Dr Esther Karunakaran

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Senior Lecturer

Bioengineering Year 1-2 Tutor

Dr Esther Karunakaran
Profile picture of Dr Esther Karunakaran
e.karunakaran@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 7166

Full contact details

Dr Esther Karunakaran
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Room G16
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
Profile

I obtained a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology with distinction from Bharathiyar University in India and then went on to get an MSc in Molecular Genetics from the University of Leicester. I moved to the University of Sheffield and obtained a PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering for investigating the influence of autoinducer-2 based quorum sensing on biofilm formation in Bacillus cereus.

I continued as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering working on two consecutive projects, 1) Bio-flocculation in cyanobacteria and the impact of sodium chloride stress, 2) Engineering biofilms to enhance the hydraulic flow characteristics in pipes.

In May 2017, I took up the position of Lecturer in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. My research interests revolve around the investigation and application of biofilms in bio-processing.

I am the co-director of the Innovate UK funded research facility, SCARAB: Sheffield Collaboratorium for Antimicrobial Resistance and Biofilms.

Research interests
  • Biofilms  
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Wastewater microbiology
  • Synthetic biology in cyanobacteria
Publications

Journal articles

Preprints