Atharva Bhide

Background

About Atharva Bhide

I am a PhD candidate in the McDonald Lab at Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, where I am researching the ecological dynamics and evolution of synthetic soil bacterial communities. My interests lie in exploring how interactions between community members and the genomes of individual species are impacted when their surrounding environment is drastically altered. I was drawn to experimental and microbial evolution as I have always been fascinated by evolutionary biology and how microbes allow us to not only observe but direct evolutionary processes over a span of mere weeks. I am also interesting in applying experimental evolution techniques to conservation efforts, specifically understanding the interactions between threatened native plants and their soil microbe partners. My skills include but are not limited to:~ Extensive wet lab experience in microbial and molecular biology such as isolation of microbes, DNA extraction and manipulation, PCR and gel electrophoresis, as well as designing methodologies for short- and long-term evolution experiments.~ Using bioinformatic pipelines for 16S amplicon and Whole Genome Sequencing, and genome assembly using Linux Systems.~ Data analysis and visualisation using RStudio.~ Work as a Teaching Assistant, which involves teaching practical labs to undergraduate students. I'm always up for a challenge like working with non-model plant-microbial systems, or developing and optimising experimental protocols. Want to learn more about what my colleagues and I do? Check out the lab page: Please feel free to reach out on: My university email address: atharva.bhide@monash.edu My personal email address: atharvaabhide@gmail.com