Shankhadip Sinha
PhD Candidate
Email: sinha001@student.ubc.ca
Project
Investigating the spatiotemporal regulation of sucrose synthase promoters in cell wall biosynthesis
Research Interests
Cellulose is one of the main components of the plant cell wall. The traditional view suggests that Sucrose Synthase (SuSy) plays an important role by breaking down sucrose and supplying UDP-glucose for cellulose biosynthesis. However, studies in Arabidopsis show that SuSy is not required for cellulose biosynthesis. In contrast, woody species like poplar show high levels of SuSy expression in developing xylem, suggesting species-specific regulatory differences.
My research aims to explore how transcriptional regulation of SuSy contributes to secondary cell wall development by analyzing gene promoters in Arabidopsis and poplar. This research will advance our understanding of how sucrose metabolism contributes to secondary cell wall formation in plants.
Education
MSc in Botany (Honours) | Visva-Bharati (A federal University), West Bengal, India (2021)
BSc in Botany (Honours) | Visva-Bharati (A federal University), West Bengal, India (2019)
Selected Publications and Conference Presentations
Sinha S., Mansfield, S.D. How do promoters influence the spatiotemporal expression of Sucrose Synthase? – Botany Symposium, Oral presentation, UBC, Vancouver, Canada (2023)
Awards, Grants, Scholarships
- President’s Academic Excellence Initiative PhD Award, UBC (2023-present)
- International Tuition Award, UBC (2023-present)
- Faculty of Science PhD Tuition Award, UBC (2023-present)
- DST-INSPIRE Fellowship, Government of India (2021)