Ameya Dravid is a postdoctoral researcher in Ankur Singh’s lab at Georgia Tech. In this postdoc portrait article, he discusses his work in B cell and plasma cell immunoengineering.
Q | What’s your research background?
My current work on hydrogel-based delivery platforms builds upon my PhD at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), where I investigated liposomal nanoparticles for osteoarthritis, uniting biomaterials innovation with immune modulation for long-term therapies.
Q | How did you first get interested in science?
My first spark for science came in seventh grade when I stumbled upon a copy of Fundamentals of Physics by Halliday and Resnick in my father’s office. I didn’t fully understand most of it at the time, but I was fascinated by the way equations could explain everyday phenomena—why objects fall, how light bends, and how energy moves through systems. That curiosity pushed me to see science not just as a subject in school, but as a language to decode the world around me.
As I advanced in my studies, this curiosity shifted from physics to biology and medicine, where the same principles of structure, energy, and interaction shape life itself. During my PhD at the Indian Institute of Science, I applied these ideas to design nanoparticles for osteoarthritis, and now, as a postdoc at Georgia Tech, I work on hydrogel platforms for immune cell engineering. That book in my dad’s office was the first clue: science could explain—and eventually change—the way we live.
Q | How did you first get interested in your field of research?
During my undergraduate studies in biotechnology, I was fascinated by the ability to design interventions that bridge molecular biology and medicine. This interest deepened during my PhD at IISc, where I worked on liposomal nanoparticles for osteoarthritis therapy. There, I saw firsthand how biomaterials could be engineered to improve drug delivery and patient outcomes.
What truly captivated me, however, was the challenge of making these systems smarter—capable of responding to biological cues in real time. That motivation led me to my current postdoctoral work in Ankur Singh’s lab at Georgia Tech, where I am developing hydrogel-based platforms for B cell and plasma cell engineering. This journey reflects a consistent theme: leveraging materials and immune engineering to design long-term, self-regulating therapies that not only treat disease but also reprogram the body to heal itself.
Q | What has been the most exciting part of your scientific journey so far?
It has been seeing ideas move from the lab bench toward something that could truly impact patients. During my PhD, I worked on nanoparticles that could deliver drugs more effectively for osteoarthritis. The thrill came when I realized that these tiny carriers, designed carefully in the lab, could reduce inflammation and improve outcomes in animal models.
Now, as a postdoc at Georgia Tech, I’ve taken this further by engineering hydrogel-based systems that guide B cells and plasma cells—immune cells that are essential for long-term protection. What excites me most is the possibility of building therapies that don’t just work for a few days but can last for months or even years. Watching a concept grow into a working therapy, and knowing it could one day change lives, has been the most rewarding and motivating part of my journey so far.
Q | If you could be a laboratory instrument, which one would you be and why?
I would be a rotary evaporator. On the surface, it’s a simple tool—removing solvents under gentle conditions—but in practice, it’s a quiet magician that transforms messy mixtures into something pure and concentrated. I love that the rotavap works behind the scenes, steadily spinning away, often overlooked until someone realizes how essential it was for the experiment’s success.
Being a rotavap means I’d get to handle challenges with patience and persistence, distilling complexity into clarity. I’d embrace the long hours, the occasional squeaky seals, and even the cloud of solvent vapors, because the end goal is always worth it: providing researchers with exactly what they need to move forward. Plus, I’d have a pretty cool nickname—“the rotavap”—and I’d get to spend my time in a bath at the perfect temperature, spinning gently like I’m on vacation while doing something critical. Science rarely looks this relaxed.
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