Aashay Mardikar

I'm a biochemist beginning MD-PhD training in the Stanford Medical Scientist Training Program. My work has lived in three overlapping spaces: the molecular mechanisms of human disease — most recently RNA biology and tRNA modification in the Fu Lab, previously antimicrobial resistance in the Dunman Lab; the translation of those mechanisms toward clinical impact — through both wet-lab research and VAPGuard, a medical device venture; and the ethics and policy of drug discovery — particularly how antimicrobials, and broadly all medicines, reach patients, in collaboration with the Department of Philosophy at URochester.

Teaching and mentorship are part of how I think about that work. I co-founded and continue to develop Qubix, an exam-review platform now used by 500+ students across STEM courses at URochester.

When I'm not in the lab, I love playing the violin and piano in chamber ensembles and orchestras. You can also find me cooking, reading, or at the driving range.

† corresponding author

1. In Press Mardikar, A.† (2026). Anticipatory Antibiotics as Preventive Medicine: The Ethics of Proactive Clinical Trials. JME Practical Bioethics.
2. Mardikar, A.†, Ramanan, S., Stephen, M., Graham, R. J., & Gunturi, A. (2025). The promise of blue light in combating ventilator-associated pneumonia. Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine, 20(5), 501–511. doi.org/10.1080/17476348.2025.2587311
3. Gondil, V. S., Butman, H. S., Young, M., Walsh, D. J., Narkhede, Y., Zeiler, M. J., Crow, A. H., Carpenter, M. E., Mardikar, A., Melander, R. J., Wiest, O.†, Dunman, P. M.†, & Melander, C.† (2024). Development of phenylurea-based small molecules that target penicillin-binding protein 4. Chemical Biology & Drug Design, 103(6), e14569. doi.org/10.1111/cbdd.14569
4. Senanayaka, D., Zeng, D., Deniz, E., Priyankara, I. K., Helmbreck, J., Schneider, O., Mardikar, A., Uren, A., & Reiter, N. J.† (2024). Anticancer drugs of Lysine Specific Histone Demethylase-1 (LSD1) display variable inhibition on nucleosome substrates. Biochemistry, 63(11), 1369–1375. doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.4c00090
5. Slick, R. A., Sutton, J., Haberman, M., O'Brien, B. S., Tinklenberg, J. A., Mardikar, A., Prom, M. J., Beatka, M., Gartz, M., Vanden Avond, M. A., Siebers, E., Mack, D. L., Gonzalez, J. P., Ebert, A. D., Nagaraju, K., & Lawlor, M. W.† (2024). High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a potential disease biomarker in cell and mouse models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Biology Open, 13(9), bio060542. doi.org/10.1242/bio.060542