Varun completed his master’s degree in biotechnology from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India. He then joined Dr. Maddika Subba Reddy’s laboratory for PhD at Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad, India. His dissertation was focused on the identification and characterization of CRL7SMU1 , a multi-subunit E3 ligase in the regulation of genomic stability. He has joined Ivan Dikic's lab in November 2018 where he intends to investigate the roles of E3 ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases in lung cancer pathogenesis.