Work Experience- Teaching

1. Assistant Professor in Botany (On Contract) - St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Calicut (02.06.2025 onwards).
2. Assistant Professor in Botany (On Contract) - St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Calicut (08.07.2024 to 28.03.2025).
3. Assistant Professor in Botany (On Contract) - St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Calicut (13.07.2023 to 27.03.2024).
4. Assistant Professor in Botany (FIP Substitute Lecturer) - All Saints' College, Trivandrum, Kerala (01.06.2016 to 31.10.2016).
5. Assistant Professor in Botany (On Contract) - Sree Narayana College for Women, Kollam, Kerala (07.07.2015 to 10.03.2016).

Work Experience- Post-doctoral research

1. Research Associate III- ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI), New Delhi (27.07.2018 to 31.12.2020).
2. Senior Research Fellow- Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), Thiruvananthapuram (20.03.2017 to 31.05.2018).

Research Projects

1. Two innovative project proposals, developed in collaboration with ICAR- Indian Institute of Science (ICAR-IISR), are currently under evaluation at the Kerala Genome Data Centre (KGDC), reflecting a strong research partnership in the field of genomics.

Honours & Awards

1. Secured 2^nd rank in Vocational Higher Secondary Course- Agriculture (2005).
2. Secured NCERT Second Best Achiever Award for the state of Kerala (2005).
3. Secured 1^st rank in M.Sc. Genetics & Plant Breeding from University of Kerala (2010).
4. Received Prof. Abraham Endowment Gold Medal for highest mark in M.Sc. Examination (2010).
5. Received Best Oral Presentation Award in a National Conference conducted by University of Kerala (2014).
6. Received Junior Scientist Award (2019) on International Conference on Agriculture and Allied Sciences science research (ICAASSR- 2019) held at Rama University, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
7. Received Best Poster award (2022) during MendelSym Symposium held at ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.

Research Publications

1. Soumya S.L., Rithika, P., Nayana P. P., Nived Sunny, Nripa Ann Thomas, Rijul K. K., Vinay C. Jojo, Mukesh Sankar S., Satheesh George & Delse P. Sebastian. 2025. Exploring farmers’ indigenous knowledge associated with millet cultivation: a case study of Millet Village in Attappady, Kerala, India. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-025-02436-6. [Impact Factor: 1.6]
2. Ranjit Saroj, Soumya S.L.*, Satbeer Singh, Mukesh Sankar, S., Rajat Chaudhary, Yashpal, Navinder Saini, Sujata Vasudev & D.K. Yadava. 2021. Unraveling the relationship between seed yield and yield-related traits in a diversity panel of Brassica juncea using Multi-Traits Mixed Model. Frontiers in Plant Sciences. 12, 651936. [Impact Factor: 4.8] (*Shares the first authorship)
3. Mukesh Sankar, S., Singh, S. P., Prakash, G., Tara Satyavathi, C., Soumya S.L., Yadav, Y., Sharma, L.D., Rao, A.R., Singh, N. & Srivastava, R.K. 2021. Deciphering genotype by environment interaction for target environmental delineation and identification of stable resistant sources against foliar blast diseases of pearl millet. Frontiers in Plant Sciences, 12, 682. [Impact Factor: 4.8]
4. Mukesh Sankar, S., Tara Satyavathi, C., Barthakur, S., Singh, S. P., Bharadwaj, C. & Soumya S.L.2021. Differential modulation of heat inducible genes across diverse genotypes and molecular cloning of a sHSP from pearl millet. Frontiers in Plant Sciences. 12, 659893. [Impact Factor: 4.8]
5. Soumya S.L.& Bindu R. Nair. 2016. Assessment of heavy metals in Averrhoa fruit samples at two developmental stages. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Springer Nature Singapore. 188, 291-296. [Impact Factor: 3.0]
6. Soumya S.L.& Bindu R. Nair. 2018. Genetic Fingerprinting of Two Species of Averrhoa L. using RAPD and SRAP Markers, Agricultural Research, Springer Nature Singapore. 7, 402 - 415. [Impact Factor: 1.4]
7. Harikrishnan P.J., Jayalekshmy V.G., Siddesh R.N. & Soumya S.L. 2017. Identification of polymorphic loci between donors and recipient parents for marker assisted back cross breeding in Rice, Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Biosciences, 5, 723-727.
8. Soumya S.L. & Bindu R. Nair. 2017. Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) Sequence Analysis of Nuclear Ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) in Averrhoa L., International Journal of Current Research, 9, 45353 - 45359.
9. Soumya S.L.& Bindu R. Nair. 2014. Changes in the biochemical profile of fruits of two species of Averrhoa during development, International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, 6, 572-577.
10. Soumya S.L.& Bindu R. Nair. 2013. Floral morphological features and variability in two species of Averrhoa L. (Oxalidaceae), The International Journal of Plant. Reproductive Biology, 5, 200-209.
11. Soumya S.L. & Bindu R. Nair. 2012. Antifungal efficacy of Capsicum frutescens L. extracts against some prevalent fungal strains associated with groundnut storage, International Journal of Agricultural Technology, 8, 739-750.

