Rishika Puri

Ph.D. Student
University of Toronto

Rishika Puri, MSc, is a PhD student at the University of Toronto department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry department, working under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth Edwards. She started working for Dr. Elizabeth Edwards as a lab technician in 2023, managing a field site used to study anaerobic methanogenic cultures capable of degrading benzene, toluene and o-xylene. She is now pursing her PhD in the lab, researching the enzymes involved in activating benzene in nitrate-reducing and methanogenic cultures capable of degrading benzene, along with continuing to monitor the field site. Rishika received her undergraduate and master's degree at the University of Calgary in biochemistry, with a focus on protein production and purification. She then worked in a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, which developed treatments for cancer. In her free time, Rishika loves to hike and cook food for her friends.