Dr Alangar Ishwara BhatAlangar Ishwara Bhat is currently working as a Principal Scientist at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, Kerala, India. Having obtained his PhD from the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, he has 28 years of research experience in Plant Virology and has contributed significantly to the identification, characterization, diagnostics and management of viruses. Dr Bhat has been a visiting scientist at the University of Georgia, USA and at the Food and Environment Research Agency, UK. He has handled ten externally funded projects from the Government of India, authored 89 publications in reputed refereed journals, edited two books, and contributed 28 book chapters and three technical bulletins. He is the chief editor of the Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops and a section editor of VirusDisease. His work has been recognized with several national awards. Dr Govind Pratap Rao Govind Pratap Rao is a Principal Scientist (Plant Pathology) at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. He received his PhD in Plant Virology from Gorakhpur University in 1986 and pursued his postdoctoral research at the University of Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA (1994) and at Cedex, Montpellier, France (1998). Dr Rao has 32 years of research experience, and has made significant contributions to the characterization of plant viruses and phytoplasmas. He has over 150 research articles, and 25 and authored and edited books to his credit. His work has been recognized with several prestigious national and international awards. Dr Rao is also Secretary General of the Indian Virological Society, New Delhi and a member of several prestigious international scientific societies. In addition, he has travelled to more than 30 countries as a visiting scientist, expert, for invited talks, research training, panel discussions and conferences.
