Abhinaw grew up in India. He obtained his Integrated Bachelor's and Master's degree from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah in the United States, where he worked under the guidance of Prof. Valeria Molinero. His doctoral research focused on the self-assembly of nanoparticles and the nucleation and polymorph selection of porous materials. In the Thirumalai group, he is working on intrinsically disordered proteins.