Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Gut microbiome science & the probiotic potential
of Bacteroides in cystic fibrosis
I'm a PhD candidate at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, working in Dr. George O'Toole's lab. My research sits at the intersection of microbial ecology, gut microbiome science, and translational medicine, focused on how gut bacteria can improve outcomes in cystic fibrosis (CF).
My thesis centers on Bacteroides as a potential CF probiotic. I combine experimental evolution, molecular microbiology, culturomics, and bioinformatics to understand how these bacteria adapt in the CF gut.
Before Dartmouth, I trained in India at Symbiosis International University and the University of Mumbai, developing expertise in lactic acid bacteria, probiotic science, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis. In 2025, I attended the Marine Biological Laboratory's Microbial Diversity course at Woods Hole, MA.
Outside the lab, I'm chasing National Parks, Formula 1 races, and the perfect data visualization.
PhD Candidate · Microbiology & Immunology
Dartmouth College · Hanover, NH
Expected June 2027
Dr. George A. O'Toole
Geisel School of Medicine
Formula 1 · National Parks · Data visualization · Science history
↗ Hover each card to see project photos
Culturomics of colonoscopy samples from CF and non-CF individuals — one of the largest gut culture collections of its kind to understand dysbiosis in cystic fibrosis.
Evolving Bacteroides strains for enhanced fitness in CF-like environments; decoding molecular mechanisms including bile acid resistance via Diversity-Generating Retroelements.
Spatial and genomic ecology of Gracilibacteria in green sulfur bacteria enrichment cultures using metagenomics and high-resolution imaging at MBL Woods Hole (2025).
Isolated and characterized novel L. plantarum strains; evolved tolerance to furfural and 5-HMF for lignocellulosic fermentations. Three first-author publications.
Isolated and characterized Streptococus ruoffii sp. nov. The new species was isolated from esophagus of adult male heterozygous for CF allele.
Genome assembly, annotation, comparative genomics, phylogenetics, transcriptomics, and microbiome analysis using R, Python, and Linux. Metagenomics for complex communities.
Surve S.V., Eggins S., Day L.A., Huang Y., Kahn A., Charles-Orszag A., Yang J., O'Toole G.A., Dawson S.C., Spear J.R.
Abrahamson, E. A., Surve S.V., O'Toole G.A.
Surve S.V., Valls R.A., Barrack K.E., Gwilt L.L., Gardner T.B., O'Toole G.A.
Surve S.V., Valls R.A., O'Toole G.A.
Barrack K.E., Surve S.V., Bezerra A.V., Murphy C.E., Soucy S.M., Valls R.A., O'Toole G.A.
Valls R.A., Barrack K.E., Surve S.V., Bliska J.B., O'Toole G.A.
Carmichael M.M., Valls R.A., Soucy S., Sanville J.L., Madan J.L., Surve S.V., Sundrud M.S., O'Toole G.A.
Surve S.V., Rajkhowa R., Vyas P., Vijayvargiya M., Khare S., Kulkarni R.
Surve S.V., Shinde D.B., Fernandes J.M., Sharma S., Vijayvargiya M., Kadam K., Kulkarni R.
Barrack K.E., Hampton T.H., Valls R.A., Surve S.V., Gardner T.B., Sanville J.L., Madan J.L., O'Toole G.A.
Surve S., Shinde D.B., Kulkarni R.
Dartmouth College · Aug 2025 · Off-campus course funding during PhD
Symbiosis International University · 50% tuition waiver as Rank 1 student
Ministry of Science & Technology, Govt. of India · Awarded to top-ranked graduates
All India Rank 22 · Highly competitive STEM research fellowship qualification exam
Indian Academy of Sciences · National fellowship for early-career STEM researchers
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research · Leadership & excellence, CUBE program
I'm always happy to discuss my research, potential collaborations, or opportunities in academia and industry. Whether you're interested in gut microbiome science, CF biology, or just want to talk science — feel free to reach out.
I'll be completing my PhD in June 2027 and am actively exploring postdoctoral and industry positions in microbiome science, translational medicine, and biotechnology.