Dr Sunita Ramesh is working to better understand the cell physiology and molecular biology of ion channels and signalling. As a Senior Research Fellow at PEB’s University of Adelaide node, her current research is focused on understanding how aquaporins function as both water and ion channels, as well as exploring the role of aminobutyric acid (GABA) signalling in plant stress responses.
Originally from Bangalore, India, Sunita’s desire to understand “how organisms live, what made them tick and how the different processes in a cell are coordinated” drove her to pursue science as a career.
“What excites me about my work is strangely the similarities in many processes that we see between animals and plants, including perception and adaptations, or tolerance to stress. I love working in this research area as I get to adapt and be creative in using techniques used in animals for answering long standing questions in plant biology.”
Sunita’s interest in how plants have evolved to counter abiotic and biotic stress has resulted in her authoring a number of high-impact publications (including Plant Cell 2018, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 2017 and Nature Communications 2015). Sunita was awarded the Women’s Research Excellence Award by the University of Adelaide in 2017 for her efforts. Prof Andrea Yool (School of Medicine) and Sunita were successful in obtaining funding (ARC DP - 2019-2021) to study “Fundamental roles of Aquaporin-1 channels in cellular migration and morphology.”
When she’s not working in the lab, Sunita is passionate about teaching as it gives her “an opportunity to disseminate knowledge to next generation of students and scientists”. She can be found lecturing, tutoring, running practical demonstrations, and co-ordinating courses at The University of Adelaide.
As featured in People of Plant Energy Biology.
Sunita's directory profile here
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