The speaker Dr. Akhila George completed her doctoral research on genome-scale metabolic modelling of a microalga which is a potential source for biodiesel production. The model predicts the flux of intracellular metabolites in alga under different growth conditions and thus understanding the metabolic behaviour of the alga. The model can be also used to predict the outcome of genetic manipulations to improve the metabolic capabilities including oil production of the alga.

Her research project was a collaborative venture by IIT Bombay and Monash University, Melbourne.