About
Rohan Arora is a researcher in the Faculty of Sciences specializing in chromosome biology and stress tolerance mechanisms of bdelloid rotifers. He holds a Doctor of Sciences degree awarded in 2024 for his thesis on manganese-based antioxidants and extreme stress tolerance.
His educational background includes:
- Doctor of Sciences (2024)
Arora's research integrates chromosome dynamics, DNA repair pathways, and redox biochemistry to investigate how bdelloid rotifers survive extreme desiccation and radiation. His work focuses on homologous recombination in asexual organisms and the protective role of manganese-based antioxidants against oxidative damage, with implications for understanding genome stability in stress-tolerant species.
His 2021 Science Advances publication established a chromosome-level genome assembly for Adineta vaga, demonstrating homologous chromosome pairing and recombination in an asexual rotifer. This foundational work bridges evolutionary genomics, DNA repair mechanisms, and stress response systems, revealing novel adaptations in anhydrobiotic organisms.
Arora has led two major research projects: the BEST project (2018-2020) investigating bdelloid rotifers as models for extreme stress tolerance, and a 2021-2022 project on manganese-based antioxidants in Adineta vaga. Both projects involved multidisciplinary collaborations and examined stress tolerance genes, antioxidant systems, and genomic adaptations.