Sita Chandrasekaran

PhD Candidate

UC San Francisco-UC Berkeley Joint Bioengineering Program

Sita Chandrasekaran graduated from SF State in 2019 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and minors in Computer Applications and Chinese Language. While at SF State, Sita worked in Raymond Esquerra’s biochemistry and biophysics lab, where she led multiple research projects. Sita also joined the first cohort of PINC (Promoting Inclusivity in Computing) students, a minor program for biologists with peer-mentorship to train and increase retention of diverse students in computer science. As she moved through the program, she became a mentor herself, teaching students Python and facilitating research projects. After spending a summer working part-time with Simone Bianco’s lab at IBM Research through the Center for Cellular Construction NSF-STC, Sita joined the UCSF-UCB joint bioengineering PhD program, where she is currently studying. She joined the lab of Patrick Hsu at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the lab shifted focus to developing a fast and scalable diagnostic.