Books

1. Soumya S.L., Bindu R. Nair & Mukesh Sankar, S. 2019. Antifungal utility of Bird's eye Chilli towards Peanut storage fungi: Seed treatment biofungicide formulation for the management of Groundnut seed borne fungi. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, pp-100.ISBN:978-620-0-48449-9.
2. Soumya S.L. 2021. Trends in Molecular Cytogenetics. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, pp-100.ISBN :978-620-3-30629-3.

Book Chapters

1. Satyavathi, C. T., Mukesh Sankar, S., Singh, S. P., Kapoor, C., Soumya, S. L., & Singhal, T. 2022. Pearl Millet Breeding. In Fundamentals of Field Crop Breeding (pp. 309-366). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. ISBN: 978-9811692567.
2. Srivastava, R. K., Satyavathi, C. T., Singh, R. B., Mukesh Sankar, S., Singh, S. P., Soumya, S. L., & Kapoor, C. 2022. Pearl Millet: Biofortification Approaches in a Micronutrient Dense, Climate-Resilient Nutri-Cereal. In Biofortification of Staple Crops (pp. 175-193). Singapore: Springer Singapore. ISBN: 978-981-16-3279-2.
3. Srivastava, R. K., Satyavathi, C. T., Singh, R. B., Mukesh Sankar, S., Singh, S. P., Soumya, S. L., & Kapoor, C. 2023. Perspectives of MutMap and Its Variants Towards Next Generation Plant Breeding. In Smart Breeding: Molecular Interventions and Advancements for Crop Improvement. Apple Academic Press: Palm Bay, FL, USA. ISBN: 9781774913314
4. Tara Satyavathi, C., Mukesh Sankar, S., Singh, S. P., Kapoor, C., Soumya, S. L., Ambawat, S. & Gobu, R. 2024. Breeding Climate Resilient Pearl Millet Cultivars for India. In The Pearl Millet Genome (pp. 31-55). Cham: Springer International Publishing. ISBN: 978-3-031-56975-3.
5. Satyavathi, C. T., Ambawat, S., Lata, C., Shivhare, R., Kapoor, C., Sankar, S. M., Gobu, R., Soumya, S. L., Siddaiah, C. N., & Srivastava, R. K. 2024. Allele mining for genome designing in pearl millet. In C. Kole, S. K. Pradhan, & V. K. Tiwari (Eds.), Allele mining for genomic designing of cereal crops (pp. 210238). CRC Press. ISBN: 9781003385004

Conferences/ Seminars- Organized (Member of Organizing/ Advisory Committee)

1. Hands-on-Training and Workshop on Applications of Bioinformatics in Life Sciences. Organized by Department of Botany, St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Kozhikode. Funded by Rashtriya Uchchattar Shikhsha Abhiyan (RUSA) and Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) under the Scientific and Engineering Research Board. 11-12 January 2024.
2. Hands-on-Training and Workshop on Advanced Techniques in Molecular Biology. Organized by Department of Botany, St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Kozhikode. Funded by Rashtriya Uchchattar Shikhsha Abhiyan (RUSA) and Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) under the Scientific and Engineering Research Board. 19-20 December 2023.

Co-curricular and Administrative Engagements

1. Served as Eco Club Coordinator, actively promoting environmental awareness and sustainability initiatives on All Saints College, Thiruvananthapuram.
2. Currently serving as Department Coordinator for FYUGP Admissions, 2025, on St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Kozhikode overseeing the smooth conduct of the undergraduate admission process.

