Dr. Neelam M. Nathani, Ph.D., is a Post-Doctoral Researcher and visiting faculty at the Department of Life Sciences, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University. She received the CHARUSAT Gold Medal, presented to her by the former President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. She completed her Ph.D. in Microbiology at Saurashtra University in 2016 and has received fellowships including a Department of Science & Technology INSPIRE fellowship, SERB-DST National Post-Doctoral Fellowship and UGC DS Kothari Fellowship. Dr. Chandrashekar Mootapally, Ph.D., is a Post-Doctoral researcher and has successfully completed SERB-DST funded project as PI (National Post-Doctoral Fellow scheme) at the Department of Marine Science, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University. Holding a doctorate in Marine Biotechnology from Annamalai University, he has extensive research experience in microbial gene mining from molecular data, and is actively engaged in exploring the pelagic microbial community in the Gulf of Kutch. In his early career, he was involved in the molecular characterization of indigenous livestock from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the northeastern states of India.Prof. I. R. Gadhvi, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Head of the Department of Marine Science, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, is a prominent naturalist and ornithologist in Gujarat, and has trained thousands of students in the field of wildlife and motivated them to practice nature conservation. He has also been associated with grassland conservation activities and wildlife research in the region including Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, Gujarat, India.Prof. Bharat Maitreya, Professor of Botany at Gujarat University, completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Gujarat University witha specialization in Botany. He has 23 years of teaching experience and is actively engaged in exploring aquatic flora in the region. He has also worked as a Nodal Officer for the All India Survey of Higher Education.Prof. Chaitanya G. Joshi is currently serving as Director, Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) and formerly Head of Department of Animal Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Sciences & A.H., Anand Agricultural University. He has been involved in extensive research using advanced molecular techniques like next-generation omics for more than a decade and actively engaged in inculcating research aptitude and zeal in the young minds by means of several successful training programs. He has published more than 200 research papers and 2 books, and has contributed significantly to global public scientific databases on molecular biology.
