Dr. Anupama Shrestha is an esteemed Assistant Professor at Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology. She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Kangwon National University, Republic of Korea, conferred in 2012. Korea Research Foundation provided scholarship for both her Master's and Ph.D. degrees. With a rich research background, Dr. Shrestha served as a Research Professor at the Institute of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, and later as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Division of Biotechnology, Jeonbuk National University, Republic of Korea. She has actively led Academic Partnership Project for Advance Organic Farming (APPA) at Kathmandu University Funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Her research focuses on plant-microbe interactions and the biological control of plant diseases.
Dr. Tao Uttamapinant leads a research group at the School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering of Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC) in Rayong, Thailand. Research in his laboratory focuses on the development of new tools to characterize locally synthesized proteins and proteoforms; plastic bioremediation; and open-source molecular diagnostic tools. He is also a committee member of the Global South Committee for Open Science by eLife.
Dr. T. Swaroopa Rani is an Assistant Professor at GITAM University, Hyderabad, India. She obtained her Ph.D. in Plant Sciences from the University of Hyderabad in 2013, with funding support from the Department of Science and Technology's INSPIRE program. Her doctoral research focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of non-host resistance in Citrus, specifically investigating how non-host plants defend against microbial invasion and how microbes evade plant immunity in host plants.
Dr. Rani's current research spans two key areas. One major focus is enhancing plant resilience to both abiotic and biotic stresses through the use of PGPR, particularly strains that can survive in heavy metal-contaminated soils and absorb metals like arsenic, chromium, cobalt, copper, and zinc. This research aims to foster crop growth in polluted environments while mitigating the harmful effects of toxic metals. Additionally, she is investigating the role of PGPR in protecting plants from fungal pathogens. These beneficial bacteria not only promote plant growth but also exhibit antifungal properties. Her work specifically explores how PGPR can suppress soil-borne fungal diseases in chickpea and tomato crops, providing an eco-friendly alternative to chemical-based disease management. Furthermore, she is developing smart pesticide delivery systems to enhance the precision and efficiency of pesticide application, reducing chemical use and minimizing environmental impact.
Dr. Abhinav Aeron was born and raised in the city of Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh). He completed his Masters in Microbiology from DAV (PG) College (affiliated to Ch. CS University, Meerut), Muzaffarnagar and Doctorate in Microbiology from Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Gurukula Kangri University, Haridwar-249 404, Uttarakhand, India. He worked as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) and further as a Senior Research Fellow (SRF) under Uttarakhand Council of Science and Technology (UCOST, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of Uttarakhand) sponsored project while pursuing his Doctorate on "Diversity of Rhizobia from Medicinal legumes". He also went to pursue post doctoral fellowship at Chonbuk National University, Iksan, South Korea working on various plant associated microorganisms in salt and metal tolaerance. He served as Assistant Professor (on contract) in Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kurukshetra University, as a Lecturer in DAV (PG) College, Muzaffarnagar in Department of Biosciences, as a Guest faculty in Department of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida, as an Assistant Professor (on contract) in Department of Biotechnology, School of Engineering and Technology, Sharda University, Greater Noida and as Assistant Professor in Department of Microbiology (Dolphin PG College of Biomedical Sciences, Manduwala, Dehradun).
Professor Tofazzal Islam is a distinguished academic figure serving as a Professor and Founding Director of the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE) at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University in Bangladesh. Tofazzal did his MS and PhD degrees in Applied Biosciences at Hokkaido University in 1999 and 2002. He has held prestigious postdoctoral positions at esteemed institutions such as Hokkaido University, University of Goettingen, University of Nottingham, and West Virginia University, under various fellowship programs including JSPS, Alexander von Humboldt, Commonwealth, and Fulbright. Throughout his career, Tofazzal has garnered international recognition for his groundbreaking research and expertise in the application of frontier sciences, including molecular plant-microbe interactions, genomics, and genome editing, to address the impacts of climate change on agriculture through the development of climate-smart agrobiotechnology.
Dr. Sarbesh Das Dangol is an Assistant Professor at Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology (MBUST), and a visiting faculty at Central Department of Biotechnology, Tribhuvan University, specializing in the application of CRISPR genome editing technology in Nepal. He is also involved in potato microtuber research. Dr. Sarbesh completed his Ph.D. in Agricultural Genetic Engineering at Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Turkey, fully funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). He is currently leading two projects funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Nepal: one on genome editing in rice and another on an Entrepreneurship Support Program. Additionally, he is leading a project focused on potato transformation using reporter genes. Dr. Sarbesh also secured a grant under the UNESCO-TWAS program, through which he facilitates visits by professors from abroad to Nepal. During his doctoral studies, he received training in potato genome editing at The James Hutton Institute in the UK. Among his recognitions are the Nepal Bidhyabhushan ‘Ka’ award, bestowed by the Federal Government of Nepal in 2023, as well as two honors from the Society for In Vitro Biology (USA): the 2023 President’s Award and the 2022 Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Brian is an associate professor of botany at the University of Sialkot. He recently completed his postdoctoral research at Imperial College London. His areas of interest are the molecular characterization of phytopathogens, biocontrol of phytopathogens protein-protein interaction assays, RNAi-mediated gene silencing, and infection assays to gain insights into the regulation of autophagy, plant immunity, and systemic acquired resistance.