Dissertations Guided (M.Sc.)

1. Exploring the nutrient richness of microgreens from seed spices- Salima Raj B.S., M.Sc. Botany, St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Kozhikode (2024-25).
2. Phytoremediation Potential and Post-Utilization Assessment of Eichhornia crassipes as a Substrate for Oyster Mushroom Cultivation- Saranya A.S., M.Sc. Environmental Science, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi. (Ongoing).
3. Metagenomic insights into the role of microbial communities upon bryophyte-black pepper roots symbiosis for enhanced Phytophthora foot rot resilience. Muhammed Anees, M.Sc. Botany, St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Kozhikode. (Ongoing).

Dissertations Guided (B.Sc.)

1. Cytological characterization of two species of Averrhoa (Oxalidaceae)- Sree Narayana College for Women, Kollam, Kerala (2015 - 2016).
2. Documentation and validation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITKs) associated with traditional millet cultivation in 'Model Millet Villages' of Attappady, Kerala - St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Kozhikode (2023-24).
3. Nutritional and antinutritional profiling of millets from Attappady’s Model Millet Village, Kerala - St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Devagiri, Kozhikode (2024-25).

Research Presentations in Conferences

1. Soumya S.L. and Bindu R. Nair. 2012. Reproductive characterization of two species of Averrhoa L. (Oxalidaceae). (Oral Presentation). International seminar on world bioheritage concerns over climate change, with a special reference to ethnic vegetables Botanica, SN College Chempazhanthy.
2. Soumya S.L. and Bindu R. Nair. 2013. Anti-nutritional factors in fruits of two species of Averrhoa L. (Oxalidaceae) and changes on ripening. (Poster Presentation). 16th All India Congress of Cytology and Genetics, Department of Botany, University of Kerala.
3. Soumya S.L. and Bindu R. Nair. 2014. Genetic diversity assessment of two underutilized fruits of Oxalidaceae using RAPD markers. (Oral Presentation, Best Paper award). National seminar on underutilized and wild edible plants of India- future crops. Department of Botany, University of Kerala.
4. Soumya S.L. and Bindu R. Nair. 2014. Determination of main organic acids in sweet and sour carambola fruits using HPLC. (Oral Presentation). 7th International Congress of Environmental Research (ICER-14), RV. College of Engineering, Bangalore and Journal of Environmental Research and Development, Bhopal.
5. Soumya S.L. and Bindu R. Nair. 2015. Assessment of heavy metals in Averrhoa fruit samples at two developmental stages. (Oral Presentation). UGC Sponsored National Seminar on Management of Bioresources in Western Ghats - a technological approach. SAS SNDP Yogam College, Konni.
6. Soumya S.L. and Bindu R. Nair. 2015. Analysis of genetic relationships of two underutilized fruit trees of Averrhoa genus (Oxalidaceae) using Sequence Related Amplified Polymorphic DNA (SRAP) Markers (Oral Presentation). National Multi- disciplinary Annual Research Conference (MARC), University of Kerala.
7. Soumya S.L. and Bindu R. Nair. 2016. Internal Transcribed Spacer sequence analysis in Averrhoa (Oral Presentation). 28th Kerala Science Congress, University of Calicut.
8. Soumya S.L. and Bindu R. Nair 2016. Chromosome count and karyomorphology of two species of Averrhoa L. (Oxalidaceae) (Poster Presentation). New Frontiers in Cytogenetics & XIII Conference of the Society of Cytologists & Geneticists. University of Kerala.
9. Jayalekshmy V.G., Soumya S.L., Ramaling Hundekar and George Thomas. 2018. Marker assisted simultaneous but stepwise backcross breeding for pyramiding bacterial leaf blight resistance genes xa13, Xa21 and Xa33 into elite bold red rice cultivars of Kerala (Poster Presentation). 1^st National Genetic Congress on Genetics for Sustainable Food, Health and Nutrition Security. ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
10. Mukesh Sankar S., Singh S.P., Prakash G., Tara Satyavathi C., Soumya S.L., Mallik M., Nirupama Singh and Singhal T. 2018. In-Silico elucidation of the three- dimensional molecular structures defining the resistance mechanism by NBS-LRR proteins towards foliar blast disease elicitins in pearl millet (Poster Presentation). 1^st National Genetic Congress on Genetics for Sustainable Food, Health and Nutrition Security. ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
