Mahta started her work with the Rabb lab as a summer research assistant during her undergraduate studies. After completing her B.S. in Cell Biology & Genetics through the Integrated Life Sciences Honors College at the University of Maryland, College Park, Mahta began full-time work as a laboratory technician in the lab. Her previous research interests include microbial pathogenesis for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in catheter-associated urinary tract infections as well as systemic transport of cellular signals via extracellular vesicles. Her work in the lab has largely centered on the role of the gut microbiome in AKI as well as the mechanisms of renal compensatory hypertrophy after unilateral nephrectomy through the lens of immune cells. She is now a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences program at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. In the future, she hopes to further explore the properties and behaviors of immune cells and characterize the body’s response to both commensal and foreign stimulants in the context of disease and injury.