Ajay Kumar is currently an Assistant Professor at the Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Noida, India. He previously served as a Visiting Scientist at the Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Israel (2018–2022), and completed his doctoral research at the Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, focusing on plant–microbe interactions. Dr. Kumar’s research expertise spans plant–microbe interactions, microbial biocontrol, postharvest fruit disease management, microbial endophytes of medicinal plants, and cyanobacteria–pesticide interactions. He is a prolific author in leading international journals and is also actively engaged in academic editing with major publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, CRC Press, and Wiley. Dr. Kumar currently serves as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology and BMC Microbiology, a Guest Editor for Microorganisms and Plants (MDPI), and a Series Editor for Plant and Soil Microbiome (Elsevier). Dr. Vipin Kumar Singh is currently working as CSIR Research Associate in the Department of Botany, Centre of Advanced Study, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Botany from the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India in the year 2015. He has worked in the UGC project entitled “Detoxification of arsenic contaminated groundwater by transgenic eco-friendly microbes. He has more than nine years of research experience in the area of groundwater hydro-geochemistry and bioremediation approaches to clean the contaminated groundwater sites. His area of interest includes the use of fast-growing plants and microbes to clean the contaminated soil and water system. Dr. Singh has published eight book chapters, twenty-one research articles in journals of national and international repute. He is a life time member of Indian Association of Hydrologists (IAH) and Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI). Currently, he is the member of editorial board in Indian Journal of Microbiology research and Water open access journal. So far, he has reviewed more than dozens of research articles and book chapters of international repute. He has actively participated in many national and international seminars, symposia, conferences and workshop related to the application of microbes in the management of contaminated sites.
