Malkanthi Karunananda

Assistant Professor
Saint Louis University

Research in the Karunananda Lab strategically leverages a combination of synthetic inorganic, organometallic, and computational chemistry techniques to solve pressing challenges in catalysis. The overall research theme is built on employing multiple metals and/or multiple ligands to synergistically bring about novel reactivity and selectivity. A special focus is placed on interrogating reaction mechanisms through experimental and computational techniques to predict and design novel catalysts. Current projects in the lab include photosensitizer development using earth-abundant metals with target applications in organic synthesis & photodynamic therapies, and organometallic catalyst development for polymer upcycling. Malkanthi completed her BSc with first class honors at University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. She carried out her PhD work with Prof. Neal Mankad at University of Illinois, Chicago and her postdoctoral work with Prof. Keary Engle at The Scripps Research Institute. In her final year at Scripps, she was awarded the Cottrell Postdoctoral Fellowship and continued her computational work under the co-mentorship of Prof. Kendall Houk at UCLA.