Balendu Sankara Avvaru

Balu earned his Bachelors of Science in 2003 at Andhra Loyola College in Chemistry, Zoology and Botany while loitering away most of his free time head-banging to 80’s and 90’s rock. With a stiff neck he went on to pursue his Masters in Biotechnology at the PSG College of Arts and Science where his long awaited scientific vocation kicked off with his Masters internship at the National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi. At NII, he worked on the PKn A - Serine/Threonine protein kinase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis under the guidance of Dr. Vinay Kumar Nandicoori.

Balu joined the IDP in the Fall of 2006. He now researches the structure and function of Human Carbonic Anhydrase II (HCA II) and human mitochondrial Manganese Superoxide Dismutase (MnSOD) through X-ray crystallography and enzyme kinetics under the direction of Drs. Robert McKenna and David Silverman. His current research projects involve studying the active site metal ion coordination chemistry of HCA II and active site dimmer interface of MnSOD.

Besides science, Balu loves listening to old school rock, painting oil on canvas, reading poetry and jumping out of perfectly good planes with a parachute.