I am a Doctoral Fellow obtaining a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology working with Dr. Paul Leberg at the Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette. For information about my work, visit my research page. View my CV here.

I was born and raised in the city of Bangalore in beautiful Karnataka state, India. I was influenced by the writings of Gandhi, Feynman, Corbett as a child and more recently by the works of Darwin and Richard Dawkins. Corbett's tales of Indian jungles inspired me to explore the jungles of the western ghats and sharpened my interest in wildlife and conservation. View my tribute page to Jim Corbett.

My parents and brother have been great motivators throughout my life. My partner in life and science is ecologist-biomathematician Sharmila Pathikonda (view her page here).