Aakash Saha is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Honig Lab. He earned his PhD in Computational Chemistry and Biophysics from the Palermo Lab at the University of California, Riverside, where his research focused on "Unraveling the Mechanism of Activation and Functioning of CRISPR-Cas12a and CRISPR-Cas9-Conjugated Systems." Aakash has extensive expertise in molecular dynamics simulations and alchemical free energy perturbation methods, particularly in investigating the activation mechanisms of large biomolecular complexes, including CRISPR-Cas systems. His work has also integrated enhanced sampling techniques, advanced graph theory, and Markov State Models to connect conformational dynamics with the functional roles of these complexes. Additionally, he has employed DFT-based QM/MM studies to explore the catalytic mechanisms of CRISPR-Cas12a. During various summer internships, Aakash gained experience in machine learning frameworks such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Graph Neural Networks (GNN), applying them to small molecule parameterization and relating permeability in beyond Rule of Five compounds to the conformational space. Before his doctoral studies, Aakash also gained hands-on laboratory experience in animal cell culture, protein purification, and biomaterial fabrication. Currently, he is focusing on the development and application of bioinformatics tools to study virus and human protein-protein interactions.