Dr. Saranya Kanukollu, COE of environmental genomics is an accomplished scientist with 12 years of experience in microbial genomics and data analysis. At INARI, she leverages advanced genomic technologies to study microbial communities and their environmental interactions. Responsibilities include designing sequencing experiments, optimizing protocols, and analysing large-scale genomic datasets. Before joining INARI, Dr. Saranya Kanukollu spent six years as a post-doctoral research scientist at the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Research (ZALF) in Muencheberg, Germany. There, she led two prestigious projects, the Leibniz competitive excellence project (VolCorn) for two years and a DFG-funded project for four years. The Leibniz competitive excellence project is about investigating the microbial roles in wheat under climate stress, there she handled advanced analytical instruments such as SIFT-MS and GC-MS. Her four years work on the DFG-funded project “Microbial Methanol Consumption in Grassland,” is about uncovering methanol-degrading microbial communities in various environments. This research applied advanced molecular techniques like RNA-SIP, metagenomics, and methanol flux assessments, identifying new methylotroph taxa and redefining existing concepts. During her tenure at ZALF, Dr. Saranya Kanukollu has also successfully collaborated and contributed to Project Admont funded by Austrian government, with Agence Nationale de la Recherche-funded “CHLOROFILTER” project, with the Max Planck Institute and the University of Greifswald. Dr. Saranya Kanukollu received her Doctorate from Institute for chemistry and biology of marine environment (ICBM) at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, she focused on the metabolic potential and distribution of the benthic Roseobacter group in marine environments. Her work has been published in several international journals, and she has presented at numerous international conferences. She also taught MSc students, supervised master’s and Ph.D. students, and organized practical modules in her research period. She also has a robust academic background, a master’s degree in Biotechnology from Mannheim University of Applied Science, Germany. Through extensive research projects, she has built a solid foundation in environmental genomics, focusing on microbial interactions in diverse environments and host organisms. ​ Dr. Saranya Kanukollu expertise in molecular microbial ecology tools enables her to contribute significantly to various projects, exploring microbial dynamics and their implications across a wide spectrum of microbial species.