Sankalp Misra is an Assistant Professor at Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University (SRMU), Uttar Pradesh, India. He completed his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, and was awarded by the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR). He has qualified for CSIR-UGC NET and has been awarded a Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) and Research Associateship (RA) from ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research), New Delhi, India. He has been felicitated with the Young Researcher Award from the Institute of Scholars and SRMU. Dr. Misra has also received Best Poster Awards at international and national conferences. He holds a Life membership of “The Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI). He has published over 20 SCI research articles, authored over 20 book chapters, and edited one book. He has received research grants from different funding agencies including ICMR, UPCST, and SRMU. His research interests include sustainable agriculture, abiotic stress-resilient agriculture, and biofertilizer-based technologies for improving soil fertility and crop productivity. Dr. Manish Kumar, Associate Professor, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India has done his PhD in Microbiology from ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms & RD University, Jabalpur. He has expertise in the field of plant-microbe interaction, microbial metagenomics, microbial diversity, and in-silico vaccine designing. He has qualified ICAR-NET with experiences like RA and SRF in ICAR and CSIR labs. He is a recipient of SERB SIRE (SERB International Research Experience-2022) fellowship from DST (Department of Science & Technology), Govt. of India. He worked under the guidance of Dr. Marina Kalyuzhnaya, Professor, Department of Biology, San Diego State University, USA. He is the Editor and reviewer of different reputed research journals in the field of microbiology. He has organized several workshops, and national/international conferences as organizing and joint organizing secretary. Diby Paul is a professor of biology at the College of Life and Health Sciences at Truett McConnell University in Georgia, USA. He has published numerous research articles on topics such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, rhizosphere microbial ecology, bacterial salt-stress tolerance, quorum sensing, and quorum quenching. His postdoctoral research involved characterizing bacterial proteins associated with salt stress tolerance. He is a recipient of the Endeavour Executive Research Fellowship and conducted advanced research on the molecular characterization of the rhizosphere microbiome at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. His research at the Sociomicrobiology & Microbial Interactions Laboratory (SMIL) focuses on using quorum-quenching phytomolecules to inhibit harmful bacterial biofilm formation.
