Program 2

Project-Based Mentorship Led by Elite PhD Research Faculty

Dr. Natarajan and Dr. Vellichirammal offer separate research programs designed to give students meaningful, hands-on experience in scientific research. Through project-based research and personalized mentorship, students explore real-world scientific questions, develop skills in research and data analysis, and strengthen their problem-solving and scientific communication abilities.

Compare the two tracks

The faculty

Two mentors. Two separate research programs.

Each mentor runs their own program, so students work directly with the scientist whose field matches their question.

Mentor 1

Dr. Chandrasekhar Natarajan

Protein Science, Engineering & Evolution

Custom structural modeling, molecular phylogenetics, and building protein expression systems to investigate adaptive mechanisms.

Publications: 41+
US patents: 5
Years research: 25+

Ph.D. in Biotechnology, former Assistant Professor with 25+ years of active bench tenure. Authored 41+ publications in journals including Science, PNAS, and Current Biology, and holds 5 U.S. provisional patents through his industrial leadership.

Focus areas

Protein evolution & adaptation
Structural modeling
Molecular phylogenetics
Recombinant expression systems
Industrially relevant protein design

Best for students interested in biochemistry, structural biology, and lab-based design fairs.

chandrurgcb@gmail.com

Mentor 2

Dr. Neetha Vellichirammal

Genomics, Computational Coding & Medical AI

Genetics, data analysis pipelines, and machine learning approaches applied to understanding human disease.

Publications: 50+
Tools built: ChimeRScope
Years research: 25+

Ph.D. in Biotechnology, former Assistant Professor with 25+ years of research tenure. Authored 50+ publications and engineered diagnostic tools including ChimeRScope for detecting cancer fusion genes, with bioinformatics pipelines used in global clinical trials.

Focus areas

Genetics & genomics
Bioinformatics pipelines
Data analysis & coding
Machine learning for disease
Cancer biology

Best for students looking to fuse computer science, coding, and medical biology.

neethav@gmail.com

Track fit

Which track suits the student?

Both tracks end in a presentable body of work. They differ in where the work happens and what tools it uses.

Comparison of the two mentorship tracks
Dimension	Dr. Chandrasekhar NatarajanProtein Science, Engineering & Evolution	Dr. Neetha VellichirammalGenomics, Computational Coding & Medical AI
Core discipline	Protein science & evolution	Genomics & medical AI
Primary tooling	Structural modeling, expression systems	Pipelines, Python, ML frameworks
Work setting	Wet lab plus computational analysis	Primarily computational
Typical output	Design-fair project, protein characterization	Data-driven analysis, model + write-up
Strong fit if you like	Biochemistry and structural biology	Computer science and medical biology

Going further

Beyond the science fair.

Students whose results hold up can extend the project toward formal publication or a conference defense.

ENTERPRISE tier

Peer-Review Publishing Track

A 24-week milestone timeline taking a project from literature scan through manuscript submission and defense.

Not sure which mentor fits? Start the application anyway.

Choose “undecided” and we will match the student during the intake call. General enquiries: calscienceresearch@gmail.com.