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Shikshya Bhusal is a UNT graduate student currently in her fifth year of conducting research in Dr. Omar Valsson's lab. Though she came to UNT with a background in biochemistry, her curiosity was sparked by the idea of integrating computational science into her work. 
 
“I was really interested in how computer science and computation are becoming such an important part of every field, but when I started, I barely knew anything about Linux, programming, or data analysis,” said Shikshya, who completed her B.S. in biochemistry at the University of Nebraska.  “Dr. Valsson was incredibly patient and provided all the resources I needed to build a strong foundation in computational research.” 
 
The first time Shikshya reached out to Dr. Valsson about joining his research group was in 2021 while he was still living and working in Germany. Now, in Dr. Valsson’s lab, she studies Proteolysis-Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs), a novel therapeutic approach designed to degrade disease-causing proteins in the body. 

“It’s a very exciting and competitive area of research, and many pharmaceutical companies are working on developing PROTACs for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative disorders,” said Shikshya. “My work focuses on studying how PROTACs behave in different solvents using computational methods.” 
 
As a testament to her success in this field, this year Shikshya received the Promise in COMP Award organized by the ACS Division of Computers in Chemistry. The award includes registration to the ACS Spring 2026 Spring National Meeting, an invitation to present in the “Women Make COMP” symposium, and a mentorship lunch with leading computational researchers. 
 
"Receiving this award was such a proud and emotional moment for me. Coming from a country where many women don’t get the chance to continue school, being recognized as a Woman in COMP means so much,” said Shikshya, who grew up in Nepal. “It feels like I am representing not just myself, but also all the girls back home who dream of opportunities like this.” 
 
During her time at UNT, Shikshya has been the recipient of the Toulouse Graduate Summer Travel Award twice, as well as the chemistry department’s Dr. Linda Truitt Creagh Travel Award. Her work placed in the top three presentations at the Texas Computational Chemistry Symposium (2025) and the Physical and Computational Chemistry ACS-DFW Miniature Meeting (2024), and she recently presented at UNT’s annual research day event. When she’s not busy with her own work, she also spends time mentoring undergraduates in the lab. 
 
“When I was an undergrad, I really wanted to get involved in research and wished I had someone who could guide me,” she said. “So now, I try to be that person for students who are eager to learn and grow in science. Helping them get started and watching them gain confidence makes me genuinely happy and it’s one of the best parts of my experience here.”  
 
Shikshya was a participant of ANSWER-Nepal, a program that sponsored her education from early schooling through high school, laying the foundation for her academic journey and making it possible to pursue higher education. She said she is also grateful for the unwavering support of her parents and mentors at UNT, who have offered a wealth of encouragement on the way to where she is now.  
 
“My parents have supported me completely, even when it meant I would move halfway across the world to follow my dreams,” said Shikshya, who looks forward to presenting at the ACS meeting and finishing her Ph.D. next year. “Here at UNT, Dr. Valsson has been more than just a mentor; he has been my biggest academic supporter and guardian. He has helped me build a strong foundation in computational chemistry and has encouraged me to communicate with experts and learn from them, which has helped me grow both technically and professionally.” 

Shikshya and Dr. Valsson’s most recently published paper on PROTACs can be found in the Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP) Journal here.