Akhilesh Deshpande

Bioinformatics professional with 2.3+ years of experience spanning industry biotech (Curo Biosciences) and cancer research (National Cancer Institute), specializing in NGS data analysis, pipeline development, and computational cancer genomics. Proficient in Python, R, and Linux-based bioinformatics workflows, with hands-on exposure to variant calling, RNA-Seq/DNA-Seq analysis, and reproducible pipeline design using Nextflow and Snakemake. Adept at translating raw sequencing and multi-omics data into actionable biological insights to support precision oncology, biomarker discovery, and drug-target research.

Seeking to bring strong analytical, programming, and cross-functional collaboration skills to a computational biology or bioinformatics role at a growth-focused biotech, pharma & startup.

Sr. Executive - Curo Biosciences Private Limited

(2025-08)

• Perform end-to-end bioinformatics analysis of NGS datasets (WGS/WES/RNA-Seq), including quality control, alignment, variant calling, and annotation to support ongoing research and product-development projects.
• Design and maintain reproducible analysis pipelines using Python, R, and workflow managers (Nextflow/Snakemake) to process large-scale genomic and transcriptomic datasets.
• Collaborate with wet-lab and R&D teams to interpret sequencing results, translate findings into clear reports, and support data-driven decision-making.
• Manage and query public genomic databases (NCBI, Ensembl, TCGA, GEO) to benchmark internal findings against published research.
• Contribute to documentation of SOPs and analysis protocols to ensure reproducibility and compliance with internal quality standards.

Research Associate - National Cancer Institute (NCI)

(2025-01 - 2025-07)

• Analyzed cancer genomics datasets (TCGA and in-house cohorts) to identify candidate biomarkers and mutation signatures relevant to precision oncology research.
• Applied variant-calling and annotation pipelines (GATK, ANNOVAR/VEP) to identify somatic and germline variants associated with tumor progression.
• Performed differential gene expression analysis (DESeq2/edgeR) on RNA-Seq data to characterize transcriptomic changes across cancer subtypes.
• Assisted in literature review, data curation, and preparation of research summaries to support ongoing cancer-research initiatives.

Research Associate Intern - geneOmbio Technologies

(2023-07 - 2024-01)

• Supported bioinformatics projects involving sequence analysis, genome annotation, and comparative genomics using standard open-source tools.
• Assisted in developing Python/R scripts to automate routine data-processing and QC tasks, improving analysis turnaround time.
• Gained hands-on exposure to NGS data formats (FASTQ, BAM, VCF) and industry-standard bioinformatics workflows.

Market Research Associate - Polaris Market Research & Consulting

(2023-01 - 2023-07)

• Conducted market and industry research within the life-sciences/healthcare domain, synthesizing data into structured reports for stakeholders.
• Applied data analysis and visualization techniques to identify trends, supporting evidence-based business recommendations.
• Strengthened analytical writing, secondary research, and data-handling skills later applied to bioinformatics data interpretation.

M.Sc. - Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (Specialization: Bioinformatics) - Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Institute, Tathawade, Pune (2021)

B.Sc. - Biology / Biological Sciences, General - Dharampeth M.P. Deo Memorial Science College (2018-06 - 2020-06)