Scientist bags Indo-US fellowship

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 11

Dr Kumari Neelam, Assistant Biotechnologist, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Punjab Agricultural University, has been selected for the prestigious Indo-US Fellowship for Women in STEMM (WISTEMM), supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, for conducting the research on multiplex genome editing for translational research aimed at designing novel resistance against bacterial blight in rice, for a duration of six months at the University of Maryland, USA.

She is working on wide hybridisation, genomics and molecular breeding aspects of rice. Her major emphasis is on utilisation of wild species of rice for improving productivity, insect-pest and disease resistance in elite cultivars. She fine-mapped a bacterial blight resistance gene from Oryza glaberrima derived introgression line and is aiming at cloning of a xa-45(t) utilising multiplex genome editing approach, at the University of Maryland in collaboration with Dr Nidhi Rawat. The expertise will be also utilised for cloning of other agriculturally important genes already mapped at School of Agricultural Biotechnology.

The scientist also received a congratulatory message from Parveen Chhuneja, Director, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, on being selected among top ten scientists from India in the stream of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine.