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Portrait of Nikita Chilakamarri

Biochemistry · Biomedicine · Virology

Nikita Chilakamarri

Exploring the invisible forces that shape life.

I'm Nikita Chilakamarri, a doctoral researcher at Witten/Herdecke University with master's degrees in biochemistry and biotechnology. I build human tonsil organoid models to find adenovirus vectors suited to mucosal vaccines.

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02At a glance

Everything, one click away.

Witten/Herdecke University
Doctoral Researcher
Publications
3
Research themes
3
Milestones
6
03Questions at the edge of biology

Understanding biology at its boundaries.

04Ideas made visible

Published research.

01
Review2026

Ex vivo mucosal cultures: an emerging player in vaccine development

Nikita Chilakamarri, Erwan Sallard, Malik Aydin

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · Vol. 15 · 1739617

A review of human tissue models grown outside the body — air–liquid interface cultures, lymphoid organoids and organ-on-chip systems — and how well they could stand in for animal models when developing vaccines that protect at mucosal surfaces.

Contribution: Conceptualization · Methodology · Writing – original draft · Writing – review & editing

DOI 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1739617Read article
02
Original Research2025

Human saliva exerts strong type-dependent effects on adenovirus infectivity

Erwan Sallard, Wenli Zhang, Nikita Chilakamarri, Setareh Farzanehkari, Inga Marte Charlott Seuthe, Anja Ehrhardt, Malik Aydin

Frontiers in Immunology · Vol. 16 · 1579896

Saliva does not affect all adenoviruses equally: it blocked some types and boosted others, including vaccine-vector types. The findings matter for vaccines designed to be delivered by mouth or under the tongue.

Contribution: Methodology · Writing – review & editing

DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1579896Read article
05The practice of discovery

Methods, models and ways of working.

Experimental research

Hands-on work at the bench.

  • Virology — adenovirus vectors
  • FACS analysis
  • Adenovirus infectivity assays

Cellular & tissue models

Model systems used to study biology in a controlled setting.

  • Human tonsil organoids
  • Organoids-on-a-chip
  • Zebrafish models & ex vivo cardiomyocyte culture

Molecular & biochemical research

Techniques for probing molecules and their interactions.

  • Cyclic immunofluorescence & antibody labelling
  • In vitro toxicology models
  • Food science & quality control

Regulatory & industry

Science in its applied and regulatory context.

  • Pharmaceutical drug regulatory affairs (DRA)
  • Research associate role in life sciences

Research communication & languages

Writing, reviewing and working across fields and languages.

  • Scientific writing & literature review
  • Telugu & Hindi (native), English (full professional)
  • Marathi (limited working), German (elementary)
06A career in questions

Education, research and development.

  1. Feb 2025 — Present

    Doctoral Researcher

    Witten/Herdecke University · Witten, Germany

    Establishing human tonsil organoid cultures and selecting adenovirus vectors optimised for mucosal vaccine delivery, in Prof. Malik Aydin's translational medicine group.

  2. Mar 2024 — Jan 2025

    Master Thesis Student & Intern

    Max Delbrück Center · Berlin, Germany

    Optimising zebrafish models for haematopoietic stem cell expansion and ex vivo cardiomyocyte maintenance through growth-factor and lipid supplementation. Internship (Mar–Jun 2024) followed by the master thesis (Jul 2024 – Jan 2025).

  3. Oct 2022 — Mar 2025

    M.Sc. Biochemistry

    Ruhr University Bochum

    Second master's degree, including practical training at Ruhr University Bochum (Jun–Jul 2023) and Universitätsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum (Jul–Aug 2023).

  4. Jul 2021 — Jul 2022

    Senior Seller Support Associate

    Amazon · Mumbai, India

    Vendor support for the UK market.

  5. 2019 — 2020

    M.Sc. Biotechnology

    Nottingham Trent University · UK

    Awarded the Nottingham Trent University International Student Scholarship. Followed by a research-associate internship at BioLim Centre for Science & Technology (Sep 2020) and a role as Global Campus Lead at Collegedunia (Dec 2020 – Jan 2021).

  6. 2015 — 2018

    B.Sc. Biochemistry & Advanced Diploma in Food Science and Quality Control

    Ramnarain Ruia College · Mumbai, India

    Undergraduate biochemistry alongside a diploma in food science and quality control, with student internships at Bisleri International (2016) and Shangrila Foods (2017).

07 — Continue the conversation

Every discovery begins with a question.

Interested in research, scientific collaboration, or an exchange of ideas? Let's connect.

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Nikita Chilakamarri © 2026