul is a first-year doctoral student in Biomedical Sciences at Penn State. Originally from India, she earned her B.Tech. in Biotechnology, where her training in engineering shaped the way she approaches biological questions with curiosity, problem-solving, and a constant drive to understand how things can be made better. Her undergraduate research on arsenic toxicity in rice, followed by her experience as a research scientist in the United States, led her deeper into microbiology and molecular biology and ultimately inspired her to pursue doctoral research.

Her previous research focused on understanding how Staphylococcus aureus interacts with host-derived lipids and responds to antimicrobial fatty-acid stress. Through this work, she developed experience in bacterial genetics, lipid biology, flow cytometry, microscopy, growth and survival assays, and lipidome analysis. She is now interested in exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying disease, with a particular focus on host-pathogen interactions and the complex interplay between cells and their environment.

Outside of science, Sharanya has got a training in classical Indian music. Music has always been an important part of her life, although the beautiful chaos of graduate school and research has left her with considerably less time to sing than she would like. She hopes to find her way back to music while continuing to explore new places, meet new people, and grow as both a scientist and an individual.