Malkanthi K. Karunananda

Malkanthi K. Karunananda is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Saint Louis University, part of the School of Science and Engineering. Their research focuses on synthetic inorganic, organometallic, and computational chemistry, addressing challenges in catalysis and materials science.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago (2017)
• B.Sc. in Chemistry, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka (2010)
• Postdoctoral Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute (2017–2022)

Research Interests: The Karunananda Lab explores catalysis and photosensitizer development using earth-abundant metals. Key areas include:

• Designing novel organometallic catalysts for polymer upcycling
• Investigating reaction mechanisms via experimental and computational methods (DFT, machine learning)
• Developing heterobimetallic systems to enhance reactivity and selectivity

Awards:

• 2021 Cottrell Postdoctoral Fellowship
• 2016 Benjamin B. Freud Graduate Research Fellowship

Lab Activities: The lab combines synthetic chemistry with computational analysis to advance sustainable materials and catalytic processes. Projects include photosensitizer design for photodynamic therapies and catalyst optimization for industrial applications.