Dr. Pradeep KumarPradeep Kumar, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Botany, University of Lucknow, Lucknow, India. Before this, he served as an Assistant Professor at NERIST, India, and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at Yeungnam University, South Korea. He was awarded the prestigious PBC Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellowship and worked for over three years as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biotechnology Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.Dr. Kumar’s research interests include applied microbiology, biocontrol, nanotechnology, phytochemistry, and food sciences. He has published more than 110 peer-reviewed research and review articles, 35 international book chapters, and nine edited books, with over 11,700 citations. He received the Early Career Research Award (2017) from SERB, Government of India, and has served as principal or co-principal investigator for 10 government-funded research projects.Dr. Madhu Kamle, PhD, is currently working as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Lucknow. Before this, she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forestry at the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (NERIST), Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Her research interests include plant biotechnology, plant–microbe interactions, microbial genomics, and plant disease diagnostics. She earned her PhD in Plant Biotechnology from ICAR-CISH, Lucknow, in collaboration with Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, India.She has been awarded the prestigious PBC Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellowship, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship from the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. She has also worked as an International Research Professor at the School of Biotechnology, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea. Dr. Kamle has over ten years of research experience and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed research and review articles, 20 international book chapters, and 4 edited books, with over 5,850 citations.Dr. Dipendra Kumar Mahato completed his PhD in Food Science and Technology from Deakin University, Australia. He holds a Master’s degree in Food Science and Technology and a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and has been awarded a Gold Medal for academic excellence. Before pursuing his PhD, he worked as an Editorial Assistant at Aptara Corp., a leading publication house, and gained industrial experience at Panacea Biotec. He also contributed to research projects at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur.He was awarded the prestigious Deakin University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (DUPRS) to pursue his doctoral studies in Food and Nutrition. His research interests span food science, new product development, sensory science, microbiology, biotechnology, and consumer-driven innovations for health and well-being. Dr. Mahato has published more than 60 peer-reviewed research and review articles, 26 book chapters, and one edited book, with a total of 5,990 citations.
