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Krithika Rajaram
Assistant Professor
Krithika grew up in South India and earned her bachelor's degree in Biotechnology in her hometown. She moved to the U.S. in 2008 to pursue a Ph.D. in Microbiology at Indiana University Bloomington, where she studied putative virulence factors in the pathogenic bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and related species in Dr. David Nelson’s lab. In 2015, she relocated to Baltimore for postdoctoral training, first with Dr. Rhoel Dinglasan and then with Dr. Sean Prigge at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. Krithika joined the faculty of the Department of Microbiology at OSU in Fall 2024, where she investigates organelle biology in Plasmodium falciparum.
Apurva Oke
Research Associate
Apurva, originally a native of West India, grew up all across India with a short stint in Kuwait. After graduating with a bachelor's in biotechnology in India, her globe-trotting eventually led her to pursue her master's in medical biotechnology in USA at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Rockford. Her master's thesis project revolved around characterizing a protein-protein interaction between Cas9, of CRISPR-Cas9 fame, and a human DNA repair protein. She then took a deeper dive into the world of gene-editing while working as a Research Associate-II at Enceladus Bio, an RNA therapeutics start-up based in New York City, before switching gears towards microbial genetics. In her free time, she can be found constantly hunting for new music to listen to and good books to read.
James Blauwkamp
Postdoctoral Scholar
James grew up in West Michigan and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. During his undergraduate studies he participated in a Co-op internship at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago where he researched lithium ion battery cathode material and honed his laboratory skills. From Chicago he pursued a Ph.D. at the Indiana University School of Medicine where he utilized advanced Ultrastructure Expansion Microscopy to study many different aspects of Plasmodium cell biology in the group of Dr. Sabrina Absalon. He brings this passion for microscopy to the Rajaram group for postdoctoral training where he will continue to capture stunning images of the small Plasmodium parasite. In his off hours he enjoys his love of bowling and (weather permitting) golfing, as well as board games with friends.
STUDENTS
Angel Eisenhuth
PhD student, Microbiology
Angel grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and earned her bachelor’s degree in Microbiology with a minor in Global Public Health and Epidemiology at Michigan State University in 2023. During her time at MSU, she studied the metabolism of Mycobacterium in Dr. Robert Abramovitch’s lab. After graduating, she became a lab technician in Dr. Daria Van Tyne’s lab at the University of Pittsburgh. There, she focused on bacteriophage therapy for patients with antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Angel joined the Department of Microbiology at OSU as a PhD student in Fall 2024, where she primarily researches redox biology within the apicoplast of Plasmodium falciparum.
Marion Parshall
PhD student, Microbiology
Marion is originally from Brighton, Michigan and went on to attend Michigan State University (MSU). While she was there, she was an undergraduate research assistant at the Wilson Lab working with the parasitoid, Ganaspis kimorum. After graduating with bachelor degrees in Microbiology and Genomics and Molecular Genetics from MSU, she became a PhD student in the Department of Microbiology at Ohio State University. In February of 2025, she joined the Rajaram Lab to complete her thesis. Her project revolves around the mitochondrial metabolic pathways of Plasmodium falciparum.
Inti Cerrato
Undergraduate student, Microbiology
Inti was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. He is currently a third-year microbiology student and is completing a minor in History. He joined Dr. Rajaram’s lab in February 2025. This is his first experience working in a research lab. He is very excited to learn invaluable lessons through both successes and failures. While he is uncertain about what he wants to pursue after his undergraduate career at Ohio State University, he believes the experience in the lab will be instrumental in helping him decide.
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