Sandhya received her PhD from the University of Mumbai in India, where she did her doctoral research on the efficacy of ayurvedic formulations in animal cancer models. Her interest in basic immunology prompted her to pursue post-doctoral research on structural and mechanistic aspects of proteins involved in immune response. In her current lab, under the mentorship of Dr. Krishna Rajarathnam, she is studying the chemokine CXCL8 that has been implicated in several inflammatory diseases. Her studies to date suggest a more subtle and fundamental role for chemokine monomer-dimer equilibrium, in contrast to the current thinking that monomers and dimers play distinct non-overlapping roles in CXCL8 function. Her research should provide critical insight into how an imbalance in the monomer-dimer equilibrium mediates disease, and she will use this knowledge in developing chemokine based anti-inflammatory therapeutics. Her career goal is to pursue an academic career in a major university. Research Project: Role of CXCL8 monomer–dimer equilibrium in neutrophil recruitment in immunity and infection.