Dr. Navjot Kaur
Faculty, Plaksha University
Area of Expertise
AMR surveillance networks, CRISPR technologies
Research Interests
• Point-of-care diagnostics
• Antimicrobial resistance surveillance networks
• STEM education research
• Evidence-based science communication
Education
PhD in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
Past Associations
• Research Scientist, Dr. Reddy’s Lab, Hyderabad, India
• Science Conversationalist at The Pseudo Doctor
Bio
Dr. Kaur’s doctoral research focussed on developing point-of-care molecular diagnostics to improve access to affordable healthcare. Existing technologies like paper-based biosensing and isothermal nucleic acid amplification were miniaturized, improvised, and integrated to develop a platform technology and validated by testing tuberculosis patient samples. Her research was covered in a Nature’s Technology feature article, diagnosticsworldnews.com, and many national newspapers and blogs. After her PhD, she joined as a research scientist at Dr. Reddy’s lab and worked on generic drug development.
At Plaksha, her research will focus on addressing the grand challenge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Her group will develop diagnostic solutions to build easy-to-scale frugal engineering solutions to establish inexpensive AMR surveillance networks. She is also passionate about STEM education research to facilitate early exposure to disruptive technologies for high school and undergraduate students. Her zeal for science communication is demonstrated by the YouTube channel she runs independently. It caters current and prospective graduate students to help them steer through their PhDs and professional careers. She is an active member of the Plaksha Center for Communication, working towards communicating the research being conducted at Plaksha to the general masses.