V.K. Viswanathan

Dr. ‘Vish’ Viswanathan completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in India, and his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For his doctoral studies, he characterized specific aspects of folic acid biosynthesis in Escherichia coli. He subsequently did his post-doctoral studies at Northwestern University, studying iron uptake and other virulence-related processes in the lung pathogen, Legionella pneumophila.  He returned to the University of Illinois as a junior faculty member, shifting his focus to the virulence factors of pathogenic Escherichia coli. Since these studies could also be performed in a place with a warmer climate, he moved to the University of Arizona in 2009. Around this time, he also figured out that his laboratory members were even more capable of performing the experiments and generating data. His current role is to stare at the Catalina mountains, reflecting on the excellent data generated by his group, and conjure up new ways to keep them busy. He enjoys writing about Science for broader audiences, and especially for students.