Dr Vinod Saranathan received his Bachelors in Physics (cum laude) with a Minor in Philosophy from Ohio Wesleyan University, where he honed his life-long interest in physics, ornithology and the liberal arts. Funded by a Dillon and Mary Ripley Graduate Fellowship, he earned his Master of Science and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale University. He was a Royal Society Newton Fellow at the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, where he was elected to an Edward P Abraham Cephalosporin Junior Research Fellowship at Linacre College. Prior to joining Krea University, he was faculty at Yale-NUS College, Singapore. Dr Saranathan specialises in the study of structural colouration, responsible for vivid hues such as blues, violets and greens in both extant and extinct animals. His integrative research interests lie at the interface of evolutionary biology, soft matter physics, photonics, biomimetics and biomaterials engineering, a nascent field that he has termed “Evolutionary Photonics.” He has taught widely, from common curriculum modules (Quantitative Reasoning, Scientific Inquiry), required courses for the BIOS Major (Contemporary Biology, Chemistry and Physics for Biologists) to electives in Evolution (Mass Extinctions, Advanced Evolutionary Theory) and Biophysics (Cellular and Molecular Biophysics).
Dr Saranathan’s lab specialises in the study of structural colouration in animals, responsible for vivid hues such as many (ultra)violets, blues and greens in both extant and extinct organisms. Such colours are ubiquitous in nature and form an important part of the phenotype of animals, as they are often used in inter- and intra-sexual communication and camouflage. Specifically, we are interested in what we have termed “Evolutionary Photonics” – a precise, holistic understanding of the biophotonic nanostructures underlying organismal structural colouration. We are thus broadly focused on the integration of evolutionary biology, developmental biology, photonics and soft matter physics to inform fundamental questions from animal signalling to the bio-inspired or biomimetic design of novel, eco-friendly, functional materials by mimicking the ‘green’ water-based intra-cellular self-assembly processes. Towards this end, we are keen on developing and applying an ‘-omics’ approach to unravel the precise developmental basis of animal structural colouration in non-model organisms.
The lab is also very much interested in comparative, macro-evolutionary questions on the evolution of iridescent and non-iridescent structural colouration in nature, questions that are well-poised to be presently addressed given the recent phylo-genomics driven progress in systematics. We are currently focused on establishing field research on structurally coloured bird species in India and South East Asia with local and regional collaborators.
A nascent line of inquiry in the lab is understanding variation in non-songbird vocalisations.
Main Research Disciplines
Biological Sciences
Physics
Materials Science and Engineering
Specific Research Areas
Evolutionary Biology
Ornithology
Biophotonics
Biomimetics
Physics of Living (and Dead) Matter
Publications (Selected):
1) Sicher, A., R. Whitfield, J. Ilavsky, V. Saranathan, A. Anastasaki, and E. R. Dufresne. 2023. ATRP enhances structural correlations in polymerization- induced phase separation. Angewandte Chemie. e202217683 doi:10.1002/anie.202217683
2) Prakash, A., C. Finet, T. D. Bannerjee, V. Saranathan, and A. Monteiro. 2022. Antennapedia regulates metallic silver wing scale development and cell shape in Bicyclus anynana butterflies. Cell Reports. 40: 111052 doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111052
3) Saranathan, V., S. Narayanan, A. Sandy, E. R. Dufresne, and R. O. Prum. 2021. Single Gyroid and Inverse b.c.c. Photonic Crystals in Bird Feathers. PNAS 118 (23): e2101357118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2101357118. (for our expanded bioRxiv preprint, see: doi: 10.1101/2020.08.27.271213
4) Saranathan, V., and C. Finet. 2021. Cellular and Developmental Basis of Avian Structural Coloration. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development. 69: 56–64 doi:10.1016/j.gde.2021.02.004
5) Foley, S.*, V. Saranathan*, and W. H. Piel. 2020. The Evolution of colouration and opsins in tarantulas. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 287: 20201688. doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.1688
*Co-first and Co-corresponding authors
6) Saranathan, V., A. E. Seago, A. Sandy, S. Narayanan, S. G. J. Mochrie, E. R. Dufresne, H. Cao, C. O. Osuji, and R. O. Prum. 2015. Structural Diversity of Self-Assembled Arthropod Biophotonic Nanostructures Spans Amphiphilic Phase-Space. Nano Letters 15(6): 3735–42 doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00201
7) Saranathan, V., J. D. Forster, H. Noh, S. F. Liew, S. G. J. Mochrie, H. Cao, E. R. Dufresne, and R. O. Prum. 2012. Structure and Optical Function of Amorphous Photonic Nanostructures from Avian Feather Barbs: A Comparative Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) Analysis of 230 Bird Species. Journal of the Royal Society Interface 9(75): 2563–80 doi:10.1098/rsif.2012.0191
8) Saranathan, V., C. O. Osuji, S. G. J. Mochrie, H. Noh, S. Narayanan, A. Sandy, E. R. Dufresne, and R. O. Prum. 2010. Structure, Function and Self-Assembly of Single Network Gyroid (I4132) Photonic Crystals In Butterfly Wing Scales. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 107(26): 11676– 11681 doi:10.1073/pnas.0909616107
News Articles:
1) https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indias-navrang-bird-can-help-us-strengthen-solar-energy/articleshow/90001254.cms
2) https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/tiny-matters/dinosaur-fossils-inspiring-jurassic-park-and-helping-us-predict-earths-future.html
3) https://www.yalescientific.org/2021/11/birds-of-a-feather-color-together-studying-the-structure-of-bird-feathers-could-revolutionize-engineering/
4) https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-blue-animals-color-themselves-with-nanostructures-20210616/
5) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/science/tarantulas-blue-colors.html
6) https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.5739139
7) https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/clearing-up-the-bad-reputation-of-halloweens-creepy-crawlies
8) https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/inside-the-secret-world-of-iridescent-animals
9) https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/explore/weevil-weevil-rock-you/article25067049.ece
10) https://www.yalescientific.org/2014/12/masters-of-light-the-science-behind-natures-brightest-colors/
11) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-are-some-feathers-blue-100492890/
12) https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/science/15obwing.html?ref=sciencehttps://
13) www.npr.org/transcripts/128014167
14) https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-19-la-sci-butterflies-20100619-story.html
15) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/100624-butterfly-wing-colors-scales-pictures
16) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7495961.stm
17) https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2008/07/10/colour-vision
18) https://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/farbenpracht-in-stein-a-d6bd6588-0002-0001-0000-000059673722?context=issue
Main Teaching Discipline
Biological Sciences
Other Teaching Disciplines
Chemistry, Environmental Sciences
