• Formulated, designed and spearheaded documentation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for quality control operations in the Biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory.• Determined the role of specific mutations in polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase/RdRp) on disease outcomes, using proteomics and bioinformatics analysis, leading to NV INBRE-Core service award ($4,000).• Studied the role of human herpes viruses in augmenting COVID-19 severity in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals, leading to Mountain West Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network Pilot Grant worth $66,000.• Validated the performance of the SCoV-2 Ag Detect™ Rapid test with various SARS-CoV-2 variants, assisting in the external evaluation of InBioS International Inc.’s SCoV-2 Ag Detect™ Rapid test.• Developed a robust high-throughput cell-based reporter assay for screening SARS-CoV-2 RdRp inhibitors, determining Dasavubir (an FDA-approved drug) as a potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 RdRp drug.

• Evaluated the virucidal efficacy of FATHHOME’s ozone-based sanitizing device towards human coronavirus/HCoV-oc43 inactivation and helped the company in writing and securing the NSF and NIH grants worth half a million.• Demonstrated effective inactivation of human coronavirus/ HCoV-oc43 by MACOMA/FN Photocatalytic Air disinfection system, and American UVC Science/Phase-R virus eliminator, contributing towards $160,000 lab funding as well as funding by private investors for product commercialization.• Helped inter-departmental team design and validate the point-of-care SARS-CoV-2 test for rapid detection of human coronavirus infection in nasal swabs and saliva, resulting in new product development before market release.

• Mentored graduate (7), undergraduate (12), and medical students (6) on the state-of-the-art laboratory procedures, and proof-read/edited their presentations or thesis or dissertations or manuscripts before submission.• Developed and documented standardized protocols for several routinely lab conducted molecular biology assays.• Identified in-vitro the precise role of KSHV latent protein-LANA, and lytic proteins-RTA, SOX, and ORF59, in the viral genome persistence and reactivation, leading to 14 peer-reviewed scientific publications and 1 book chapter on DNA tumor viruses.• Demonstrated, for the first time, ZIKV dysregulation of immune pathways in monocytes and endothelial cells increases endothelial permeability, resulting in 5 collaborative papers, and 2 poster presentations at the international conferences.

* Designed and synthesized a series of new symmetrical and unsymmetrical meso-substituted Benzo-appended BODIPY dyes as promising fluorophores for biolabeling applications* Synthesized and characterized novel styryl- and lysyl-BODIPY conjugates as potential imaging dyes* Prepared a series of BODIPY-PEG and BODIPY-Carbohydrate conjugates for various bioimaging applications using Cu-catalyzed “Click” chemistry * Contributed to grant application and publications derived from the project data.

* Taught General Chemistry Lab (Chem 1212, Linda R. Allen, PhD)) and Organic Chemistry Lab (Chem 2364, Dr. Alfonso Davila, PhD). Conducted experiments, Proctored and Graded Quizzes, Exams and Lab report and received Strong Instructor rating of > 4.59 every semester* Designed projects for and supervised three undergraduate students by effective white board discussions, use of scientific literature, designing experiments and analyzing data, while maintaining active research at LSU