# Khushi Singh (khushisingh.in) > I’m Khushi Singh, a biologist studying how gene expression is controlled in early development, by chromatin regulators and by mRNA–protein condensates. Khushi Singh is a biologist: BS-MS at IISER Pune (Biology major, Chemistry minor) and master’s research (2026–27) at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, Germany, on whether gut microbes and the lactate they make can leave chemical marks on DNA packaging that carry over to the next generation, studied in fruit flies. Earlier projects covered biosensors, protein droplets (phase separation), the endoplasmic reticulum and autophagy, and RNA condensates in the fly germline. Open to PhD positions from 2027. How to read this site: - Every science claim carries an evidence label: established, strong evidence, emerging, hypothesis or debated. Hypotheses are always labelled as hypotheses. - The site is written in the first person by Khushi. Research pages are for scientists; Biology made simple explains the basics in plain language, each concept with a labelled picture and a short animation. - The site shows research questions and published background only, never unpublished lab data, images or results. - Text and original illustrations are CC BY 4.0; credit “Khushi Singh (khushisingh.in)” and link the page. Data and models keep their own licences (see /reuse/). - Every page has a markdown copy: add .md to the path without the trailing slash (for example /explore/01-dna-rna-protein.md). ## Biology made simple (eight short concept pages, from DNA to the embryo’s first genes, for anyone curious) - [Biology made simple](https://khushisingh.in/explore.md): The basic biology behind my research in eight short steps, from DNA to the embryo’s first genes, each with a labelled picture and a short animation. - [DNA, RNA, protein](https://khushisingh.in/explore/01-dna-rna-protein.md): Every living thing stores its instructions in DNA, copies the part it needs into RNA, and reads that copy to build proteins. - [Switching genes on: transcription factors](https://khushisingh.in/explore/02-switching-genes-on.md): Proteins called transcription factors read short DNA switches and decide which genes are copied, in which cells, and when. - [Chromatin: how DNA is packed and marked](https://khushisingh.in/explore/03-chromatin.md): DNA is wound on spools of histone proteins. Tags on the spools, added and removed by protein complexes, help decide which genes can be reached. - [The life of an mRNA](https://khushisingh.in/explore/04-the-life-of-an-mrna.md): An mRNA is edited, sent to the right place, stored or read, and finally destroyed. Each step is a chance to control the protein it makes. - [Making proteins: translation](https://khushisingh.in/explore/05-making-proteins.md): A ribosome reads an mRNA three letters at a time and joins amino acids in that order. The chain folds into a protein whose shape is its job. - [Droplets inside cells](https://khushisingh.in/explore/06-droplets-inside-cells.md): Some proteins and RNAs gather into droplets without a membrane, like oil in vinegar. Whether a droplet stays liquid or hardens matters. - [Food for genes: metabolism and histone marks](https://khushisingh.in/explore/07-food-for-genes.md): The molecules a cell makes from its food are also the raw material for tags on histones, so metabolism can change how genes are used. - [The embryo’s first genes](https://khushisingh.in/explore/08-the-embryos-first-genes.md): Every animal embryo starts on its mother’s instructions, then switches on its own genes. When this hand-over happens differs between species. ## Research (questions, background and methods; no unpublished data) - [My research](https://khushisingh.in/research.md): I study how gene expression is controlled in early development, at chromatin and through mRNA–protein condensates, and how metabolism and behaviour connect to… - [Metabolism and behaviour: activity and sleep in flies](https://khushisingh.in/research/behaviour-and-metabolism.md): Metabolism and behaviour are tightly linked: starved flies sleep less, and diet and gut microbes change activity and food choice. - [First steps: insects, light and plant–pathogen life on a campus](https://khushisingh.in/research/ecology-first-steps.md): A field project in which I studied how insects respond to light and how plants and their pathogens interact across the IISER Pune campus, using field-ecology… - [When the cell’s folding factory changes shape](https://khushisingh.in/research/er-and-autophagy.md): The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a network of tubes and sheets where many proteins are made and folded, and its shape is set by dedicated ER-shaping proteins. - [From gut to germline: can microbes leave notes for the next generation?](https://khushisingh.in/research/gut-to-germline.md): What parents eat, and the microbes they live with, may influence their children’s biology. - [Research interests](https://khushisingh.in/research/interests.md): I want to understand how gene expression is controlled in early development: at chromatin, by transcription factors, protein complexes and epigenetic… - [Model system: the fruit fly](https://khushisingh.in/research/model-system.md): Above all the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster: its egg chambers in the ovary and its earliest embryo, at the moment the embryo’s own genes take over from… - [Droplets that build the germline: imaging oskar RNA in fly embryos](https://khushisingh.in/research/oskar-condensates.md): oskar RNA is localised to the posterior of the Drosophila oocyte, where it nucleates the germ plasm that specifies future germ cells. - [Talks, posters and outputs](https://khushisingh.in/research/outputs.md): Where this work has been shared so far. Publications will appear here once they exist; nothing is claimed before it is published. - [A glowing sensor to watch a bacterial division protein at work](https://khushisingh.in/research/phosphate-biosensor-ftsz.md): FtsZ is the bacterial cousin of tubulin and forms the ring that divides a bacterium; it splits GTP into GDP and phosphate as it works. - [Droplet or clump? Phase separation of the prion protein](https://khushisingh.in/research/prion-phase-separation.md): Many proteins undergo liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS), forming dense droplets without a membrane. - [The toolbox](https://khushisingh.in/research/toolbox.md): The methods behind my projects, each explained in a sentence or two. Science is mostly careful measurement plus a good question. ## Policy briefs (referenced, with confidence levels) - [Evidence for people who decide](https://khushisingh.in/policy.md): Short, referenced briefs that connect biology to decisions on maternal and child health, antibiotics and research. - [How I work](https://khushisingh.in/policy/how-we-work.md): How I make the briefs, how sure I am, and what I promise not to do. - [The first 1,000 days include microbes, and both parents](https://khushisingh.in/policy/briefs/first-1000-days-microbes.md): What new biology on parents, microbes and early development means for India’s maternal and child health programmes. - [New antibiotics need new targets, and better tools to find them](https://khushisingh.in/policy/briefs/new-antibiotic-targets.md): Why bacterial cell division (FtsZ) and real-time biosensor assays deserve a place in India’s response to antimicrobial resistance. - [Small organisms, big returns](https://khushisingh.in/policy/briefs/small-organisms-big-returns.md): Shared infrastructure for model-organism research would multiply the value of India’s new research investments. ## Free in-browser tools (image analysis, lab calculators, sequences, statistics, AlphaFold explorer) - [Tools](https://khushisingh.in/tools.md): Small, careful tools for everyday lab work. They run in your browser: no account, no upload, no tracking. - [AlphaFold explorer](https://khushisingh.in/tools/alphafold.md): Open any protein’s predicted structure from AlphaFold, check how confident the prediction is, and save figures for a paper or poster. - [Image lab](https://khushisingh.in/tools/image-lab.md): Look at, measure and count microscope images the way you would in ImageJ or Fiji, in your browser. - [Lab calculators](https://khushisingh.in/tools/lab-calculators.md): The everyday bench maths, with the formula shown: molarity, dilutions and serial dilutions, centrifuge speed, cell counts and seeding, DNA, RNA and protein… - [Nuclei counter](https://khushisingh.in/tools/nuclei-counter.md): Count and measure cell nuclei in a fluorescence image, right in your browser. Your image never leaves your device. - [Sequence tools](https://khushisingh.in/tools/sequence.md): Paste a DNA, RNA or protein sequence: reverse complement, six-frame translation and open reading frames, GC content, restriction sites, protein mass and… - [Statistics helper](https://khushisingh.in/tools/statistics.md): Compare two groups the careful way: see every data point, get the difference with its confidence interval, the usual tests and an effect size, explained in… ## Impact, teaching and outreach - [Science that cares across generations](https://khushisingh.in/impact.md): How research on tiny flies connects to human health, to education, and to the decisions that shape the next generation, told honestly. - [Open science commitments](https://khushisingh.in/impact/open-science.md): Studies using open practices are trusted more, and open materials help more people learn. Here is what this site promises. - [Science for everyone](https://khushisingh.in/impact/outreach.md): Science grows when more people feel it belongs to them. Here is how I share it, and how you can invite a talk. - [Teach with this site](https://khushisingh.in/impact/teach.md): Free, curriculum-linked ideas for every concept in Biology made simple: goals, a discussion question and an exit ticket. ## About Khushi Singh - [Hello, I’m Khushi](https://khushisingh.in/about.md): I’m a biologist who likes asking how living things sense their world, and how that sense becomes memory, from a single molecule to the next generation. - [Curriculum vitae](https://khushisingh.in/about/cv.md): I am a biologist: a BS-MS student at IISER Pune, doing my master’s research at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg. - [Press kit and bios](https://khushisingh.in/about/press.md): Ready-to-use bios about me, and visuals you can reuse. The bios are in the third person and use my name only, with no pronouns, so they can be pasted anywhere. - [Say hello](https://khushisingh.in/contact.md): Questions about the science, invitations to talk at a school, collaborations, or PhD opportunities: I’d love to hear from you. ## Optional - [Everything in one file](https://khushisingh.in/llms-full.txt): the markdown of every page above, in this order. - [Accessibility](https://khushisingh.in/accessibility.md): This site aims to work for everyone, on any device, with or without a mouse, a screen or perfect vision. - [How this site is made](https://khushisingh.in/colophon.md): Static pages, a little JavaScript where it earns its place, open data, and illustrations drawn from scratch. - [Privacy](https://khushisingh.in/privacy.md): Short version: no cookies, no trackers, no accounts. I collect almost nothing. - [Reuse my work](https://khushisingh.in/reuse.md): Teachers, students, journalists and officials: please use my explanations and illustrations. That’s why they exist. - [Home page](https://khushisingh.in/index.md): I’m Khushi Singh, a biologist studying how gene expression is controlled in early development, by chromatin regulators and by mRNA–protein condensates.