R. Sowdhamini

He is a professor at the department of biochemistry, biophysics and bioinformatics of the National Centre for Biological Sciences, a TIFR research facility located in Bengaluru.

On her return to India, she joined the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), a research facility in Bengaluru, jointly funded by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the Department of Atomic Energy as a member of faculty[3] where she serves as a professor at the department of biochemistry, biophysics and bioinformatics.

[8] Her team was successful in preparing the draft genome of Ocimum tenuiflorum (commonly known as Tulsi), a plant with medicinal properties, for the first time which assisted in identifying the genes responsible for the production of Ursolic acid, a triterpenoid and Eugenol, a phenylpropanoid, compounds responsible for the medicinal properties of the plant.

[11] Besides, along with James Spudich of the Stanford University and Henrik Flyvbjerg of the Technical University of Denmark, she led the project for studying coiled coil interactions in proteins, a collaborative project of the two institutions and the National Centre for Biological Sciences.

[14] She sits in the editorial board of Bioinformation journal[15] and has also mentored many post-graduate, doctoral ad post-doctoral scholars in their research.

NCBS Campus
Tulsi plant