Ananya Dash

Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Advisor: Christopher LaRock, Ph.D.

Thesis: Streptococcal M Protein Release in Antigenicity, Inflammation, and Virulence

Funding support from the American Heart Association Pre-doctoral Fellowship

University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Advisor: Sharmistha Banerjee, Ph.D.

Thesis: Prediction and Comparative Analysis of Iron-Dependent Gene Regulation in Mycobacterium species

A science blog to address the lack of science communication training for graduate students at Emory University

• •Review story ideas, edit drafts, and oversee a regular team of writers
• •Lead a writing workshop on how to interview sources, reduce jargon, and produce engaging stories
• •Collaborate with co-founders to design content for website launch

An online journal for stories produced in "Health Writing and Narratives" course by Maryn McKenna

• •Edit weekly news and science-themed media reviews for clarity, grammar, and narrative
• •Coach students on writing and finalize story submissions to upload on website
• •Publish monthly stories on women's health, nutrition, wellness trends, and infectious diseases

• •Participated in science writing mentorship programs at Sequencer and NASW
• •Published stories on Emory News Center, American Society of Microbiology, and elsewhere

• •Lead a student-run non-profit organization with a team of 25+ members to manage free-of-cost mentorship program for graduate and medical school applicants
• •Oversee communications and resource development to support 1000+ mentor-mentee matches via emails, newsletters, workshops, podcasts, and other social media platforms
• •Revamped application platform to improve mentor-mentee matching efficiency
• •Mentored 10+ mentees from the US, India, Egypt, and Africa for graduate school applications

• •Designed educational activities to effectively communicate "How Vaccines Work?" to children
• •Trained over 30+ volunteers to explain the science of vaccines and debunk health misinformation

• •Fundraised across ten universities in the Southeast region and coordinated logistics
• •Hosted Maryn Mckenna, infectious disease journalist, author, and speaker to lead a writing workshop "Reporting Science in real time"
• •Organized and moderated a panel discussion on "Diverse Voices in Science Communication"

• •Led a visual communications workshop on designing graphical abstracts, posters, and presentations
• •Invited speakers for a panel discussion on "Art Your Science"

• •Designed curriculum on antimicrobial resistance for high-school students and undergraduates
• •Created pre-assessments, lesson plans, & repository of existing resources
• •Collaborated with scientists, educators, and students for curriculum evaluation in the US and India

Dash A, LaRock CN. 2025. Talk. Dynamics of M protein release in Group A Streptococcus. Southeast Branch American Society of Microbiology Meeting, Athens, GA

Dash A, Vierengal M, Bishop M. 2025. Poster. BareBones STEM: A science-writing platform featuring women scientists at Emory University. ComSciCon-Flagship Conference, Boston, MA

Dash A. 2024. Talk. Applying to Graduate School and Scholarships as an International Applicant. Empowering Female Minds in STEM Bootcamp. Project SHORT Invited Speaker

Do H, Li ZR, Tripathi PK, Mitra S, Guerra S, Dash A, Weerasekera D, Makthal N, Shams S, Aggarwal S, Singh BB, Gu D, Du Y, Olsen RJ, LaRock CN, Zhang W, & Kumaraswami M (2024). Engineered probiotic overcomes pathogen defences using signal interference and antibiotic production to treat infection in mice. Nature microbiology.View →

Wilde S, Dash A, Johnson A, Mackey K, Okumura CYM, & LaRock CN (2023). Detoxification of reactive oxygen species by the hyaluronic acid capsule of group A Streptococcus. Infection and immunity.View →