Sankar Sree

Computational Biologist with a PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 10+ years of research experience in metagenomics, multi-omics integration, and NGS facility establishment. Currently serving as Assistant Professor at Yenepoya University, with a strong publication record and recent success in securing a 1.7 Crore rupees research grant from ICMR, India as Co-Principal Investigator. Expertise spans microbiome metagenomics, SARS-CoV-2 genomics, eDNA analysis, Single-cell and methylation data analysis and bioinformatics pipeline development.

Proven ability to lead funded projects, establish genomic facilities, and mentor students. Currently mentoring 5 M.Sc. students and one Doctoral student.

Assistant Professor at Yenepoya Research Center, Yenepoya (Deemed To Be University) (2025-01 – Present)

• Teaching postgraduate courses in computational biology and molecular biology
• Supervising M.Sc student research projects and guiding one PhD thesis work
• Developing curriculum for bioinformatics and genomics modules
• Secured ICMR research grant of ₹1.7 Crores as Co-Principal Investigator (2025)
• Secured Yenepoya Seed grant of ₹ 10 Lakhs as Principal Investigator (2025)
• Conducting research in metagenomics and multi-omics integration

Project Scientist II at Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), MoES, India (2022-01 – 2024-12)

Project: "Deep Sea Seamount Marine Biodiversity Exploration through environmental DNA"

• Established a state-of-the-art NGS and computational facility from ground up, enabling deep-sea biodiversity research
• Designed and implemented eDNA metabarcoding workflows for marine metagenomic samples
• Trained and mentored junior researchers in bioinformatics analysis and NGS protocols
• Managed large-scale sequencing data and developed analysis pipelines for species identification

Project Scientist I at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB-CSIR), India (2021-01 – 2022-12)

Project: "Advancing SARS-CoV-2 pathogen genomics, bioinformatics and global data sharing"

• Analyzed 10,000+ SARS-CoV-2 genomes from GISAID to track Omicron variant trends and sublineage distribution across India
• Performed multiple sequence alignment (MAFFT), phylogenetic reconstruction (IQ-TREE), and variant calling (GATK) to study viral evolution
• Identified significant associations between lineage distribution and geographic/age factors
• Manuscript under review in Journal of Virology

Doctoral Researcher at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China (2014-01 – 2020-12)

Project: "Assessment of DNA extraction methods and targeted 16S-rRNA hypervariable regions on oral microbiota profiling"

• Published First author paper in ScienceAsia, Co-First author paper in Scientific Reports, and Third author paper in Environmental Microbiology demonstrating the impact of methodology on oral and soil microbiome diversity
• Evaluated multiple DNA extraction kits and 16S rRNA hypervariable regions using mock communities and clinical samples
• Implemented bioinformatics pipelines (QIIME2, Mothur) and statistical analysis in R to compare microbial diversity
• Contributed to soil microbiome studies investigating biochar effects on microbial communities

Technical Assistant at Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI-ICAR), India (2012-01 – 2014-12)

Project: "Development and formulation of biopesticides from Cassava plant"

• Assisted in molecular characterization of plant pathogens and development of biopesticide formulations
• Performed PCR, gel electrophoresis, and data analysis

Project Assistant at Department of Computational Biology, University of Kerala, India (2010-01 – 2011-12)

Project: "Genome Annotation and functional profiling of Leptospira interrogans"

• Conducted genome annotation and functional analysis using bioinformatics tools
• Developed scripts for data handling and analysis

PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Specialized in Computational Biology – University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (2014-01 – 2020-12)

MSc in Bioinformatics – University of Kerala, India (2008-01 – 2010-12)

BSc in Zoology – University of Kerala, India (2005-01 – 2008-12)