Our Background
How We Got Here
The journey towards pioneering research in ocular drug delivery and virology began with a solid foundation in Biotechnology for Dr. Yadavalli. Attaining a B.Tech degree from SRM University, Chennai, TN, in 2008, Dr. Yadavalli's insatiable curiosity led them into the intricate realm of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, culminating in an M.S. degree from SRM University in 2012. Driven by a passion for advancing drug delivery systems, Dr. Yadavalli pursued a Ph.D. in the same field under the guidance of Dr. Ramasamy Chennakesavulu at SRM University from 2012 to 2016. This educational odyssey laid the groundwork for transformative research in Ocular Virology during a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 2016 to 2022, under the mentorship of Dr. Deepak Shukla. Dr. Yadavalli's diverse educational background has shaped them into a seasoned researcher, spearheading investigations at the forefront of ocular drug delivery and virology. Dr. Yadavalli has co-authored more than 50 peer reviewed international publications and has filed multiple patents in the realm of ocular drug delivery and discovery.
Tejabhiram Yadavalli, PhD
Ankita Sarkar, PhD
Dr. Sarkar is a postdoctoral fellow at the OD3 lab since April 2024. She finished her PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi and a MTech from BITS, Mersa. Her interest are nanomaterials-based therapy and SERS-based bioimaging, synthesis of metal NPs, cationic polymeric spherical NPs and nanoparticle-based drug, protein and gene delivery applications.
Neeraja Revi
Dr. Revi is a postdoctoral fellow at the OD3 lab since Sept 2024. She finished her PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad. She has a BS-MS from IISER, Pune and a postgraduate diploma in Cellular and molecular diagnostics from Bangalore University. Her interests include designing and understanding the ability of nanocarriers in crossing organ barriers like the corneal, blood-retinal, and blood -brain barrier to treat corneal retinal and neurodegenerative disorders.
Graduate Students
Sana Khosravi
Sana Khosravi is an MS student in the Biomedical Engineering department at UIC, admitted in Fall 2024. She holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tehran and has research interests in drug delivery, biomaterials, and nanomaterials. Sana has experience in green technologies research, editorial roles, and programming in MATLAB and Python.
Ratnesh Kumar
Ratnesh Kumar is an MS student in the Computer Science department at UIC, expected to graduate in May 2026. He is working with us to apply machine learning models and analyze large transcriptomic datasets for disease biomarker discovery and novel drug development. With prior experience as a research engineer, Ratnesh has expertise in deep learning, NLP, and cloud-based ML pipelines, along with publications in cognitive informatics and neural network