Aparna is originally from Kerala, India.  She obtained her PhD from Dept. of Microbial Genetics, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Tübingen. Her work focused on development of narrow spectrum anti-infective peptides from Staphylococcus aureus lipoprotein. Previously, she worked at the Center for Nanosciences and Molecular Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, India, developing polymer based gels and nanoparticles for wound healing in mice models.