Sunanda Sharma
sunanda@exsitu.bio | www.ssunanda.com | ORCID: 0000-0001-8822-7960
Experimental biologist and planetary scientist passionate about interdisciplinary innovation. Current focus on evolutionary biology, optical spectroscopy for dynamic phenotyping, and Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy for planetary science. Experience in developing new technologies for bio-integrated design, engineering, and manufacturing across scales. Research interests: open science, astrobiology, extremophiles, space biology, biological pigmentation, and computational image and spectral analysis. Citizenship: USA.
Education
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 2021 - 2024
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Astrobiology & Ocean Worlds
Advisors: Dr. Luther Beegle, Dr. Morgan Cable, Dr. Yang Liu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 2020
Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences, Thesis: “Designing the Organism-Environment Relationship”
Advisors: Prof. Neri Oxman, Prof. Ed Boyden, Prof. Danny Hillis
GPA 5.0/5.0
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 2016
S.M. in Media Arts and Sciences, Thesis: “Design for the Modern Prometheus: Towards an Integrated Biodesign Workflow”
Advisors: Prof. Neri Oxman, Prof. Ed Boyden, Dr. Jean Livet
GPA 5.0/5.0
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 2014
S.B. in Biology, Concentration in Psychology, Thesis: “Behavioral and Electrophysiological Study of Virtual Navigation in Mice”
Advisors: Prof. Ed Boyden, Dr. Annabelle Singer
GPA 4.0/5.0
*The MIT Media Lab’s Media Arts and Sciences program is a science and technology-focused interdisciplinary department that conducts high-impact research supported by corporate funding as well as federal grants. About 20% of the faculty in this department are in the fields of biology or bioengineering. My research focused on experimental biology.