Dr Onkar Nath is an expert in genomics, bioinformatics, and molecular biology, with over a decade of experience translating complex multi-omic data into meaningful biological insights. He began his scientific career in India, working at prestigious institutions including the National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Indian Institute of Information Technology Delhi, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, where his research explored epigenetic regulation and the role of non-coding RNAs.
During his PhD at the University of Queensland, Dr Nath led the assembly of a haplotype-resolved, chromosomal-level avocado genome, enabling in-depth analysis of novel genes with important implications for crop improvement. His diverse experience includes roles as Senior Molecular and Bioinformatics Scientist with the Northern Territory Government, developing metabarcoding and environmental DNA surveillance pipelines, and Research Fellow at La Trobe University, focusing on pan-genome and chromatin accessibility analysis.
Dr Nath joined NCARD in 2025 as a Research Associate, where he applies his expertise in next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics pipelines to help reveal how asbestos exposure leads to disease. His technical expertise includes genome assembly, pan-genomics, single-cell transcriptomics, and epigenetic analyses such as ATAC-Seq and ChIP-Seq.