protists.co.uk | The Team

Varsha is an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow interested in understanding how parasitism evolves in eukaryotes. In 2021, Varsha completed a PhD at University of British Columbia where she studied the phylogeny and evolution of apicomplexan parasites using single-cell transcriptomics. Her research interests involve using phylogenomics and comparative genomics to study extreme reductive evolution in the organelles (mitochondria and plastids) of parasites.

During her postdoctoral research at Oxford, she aims to examine diverse parasitic groups, such as the Pirsoniales and Perkinsea, to gain insights into how parasites evolve from free-living ancestors using long-read genome sequencing, microscopy, and experimental approaches.

She is also broadly interested in protistology, marine ecosystems, and birds. Outside of research, she enjoys travelling, exploring nature, eating spicy food, doing yoga, and spending time with her friends, family, and dogs.