Suresh Kumar Verma Editor

Prof. M. A. Mallick is a Professor of Botany and Dean, Faculty of Science at Vinoba

Bhave University, Hazaribag. He has had a first class academic career. He was a UGC

teaching fellow in the Department of Botany, University of Delhi, during 1986–1990

and was awarded a Ph.D. degree in 1991. He was a UGC visiting associate at Bhabha

Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, for short term postdoctoral work during 1994–

1996. He has 37+ years of teaching and research experience to his credit. Dr Mallick

is the man behind the establishment of the Undergraduate Biotechnology department

at St. Columba’s College, Hazaribag, the backward region of erstwhile Bihar and

now Jharkhand State of India in 1994–95. He was also founder, course coordinator,

and presently director of the Post Graduate Department of Biotechnology, VBU. He

was elected as a member of the Jharkhand State Biotechnology Board during 2002–

2004 and a member of Jharkhand State Higher Education Council (RUSA) during

2015–2017. Dr Mallick is a lifetime member of several academic societies and

attended several seminars and conferences in India and abroad. He has authored one

international book and two laboratory manuals in biotechnology and has published

several research papers, including book chapters. He has supervised ten research

scholars and is currently guiding seven students to a Ph.D. degree in Biotechnology/

Botany. His current research interest lies in nanobiotechnology, and he has published

papers in this field in scientific reports and nanomedicine.

Manoj Kumar Solanki (Ph.D.) is currently working as a scientist in the Institute

of Biology, Biotechnology and Environment Protection of the Faculty of Natural

Sciences, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland, under the Police National Agency

for Academic exchange program. He obtained his Master’s degree in Microbiology

from Barkatullah University in 2006 and a Ph.D. degree in Microbiology from Rani

Durgawati University, India, in 2013. He has awarded a visiting scientist fellowship

from the Guangxi Academy of Agriculture Sciences, China, in 2013–2015, and

also awarded as visiting scientist from the Volcani Center, Agricultural Research

Organization, Israel 2016-2020. During his Ph.D., he was awarded a Senior Research

Fellowship from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), India. He also

worked as a research associate in the International Crops Research Institute for the

Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India, in a Department of Biotechnology funded

project. He has been engaged in various research activities on plants–microbes interaction,

soil microbiology, plant disease management, enzymology, and published

many book chapters and various research papers in the journals of international

repute. His current research interest lies in post-harvest disease management, the

study of bacterial and fungal microbiomes, nutrient management, plant disease management,

bioformulation preparation and application, microbial genome analysis,

microbial diversity, lytic enzymes such as chitinase and amylase, stress regulation

by plant growth-promoting microbes, and soil microbial community analysis by

modern biotechnological tools. He has vast experience in several plant diseases like

root rot, wilt, charcoal rot, downy mildew, and their management. Dr Solanki has a

great interest in agriculturally important microorganisms (such as bacteria, actinomycetes,

fungi, and yeast), especially in the utilization of microorganisms in soil and

crop health management and other allied areas.

Baby Kumari (Ph.D.) obtained her Master’s degree in Biotechnology from the

University of Rajasthan and a Ph.D. degree in Biotechnology from the Vinoba Bhave

University (2017), Jharkhand, in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research

Centre, Mumbai, India. She has worked at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,

Mumbai, Maharashtra, April 2013–April 2014, in Nuclear Agriculture and Plant

Biotechnology Division. She also worked there in the Radiation and Health division.

She worked at the different prestigious Teaching and Research Institutes of India (for

13 years). She worked in the Department of Biotechnology, St Columbas College,

Jharkhand, December 2010–March 2011 as an Assistant Professor, Chemind

Diagnosis and Biosolutions, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, December 2009–November

2010, as a research scientist, Modi Institute of Management and Technology, Kota,

Rajasthan, August 2007–December 2009, in the molecular biology specialization

section. She has been engaged in various research activities on plant–microbes interaction,

soil microbiology, plant disease management, nanotechnology, and published

many research papers in journals of international repute. Dr Kumari has a great

interest in plant–microbes interaction, especially in medicinal plants. Dr Kumari

has a keen interest in nanoparticle biosynthesis and their application in plant disease

management, biosensors, and bioremediation.

Suresh Kumar Verma (Ph.D.) is a research scientist in the group of Prof. M. Suar in

the KIIT School of Biotechnology, KIIT University. He has served as a postdoctoral

researcher in environmental nanotoxicology at the Department of Environmental

Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. He has been part of the South

Asian Hub project as a research scientist. Currently, he is about to join Uppsala

University. His main area of research interest includes nanotoxicology, environmental

pollution, and nanomedicine. His research publications includes many publications

in top reputed environmental journals like Science of the Total Environment,

Scientific Reports, Nanomedicine, Chemosphere, and many others. He is also associated

with many journals as a reviewer and editor.