Dr. Puja Gupta is working as an Assistant Professor of Biotechnology at the Regional Institute of Management and Technology, Mandi Gobindgarh, Sirhind, Punjab, India and is the recipient of various fellowships: Department of Science and Technology Women Scientist-Scheme A; and Research Associateship and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Direct Senior Research Fellowship from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Besides these prestigious fellowships, she has worked as a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Biotechnology- and National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture-funded projects at the University of Jammu and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, respectively. She qualified in the National Eligibility Test for Lectureship in Life Sciences under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India, Government of India in December 2007. She has 5 years of academic experience and more than 10 years of research experience. She was awarded a women scientist award by the Society for Scientific Development in Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, in 2020, and the Young Researcher Award by the Institute of Scholars in 2021. She has published ten research/review articles as a first author in journals of repute. She has published eight book chapters and three books with publishers of international repute. Her research interests include metagenomics, microbiology, microbial genetics and plant–microbe interactions.Dr. Mohd. Shahnawaz is currently working as an Assistant Professor on a contract basis at the Department of Botany, University of Ladakh, Kargil Campus, Khumbathang-194105, Kargil, Ladakh UT, India. Previously, he was selected as an Associate Professor at Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China (2021) and as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsan, South Korea (2020). He is the recipient of various fellowships: National Post-Doctoral Fellowship, funded by the Department of Science and Technology – Science and Engineering Board, Government of India; University Grants Commission-Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students Junior Research Fellowship and Senior Research Fellowship, funded by the University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India; and the University Grants Commission Basic Scientific Research Fellowship (previously known as the University Grants Commission Meritorious Fellowship), funded by University Grants Commission, Government of India. He has several years of teaching and post-doctoral experience. In 2019, he was awarded Young Scientist Award by the VD Good Professional Association at Visakhapatnam, India. He has served as a reviewer, editor and guest editor for several national and international journals. He has published more than 22 research articles/reviews, 11 book chapters and 8 books with publishers of international repute. His research interests are in ecology, microbiology, bioremediation, plant secondary metabolites, integrative medicine and drug discovery.