11. Mukesh Sankar S., Singh S.P., Rakesh Srivastava, Prakash G., Firoz Hossain, Rao, A.R., Amitha Mithra, Singhal T., Mallik M., Nirupama Singh, Tara Satyavathi C., Soumya S.L., and Aravind J. 2019. Screening and identification of new foliar blast resistant sources in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L. R. Br.) (Poster Presentation). XIVTH Agricultural Science Congress on Innovation for agricultural transformation. ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
12. Singhal, T., Tara Satyavathi C., S.P. Singh, Mukesh Sankar S., Bhardwaj C., Mallik M., Arona Kumar, Soumya S.L. and Nirupama Singh. 2019. In-silico characterization of novel genes responsible for high grain micronutrient content in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] (Poster Presentation). XIV Agricultural Science Congress on Innovation for agricultural transformation. ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
13. Soumya S. L. and Mukesh Sankar S. Prediction of 3D structure of PgHsp 17.0 gene via comparative homology modelling in Pearl millet. (Poster Presentation). I^st National Conference on Neglected and Underutilized Crop Species for Food, Nutrition, Energy and Environment, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi.
14. Mukesh Sankar S., Singh S.P., Rakesh Srivastava, Prakash G., Firoz Hossain, Rao, A.R., Amitha Mithra, Singhal T., Mallik M., Nirupama Singh, Tara Satyavathi C., Soumya S.L., and Aravind J. 2019. Identification of new foliar blast resistant sources in Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L. R. Br.) under natural epiphytotic condition. (Poster Presentation). Ist National Conference on Neglected and Underutilized Crop Species for Food, Nutrition, Energy and Environment, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi.
15. Mukesh Sankar. S., Singh S.P., Prakash G., Soumya S.L., Tara Satyavathi C., M. Mallik, Singhal, T., Thribhuvan. R., C. Kapoor, N. Singh and Rakesh K. Srivastava. 2021. Genome-wide Association Mapping of Foliar Blast Resistance Genes in Pearl Millet using SNP Markers. 33^rd Kerala Science Congress, KSCETE, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
16. S. Mukesh Sankar, S.P. Singh, R. Srivastava, G. Prakash, Soumya S.L., M.B. Arun Kumar, C. Kapoor, F. Hossain, A.R. Rao, A. Mithra, T. Singhal, M. Mallik, T. Satyavathi and J. Aravind. 2022. Identification and validation of genes conferring foliar blast resistance in pearl millet using genome wide association mapping strategy. MendelSym Symposium, organized by IARI, New Delhi from 19-21 July 2022.
17. Rithika P., Nived Sunny, Rijul K.K., Nayana P.P., Nripa Ann Thomas, Vinay C. Jojo, Satheesh George and Soumya S.L. 2024. Documentation and Validation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITKs) Associated with Traditional Millet Cultivation in 'Model Millet Villages' of Attappady, Kerala. International Seminar on Biodiversity Conservation: In situ & Ex-situ strategies organized by Providence Women’s College, Kozhikode, Kerala.

Trainings Undertaken

1. Undergone training in basic course on flow cytometry at BD-JH FACS Academy, New Delhi.
2. Undergone 6 days workshop on statistical and data analytics with Rconducted online by Cypher analytica.
3. Attended 7 days Hands on Training on CRISPR/Cas mediated gene editing in Plant conducted by University of Hyderabad.
4. Undergone training in basic course on flow cytometry at CAReKERALAM at Thrissur, Kerala.
5. Participated and conducted lab demonstration on molecular markers and genome analysis inplant; conducted at Department of Botany, University of Kerala.
6. Attended national workshop on modern trends in molecular phylogeny conducted by Dept. of Botany, University of Calicut, Kerala.
7. Hands on training on Real time PCR and its applications conducted by DST and University of Kerala.
8. Undergone hands on training programme on the various aspects of micropropagation and tissue culture at Biotechnology and model floriculture centre, Kazhakuttom, Kerala.