Dr. Kundan Kumar is presently working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology & Science Pilani, K. K. Birla Goa Campus. He completed his Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology at National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, India. He did his post-doctoral studies at University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA and McGill University, Canada from 2009 to 2012. He has more than fifteen years of research experience in the area of Plant Molecular Biology and Stress Physiology with focus on the role of plant aquaporins in metalloid transport. He has published more than 45 publications in International and National Journal of repute. Dr. Kumar was recipient of Young Scientist Award from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) in 2012 and life member of several societies. He is an elected member of Plant Tissue Culture Association of India (PTCAI). He was a reviewer for various International Journals and serves as an Associate Editor for two International journals. Dr. Sudhakar Srivastava is presently working as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development (IESD), Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Botany at the University of Lucknow. He also served as a Scientific Officer at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai from 2009 to 2014. He has more than nineteen years of research experience in the field of plant-metal interactions, with a major focus on arsenic stress responses in plants. He has published 85 research articles and 40 review and letter articles in high-impact international and national journals. He has also received several awards for his contributions, including a Fellow of International Society of Environmental Botanists, 2020, Young Scientist Award from the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), Allahabad in 2011, Young Scientist Award from Uttar Pradesh Council of Science & Technology (UPCST) in 2013-2014, and Young Scientist Award from the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) in 2015. Dr. Srivastava is also an Associate of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) and a life member of several societies as well as non-governmental organizations and serves as an Editor for respected international journals. He was included among the top 2% of world scientists in 2020.
