Professor Dr. Sumita Jha, FNASc., FWAST served as a distinguished faculty member in the Botany Department at the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India, where she taught from 1990 to 2017. She continued her research as an NASI Senior Scientist until 2022. She earned her M.Sc. in 1975 and Ph.D. in 1981 from the University of Calcutta. Throughout her career, she has made significant contributions to plant biology, molecular genetics, and biotechnology. Her research focuses on developing transgenic cultures in endangered medicinal plants to produce high-value pharmaceuticals. With over 160 research papers and 25 doctoral theses supervised, Dr. Jha has earned numerous accolades, including the "Science Academy Medal for Young Scientist" in 1983 and election as a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India, in 2008. She has also been a visiting scientist at renowned institutions in the UK and France.
Dr. Mihir Halder serves as an Assistant Professor in the postgraduate Department of Botany at Barasat Government College, West Bengal, India. He completed his B.Sc. with honours in 2007 and his M.Sc. in Botany in 2009, both from the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India. He later earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2017 from the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India. With over a decade of teaching experience, Dr. Halder specialises in cytogenetics, cell and molecular biology, and plant biotechnology. His research contributions to plant cytogenetics and biotechnology are well recognised, with more than 25 research papers and book chapters published, and he has supervised more than 20 M.Sc. projects. Dr. Halder showcases his expertise and dedication to advancing botanical sciences.
Dr. Liliana Essi, a researcher and educator in botany, earned her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in botany from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She completed postdoctoral research at Université Paris-Sud 11 in France. Dr. Essi has been teaching plant systematics and genetics at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria since 2009. Her research contributions include several published papers and Master’s theses supervised. Dr. Essi’s work in plant genetics and systematics has earned her a reputation in the scientific community.