The Rise and Global Spread of IMP Carbapenemases (1996–2023): A Genomic Epidemiology Study.
Nature Communications 17, 183 (2026). doi:10.1038/s41467-025-66874-7
About
Background, research focus, publications, and technical experience for Bhargava Morampalli.
Bhargava Reddy Morampalli
PhD candidate · Bioinformatician · India / New Zealand
PhD candidate in Genetics at Massey University in Auckland, New Zealand, studying RNA modifications in bacteria using Oxford Nanopore sequencing.
Background
My background is unusual for bioinformatics. I spent years doing wet lab research across academia and industry before transitioning to computational work during my PhD. I had minimal programming experience when I started. I learned Python, Unix, and Nextflow along the way.
That transition from bench to command line taught me that the best computational biologists understand both sides: how data is generated and how to extract meaning from it. Sample prep artifacts, sequencing chemistry quirks, experimental design decisions — these all show up in downstream analysis. You interpret differently when you know where the data came from.
Toward the end of my PhD, I worked as a Research Scientist at Alfred Health in Melbourne, tracking antimicrobial resistance through genomic epidemiology. Most recently, I spent a year as a Subject Matter Expert and Product Owner for a qPCR data analysis platform — a hybrid role bridging biology, product strategy, and customer-facing work.
Research focus
- Epitranscriptomics
Mapping RNA modifications in bacterial genomes using direct RNA sequencing.
- Microbial genomics
Comparative genomics, phylogenetics, pangenome analysis.
- Antimicrobial resistance
Genomic surveillance of carbapenem-resistant pathogens.
- Pipeline development
Nextflow workflows for reproducible analysis.
- Method evaluation
Benchmarking tools, optimizing workflows.
Technical skills
LanguagesPython (Biopython, pandas, data visualization) · R · Bash
WorkflowsNextflow (containerization, HPC) · Snakemake
SequencingOxford Nanopore (library prep, basecalling, signal analysis) · Illumina
InfrastructureUnix/Linux · version control · HPC environments · containers
Wet labMolecular biology techniques across microbial and mammalian systems
Publications
Efficiency of the Synthetic Self-Splicing RiboJ Ribozyme Is Robust to Cis- and Trans-Changes in Genetic Background.
MicrobiologyOpen 10, no. 4 (2021): e1232. doi:10.1002/mbo3.1232
Elsewhere
Full CV (PDF) · Reading corner · GitHub · LinkedIn · Google Scholar · ORCID · Email