Leena is an environmental biologist and an animal physiologist. She earned her PhD from SP Pune University, India in the field of Climate Change Biology using insects as representative animal models. Subsequently, as a DBT-BioCARe Scientist, she advocated applications of insect silk biopolymers from environmental sustainability perspectives. Through international research exposure as an EMBO and a DAAD Fellow, and more recently, as a Postdoctoral Visitor at York University, Canada, she continued to explore the survival mechanisms of insects under unfavourable conditions, and how we can use this foundational knowledge to tackle real-world challenges.

She is a passionate educator and science communicator. Being able to make science accessible and engaging, doubles her joy as a science professional!