Swati Aggarwal
Swati Aggarwal
Swati Aggarwal is a membrane protein biochemist currently working at ESS, Sweden. Her major research interest is to design a methodology to grow large crystals of membrane and cytoplasmic proteins. To do so, she extracts proteins from bacterias, animals or even plants in the form of a solution. This solution is then converted into the form of beautiful crystals (just like snow or salt crystals).
Since these protein molecules are way too small to be observed by a microscope, she uses radiation of X-rays or neutrons to study the structure of proteins. This study helps scientists to design a drug against proteins that are involved in causing a disease or understand the basic functioning of the human body and plants.
Apart from science she is also deeply engaged in various science communication activities for ESS and EU-Horizon. According to her, “Communicating science beyond the academic bubble is very important to build public understanding of health and environmental issues.” Thus, she depicts her complex science projects in the form of art to increase the awareness about wonderful scientific discoveries. She is working on different modes of communication to narrow the bridge between the fascinating ‘science world’ and the general public.