Cytogenetics —  Macroevolution —  Macroecology

Hi! I am Sreetama, an Evolutionary Biologist and a Cytogeneticist. I am a Junior Group Leader of the newly established "Plant Evolutionary Ecology" group in the Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences in Průhonice, Czech Republic.

I did my Masters and PhD from University of Calcutta in Kolkata, India to understand the chromosomal, genomic and genetic variability of Indian Zingiberaceae. My PhD allowed me to explore my passion on the evolutionary role of cytogenetics, and landed me in my first job outside India. 

In 2017, I was a postdoc in Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) in Brno, Czech Republic to use chromosome painting as a tool to reveal structural variations in chromosomes. Pursuing my interest on cytogenetics and how it helped the angiosperms to evolve, I joined the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China in Menglun, China as a postdoc in 2018 where I conducted experiments to explore the implications of cytological and genetic diversity on the traits related to the growth and defense mechanisms of plants. From 2021-2025, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the synthesis center (sDiv) of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig in Leipzig, Germany, where I am applied my knowledge to understand the macro-evolutionary implications of genome size on trait flexibility, diversification and distribution of angiosperms. 

I have authored multiple research articles in a variety of journals, and presented my work in many regional and global conferences and symposia. 

Beyond research: I actively advocate equality and equity of under-represented communities, including the under-representation of women, in STEM research in academia and beyond. With my colleagues, I created the "iDiv Female Scientists" networking initiative in iDiv. Here we promote technical skills and tools to improve professional career, invite female Scientists in leadership positions to share their experience in academia, and create awareness to increase transparency of the female gap ("the leaky pipeline") in leadership positions by hosting gender-inclusive talks.

See our latest publication on how to improve equality in academia published in eLife: 

• Bhadra S, Damasceno G, Hoss D, Weyrich A (2025) Improving gender equity in academia depends on the workplace environment. eLife 14:e105352.