Kavita Mallya is Gold U Award winner

Kavita Mallya is the first Gold U Award winner for 2015.

Mallya, a researcher in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been at UNMC for 11 years. She originally worked in biochemistry and molecular biology, then worked in ophthalmology for several years before returning to biochemistry to work with Surinder Batra, Ph.D., the department chairman.

“During the last six years, her contributions to my group and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s growth are phenomenal and admirable,” Dr. Batra said. “Kavita is an exceptionally talented worker whose competence, expertise and understanding of laboratory skills is bringing a new dimension to our programs at UNMC.”

He also praised Mallya’s collaborative and communication skills, crediting her with helping the lab secure multiple NIH grants.

For Mallya, the department offers the opportunity to mix lab work for clinical diagnostics, which have a more applied, direct impact on patient care, with fundamental research into cancer.

“There is a lot of clinical research being conducted for developing biomarkers for early detection of cancer,” she said. “I learn something every day. Dr. Batra’s focus is on pancreatic cancer research, but we work on other cancer areas as well.”

Investigator Apar Kishor Ganti, M.D., an associate professor of medicine in the division of oncology/hematology, said Mallya is indispensable to the working of the laboratory.

“Her experimental skills are excellent,” he said. “Her experimental techniques and designs are significantly enriched by the amount of thought and detail she puts into them. She is also very careful about the interpretation of the results.”

Administrator Amy Dodson said Mallya is consistently good at whatever she does.

“She has taken the lead in the Batra lab among the employees there, ranging from senior research associates to post-doctoral research associates to graduate students, and they all know they can count on her to support their studies.”

And former graduate student Dhanya Haridas simply calls her the go-to person for the entire lab, especially when help is needed.

“She will always have a solution to your problem,” she said.

Mallya said she finds just as much help and support from her 25 coworkers in the lab.

“If there’s a problem, I always know I’m going to be helped out,” she said. “In this group, we get the best out of each other.”