Rate My Professor Shilpa Saseendran Nair

Shilpa Saseendran Nair is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Pletzer Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago. She commenced this role following her tenure as an Assistant Research Fellow in the Fellner Research Group from 2023 to 2025, where her work focused on bacterial metabolomics and lipidomics. In 2023, Nair joined the Pletzer Lab on a collaborative project with Dr. Matthias Fellner, employing Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus as model organisms to investigate metabolomics and lipidomics. She also served as Director of Real World Labs Limited from 2021 to 2022. Prior to her positions at Otago, Nair completed her PhD in Molecular Medicine at the University of Auckland in Professor Simon Swift's laboratory, with previous research conducted in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology.

Nair's research specializes in applied microbiology, antibacterials, antibiotic resistance, bacteriology, and bacterial biofilms. Her current projects include identifying and evaluating novel host defence peptides from the bovine proteome for meat preservation and food industry applications. Key publications co-authored by Nair include 'Comparative lipidomics profiles of planktonic and biofilms of methicillin-resistant and -susceptible Staphylococcus aureus' (2024), in which she led writing, data visualization, validation, software analysis, methodology, and investigation; 'Real-world testing of the durability claims of a commercially available spray-on surface biocide' (2025), assessing biocide efficacy in practical settings; and 'The antibacterial potency and antibacterial mechanism of a commercially-available surface-anchoring quaternary ammonium salt (SAQAS) based biocide in vitro' (2022). Earlier contributions feature 'A Sustained Release Anchored Biocide System Utilizing the Smartphone Glyphosate Quick Test Strip' (2018). Her expertise encompasses PCR, microbial culture, and antibacterial activity testing, contributing to advancements in combating resistant pathogens through innovative biocides and lipidomic profiling.