Laureates Across Disciplines Transforming Plant Science: Nobel Roots of Plant Progress

Author Biography

Dr. Pankaj Kumar is currently serving as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. With over a decade of research experience in plant molecular biology and biotechnology, he has made notable contributions to Plant science. His postdoctoral research at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi, and CSIR -Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, HP, India. He is a prolific author with over 100 research, review papers, book chapters, and several notable books, including Transforming Medicinal Plant Agriculture (Springer); Climate Resilience and Molecular Adaptation in Alpine Medicinal Plants (Springer); Plant Stress Memory, Methods and Protocol (Springer); Agricultural Biotechnology- Latest Research and Trends (Springer) and Ornamental Horticulture: Latest Cultivation Practices and Breeding (Springer). His innovative contributions have led to the publishing of five Indian patents, and he has been honored with numerous awards, such as the Young Scientists Fellowship Award-2021 by ICMR and the Scientist's Pool Scheme Award-2020 by CSIR. His academic leadership extends to active editorial and peer-review roles, and he continues to mentor students and researchers in interdisciplinary plant biotechnology. Mr. Shagun Sharma is a doctoral researcher in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India, where he is supported by the university merit scholarship in recognition of his academic excellence. Following the completion of his Master’s degree, he served as a Project Assistant at the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India, gaining substantial research experience in plant sciences. He has established a promising early research profile, demonstrated by two national patents, two peer-reviewed research articles, nine scholarly book chapters, and twelve review articles published in reputed international journals. His scientific contributions have been acknowledged through multiple honours, including the Young Researcher Award (2024) conferred by the National Academy of Bio Sciences, along with best poster and best oral presentation awards at both national and international scientific conferences. He has research expertise in medicinal plant and horticulture biotechnology. Dr. Shivanti Negi is a plant molecular biologist specializing in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, with research expertise in fruit crop genomics and climate-resilient horticulture. She earned her Ph.D. (2025) from Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India, where her doctoral research focused on differential transcriptome analysis to identify molecular regulators of bud break in low-chill apple. She also holds an M.Sc. and B.Sc. (Hons.) in Biotechnology from the same institution. Dr. Negi has research and project experience as a CSIR Project Assistant, contributing to the development of high-throughput genotyping platforms for next-generation plant breeding and the Tea Genome Sequencing program. Her research interests include transcriptomics, marker-assisted selection, phytochemical analysis, and tissue culture of horticultural crops. She has published several research papers in reputed international journals and contributed book chapters and an academic book. Her achievements have been recognized with awards such as the ICAR-ASRB NET qualification, NFST Junior/Senior Research Fellowship, Best Oral Presentation Award (2024), and merit certificates at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Dr. Negi actively participates in national and international conferences and continues to pursue interdisciplinary research in plant biotechnology.