Sankalpi joined the Danforth Center in January 2012 to develop Setaria viridis as a model to study how plants can grow very close to each other in the field. Her discoveries could help increase the planting densities of related bioenergy crops to obtain more plant material per unit of land area. She also contributes to training of teachers, K-12 students, and citizens for the Mutant Millets and MO-DIRT outreach programs at the center. Sankalpi obtained her B.Sc. degree in Plant Biotechnology from the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka. For her Ph.D. in Genetics and postdoctoral training, Sankalpi studied at Michigan State University. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, cake decorating, community outreach, and yoga.