Rucha Karnik

Rucha is a plant scientist. She focuses on addressing the overarching question, ‘How do plants grow?’. Research in Karnik’s lab utilises environmental and endogenous cues such as phytohormones, CO2 and pathogens to study the membrane traffic and ion transport nexus in plants. The goal is to understand how the perception and responses to the environment are incorporated within plant growth and developmental programmes. This research seeks fundamental knowledge essential for feeding future plant technologies for solving challenges for plant health and mitigating the effects of climate change for global food and water security in the future. She works with a cross-disciplinary team including computer scientists, artists, members of the public and educators for developing resources for plant science education-through-play.

Karnik lab is part of “The Plant Science Department at the UofG, originally the Department Of Botany which is over 150 years old. It is currently home to a group of world-leading Plant Scientists who study plants and their interactions with the environment and climate.”