Srikant Venkitachalam

Srikant Venkitachalam (he/him)

I am a postdoctoral scholar at the Division of Biological Sciences, MU. My primary research in the King Lab is on complex trait evolution in laboratory populations of fruit flies (genus Drosophila). I have contributed to research in two laboratory selection studies: the evolution of flight performance, and adaptation to high temperature conditions. Additionally, I am also working on a project to understand life-history variation in flies.

I love photographing animals in urban areas, and have an interest in studying and drawing animals, particularly extinct ones. I also enjoy videogames, and diving into books and lore related to epic fantasy fiction.

Previous Academic Experience

I completed my undergraduate in the University of Delhi, India, with an honours in Zoology. I did both my Masters and Ph.D. with Prof. Amitabh Joshi at the Evolutionary and Organismal Biology Unit at J.N.C.A.S.R., India.

Research Projects

The ‘Flying-flies’ project: Selection for improved flight performance in outbred flies of the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource (DSPR). In collaboration with Dr. Kevin Middleton, MU.

The ‘Fire-flies’ project: Selection for survival and reproduction under high temperature conditions.

Study of life history variation in fruit flies of African origin. In collaboration with Dr. John Pool (University of Wisconsin) and Dr. Enoch Ng’oma, MU.