Alumni

Vamsikrishna Kandhi, Class of 2012

Posted on July 23, 2015

I came to UNCG because a friend and former graduate told me good things about their Chemistry and Biochemistry Department.  What I liked best about the Medicinal Biochemistry PhD program was that it provided a wide scope of research opportunities; chemists and biochemists working together under one roof.  This helped me gain perspective on my research project, which involved the application of chemistry tools to study problems relevant to biology.  I also benefited greatly from the opportunity to regularly present my research, both at lab meetings and at research conferences.  Participation in these meetings helped me better understand my own research and how it fits into the greater scientific framework.

While still a graduate student, my teaching assistant assignment was to work in the UNCG mass spectrometry facility.  It was this experience that enabled me to obtain a job as Laboratory Manager in the same type of facility at North Carolina State University (NCSU) right after graduation.  In my current position, I work to facilitate collaborative research using mass spectrometry tools.  I analyze samples from both within and outside NCSU, train graduate students in the operation of mass spectrometers, maintain and troubleshoot instrumentation, and perform method development for small molecule and protein analysis.  This is the same type of work that I did as a graduate student, and my excellent training at UNCG was critical for my success in this new role.

BS and MS in Pharmacy, Kakatiya University
PhD, Medicinal Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Laboratory Manager, North Carolina State University Mass Spectrometry Facility
vkandhi@ncsu.edu