Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Renuka Kolli

Renuka Kolli, first author of Oxa2b is crucial for proper membrane insertion of Cox2 during complex IV biogenesis in Arabidopsis

Current Position: PhD student at the department of Biology I, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany

Education: 2014 – M. Tech in Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India;   2009 – B. Tech in Biotechnology, Arunai Engineering College, Anna University Chennai, India

Non-scientific Interests: Yoga, drawing, numismatics, mythology, biking, photography, hiking

Brief bio: I am passionate about biology and enjoy scientific research that unravels mysteries in nature and life. After bachelor’s studies, my two years of work experience as a systems engineer at Infosys provided me a broader outlook and enhanced my flexibility and problem solving skills. In 2012, I secured All India Rank 11 among 14638 candidates in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and began my master’s studies. Upon receiving a DAAD scholarship for IIT-Master sandwich program, I researched on metabolic engineering of L-phenylalanine biosynthetic pathway in Corynebacterium glutamicum at the University of Stuttgart. I am currently pursuing PhD in the area of Plant Biochemistry and Physiology at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich with another DAAD scholarship. As part of my doctoral program, I am enrolled in the Graduate School Life Science Munich (LSM). My research project is focussed on investigating the roles of Oxa proteins during mitochondrial biogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana.