ARPITA KULKARNI

Biologist, Center for Engineered Therapeutics (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, United States), and Associate (Dept. of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, United States)
Indian, living in Boston, Massachusetts
Arpita is a cellular and developmental biologist interested in studying the underlying biological mechanisms that characterise normal development from disease, with the ultimate goal of aiding human therapeutics by translating this research into clinics. She received her PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology (Tübingen, Germany), and subsequently moved to Harvard University for her postdoctoral work. Currently at the Center for Engineered Therapeutics, she develops novel biotechnologies against human diseases using an engineering in medicine approach. As a zoologist and field biologist, she is equally passionate about biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration and sustainability issues. She volunteers with the non-profit Ocean Alliance which works towards creating a healthier planet by protecting our wildlife, the oceans, and us from climate change. She has served as one of eLife’s Community Ambassadors, promoting, advocating and championing responsible behaviours in science globally (2019-2020), and as a Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (HGWISE) mentor to women in STEMM (2017-present). She is also creative, multilingual, a meditator, a traveler and an avid cook.