Dr. Preethi Sunkara

Bio

Dr. Preethi Sunkara is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biosciences and Technology, MIT-WPU. She is a Molecular and Developmental Plant Biologist who earned her Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. Her doctoral research focused on the biochemical and genetic characterization of TCP3 and TCP4 transcription factors in Arabidopsis thaliana, specifically investigating their antagonistic roles in leaf development and growth. Her expertise spans advanced plant genetics, including EMS mutagenesis, ChIP assays, and confocal microscopy, Protein interactions, Molecular biology. An accomplished researcher, Preethi has published in journals such as PLoS Genetics and Plant Physiology. She received the second prize for best poster at the 29th International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR-2018) in Finland. Beyond her primary research, she has supervised numerous Masters and undergraduate student projects and possesses a strong background in biotechnology and Plant developmental biology. Her teaching interests include Molecular Biology, Genetic Engineering, Genetics and applied Biotechnology .

Education
Ph.D. in Plant Molecular and Developmental Biology, IISc Bangalore
M.Sc. (Biotechnology)
B.Sc. (Biotechnology)

Subject taught : Environmental Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Genetic Engineering, Botany, Plant/ Agricultural biotechnology and Sustainable agriculture, Plant-Microbe interactions

Research Interests : Plant developmental biology, Plant-pathogen interactions, Combined effect of biotic and abiotic stress in plant growth and development,

Research paper 1 : Shankar, N., Sunkara, P., and Nath, U. (2023). A double-negative feedback loop between miR319c and JAW-TCPs establish a growth pattern in incipient leaf primordia in Arabidopsis thaliana. PLoS Genetics 2023 Sep 28;19(9): e1010978

Research paper 2 : Vadde, B. V. L., Challa, K. R., Sunkara, P., Hegde A. S. and Nath, U. (2019). The TCP4 transcription factor directly activates TRICHOMELESS1 and 2 and suppresses trichome initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiology 181, 1587-1599

Research paper 3 : Conference Paper: Chakravorty, G., Ramnath Babu T J, Sunkara P., Nath, U. and Ananthasuresh, G. K. (2015). An Experimental Method to Estimate the Growth-rate of a Leaf using Image Processing and solving an Inverse-Growth-Problem. 2nd International and 17th National Conference on Machines and Mechanisms (iNaCoMM2015-123). Pages 1-11.

Book- Chapter 1 : Book Chapter: Aggarwal, P., Challa, K. R., Rath, M., Sunkara, P., and Nath, U. (2018) Generation of Inducible Transgenic Lines of Arabidopsis Transcription Factors Regulated by MicroRNAs in Plant Transcription Factors, Methods Mol. Biol. (ed. Yamaguchi, N.), Springer New York, 2018, 1830, 61-79

Research experience : 9 years including PhD research

Linkedin profile Link : https://www.linkedin.com/in/preethi-sunkara-ph-d-2ba96b72/

Google Scholar Link : https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_bZD3msAAAAJ&hl=en

Scopus ID Link : https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57203310105

ORCiD ID Link : https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3600-2089