Data Champions Search

I studied biomedical engineering for my bachelor's degree at Southeast University in Nanjing, China. During my senior year, I interned at BGI-Shenzhen, where I began to extend my knowledge of bioinformatics by working on the genomics of plants, such as the ginkgo tree, and animals. During my Master's at the same university, I had the opportunity to start exploring the formation of algae blooms by characterizing the compositions of the bloom-forming microbial communities in Lake Taihu. Using metagenomics, we found that complementation in bioprocesses, such as nitrogen fixation, between cyanobacteria and their physically attached microbes contributes to the formation of aggregates. In 2017, I moved to Germany for my PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. There, I applied and developed computational tools to help us understand host-microbe interactions. Specifically, I focused on unravelling the complex relationships between plants and the microbes living inside and in the immediate vicinity of their roots.
 

I joined the Office of Scholarly Communication in November 2018 as Research Data Coordinator for the Research Data Management Facility. I manage the Data Champion Programme as part of my role. I have a PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and was a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research from 2009–2017, specialising in human evolution and Palaeolithic archaeology. 

Additional areas of expertise:

Archaeology data

Soniya Gupta-Rawal is a PhD student in Quantitative Marketing, advised by Professor Jaideep Prabhu at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. She is a Commonwealth Masters Scholar 2021 and Mitsubishi Scholar 2016. Her interest lies in the empirical analysis of marketing problems at the intersection of business innovation, social impact, and marketing strategy. Soniya's current research focuses on developing the matching algorithm for mentors and nano-entrepreneurs in India by employing machine learning and econometric modelling.

Soniya’s 7+yrs of experience as a researcher in emerging markets fuels her inspiration to contribute to the sustainable business ecosystem as she has held positions as a Researcher at the Department of Strategic Marketing, MICA, India; Research Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Policy Research; and Research Consultant at Ernst & Young, Global Delivery Service, India. She has interned at Grant Thornton, EY India, Urban Company and Parliament of India. She is constantly learning and developing a comprehensive understanding of the working of markets and individuals at the intersection of the market, social and academic spheres.

Biocuration of lab type IIS standardised DNA registries through LIMS-Benchling and R. Assist in the overall management of OpenPlant lab, including Microscopy Hub. Conduct research in Synthetic Biology and Plant Development.

Additional areas of expertise:

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) – Benchling.