Karthik has been working in legumes and cereals for the last 10 years, from plant breeding to gene cloning. He is using genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics to discover and characterize the major genes involved in the expression of important agronomic traits. His other research interest is applying plant-derived natural products to improve human and animal health. Karthik has authored and co-authored more than 100 publications, including articles and book chapters in internationally renowned journals. He currently serves as the Research Professor at Subtropical Horticulture Research Institute, Jeju National University, South Korea