Janki Bhatt (ESR14)

Janki is from Mumbai, India. She completed her Bachelors in Biotechnology from the University of Mumbai in 2019. During the 3 years of this program, she acquired crucial laboratory skills and a fundamental understanding of techniques like ELIZA, Polymerase Chain Reaction and Mass Spectrometry. After graduating, she interned as a research associate at a health-tech startup, Wellthy Therapeutics. She was involved in several dry lab projects that focused on enhancing Diabetes management and the quality of life of people with Diabetes. This experience shaped her interest in disease research as well as the non-clinical aspects of the biopharmaceutical industry.

Following that, she went on to pursue a Masters in Medical Biotechnology and Business Management from the University of Warwick, UK, which allowed her to integrate her interests in life sciences with business. During the Innovations in the Treatment of Infectious Diseases module, she synthesized a Patient Information Leaflet for Trikafta, a Triple Combination Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis. Based on this learning experience, she developed an ardent curiosity to study the pathophysiology of CF. She aspires to develop a deeper understanding of such rare genetic diseases and aims to be involved in the development of novel therapeutic drugs like Trikafta.

With her previous experience in disease research and a newfound interest in Cystic Fibrosis research, in 2021, she joined the PIPgen network for her PhD in screening and profiling of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) targeting compounds for Cystic Fibrosis and other rare respiratory diseases, under the supervision of Dr. Emilio Hirsch.