Leading Force
Dr. Navjot Kaur is an Assistant Professor of Biosystems Engineering at Plaksha University, India. Academically trained as a chemical engineer, she fell in love with biology during her graduate studies. She earned her Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, where she worked on developing point-of-care molecular diagnostics. Before joining Plaksha University as a founding faculty, she was a research scientist at a giant generic drug development company in India, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. As a founding faculty she is actively involved in the outreach and admissions process, culture building and Young Technology Scholars (YTS) program at Plaksha University. She is a systems thinker, passionate about sustainable food production and consumption. Her group works on developing holistic solutions which incorporate technology development, risk assessment and public policy, and stakeholder engagement to tackle the grand challenge of food security. She teaches course on Introduction to Biology for Engineers, Biomimicry, and Molecular Biology in undergraduate program and Research Communication in graduate program.
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We are a Team
Graduate Students
Priya Bansal
Priya works in the field of molecular biology. She extends her expertise in the area by completing her Master’s degree from Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida. Priya was also an intern at NIPB, ICAR, where she worked with Plant Tissue culture for developing disease-resistant varieties of Cajanas Cajan against Helicoverpa armijera. At NK’s research lab, she is working on understanding the science behind CRISPR, its applications in sustainable agriculture, and the associated environmental impacts of large-scale adaptation of CRISPR crops. Also, she is in the early stages of understanding biosensing technologies that enable rapid and accurate detection of plant diseases, facilitating early intervention and effective disease control in agricultural settings.
Email: [email protected]
Samiksha Gupta
Samiksha has completed her Masters (M.Sc.) in Biotechnology from Gautam Buddha University. She also worked as a research apprentice at NIPB, ICAR, where her focus centered on studying expression of genes contributing to high-temperature stress tolerance in Aegilops peregrina. At NK’s research lab, she worked on understanding the major pain points in the agricultural sector in Punjab by analyzing the data collected by a field study executed by the group. At present, she is working on developing comprehensive solutions to reduce the excessive use of chemical pesticides to create a more sustainable approach to agriculture. As literature review concluded adverse impacts of overused chemical pesticides on humans, animals, soil and water. Thus, to seek for an environment-friendly approaches for pest control in plants, she is investigating Microbial Biocontrol Agents (MBCAs) and will employ genetic engineering tools to enhance their activity and efficacy.
Email: [email protected]
Samiksha Gupta
Samiksha has completed her Masters (M.Sc.) in Biotechnology from Gautam Buddha University. She also worked as a research apprentice at NIPB, ICAR, where her focus centered on studying expression of genes contributing to high-temperature stress tolerance in Aegilops peregrina. At NK’s research lab, she worked on understanding the major pain points in the agricultural sector in Punjab by analyzing the data collected by a field study executed by the group. At present, she is working on developing comprehensive solutions to reduce the excessive use of chemical pesticides to create a more sustainable approach to agriculture. As literature review concluded adverse impacts of overused chemical pesticides on humans, animals, soil and water. Thus, to seek for an environment-friendly approaches for pest control in plants, she is investigating Microbial Biocontrol Agents (MBCAs) and will employ genetic engineering tools to enhance their activity and efficacy.
Email: [email protected]
Research Fellows
Bhrat Khattar
Bhrat has knowledge about laboratory techniques, including bioinformatics, microbial biotechnology, recombinant DNA technology, and plant biotechnology. He completed his M.Sc. Hons in Biotechnology from Panjab University, Chandigarh and furthered his expertise by completing dissertation at NABI, Mohali, Punjab. His work there was focused on the expression profiling of DNA repair pathway genes in SOG-I overexpression lines of Arabidopsis thaliana. He also contributed in designing and construction for CRISPR/Cas-based vectors. At NK's lab, he is engaged in understanding the role of the soil microbiome in carbon sequestration, motivated by the urgent need to mitigate climate change. He selected carbon sequestration as his focus due to its pivotal role in mitigating climate change through enhanced storage of carbon in soils. He will investigate how different agricultural inputs and environmental parameters influence carbon sequestration rates, aiming to contribute to the development of sustainable practices for improving soil health and environmental stewardship.
Email: [email protected]
Siddhant Kumar
Siddhant holds a master's degree in Microbiology from Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar, where he focused on studying medicinal plants and their effectiveness against microbes and fungi. He gained practical research experience by developing Nano bio fungicides and exploring microalgae-based air purification systems. Additionally, he contributed to a project on enhancing biogas through microbial electro-synthesis at IISER, Mohali. Siddhant has acquired skills in phytochemical extraction, microbial culture handling, and bioreactor management, combining theoretical knowledge with practical expertise. Currently, at NK's research lab, he is involved in analysis of Microbial biocontrol agents(MBCAs) and will validate their efficiency in real-time on a field scale.
Email: [email protected]
Undergraduate Students
Shruti Laddha
Shruti, is a second-year undergraduate student at Plaksha University, majoring in Biological Systems Engineering. She is passionate about sustainability, environmental biology, and exploring various domains in the field of biotechnology. At NK's Lab she is working on a research project on developing an electrochemical biosensor for detecting fungal crop pathogens.
Yuvna Jain
Yuvna is a second-year undergraduate student at Plaksha University, and is pursuing a major in Biological Systems Engineering. She thrives on the intersection of technology and the sciences, with a particular passion for genetics, diagnostics, and pathology. At NK's lab, she is working on a project for development of an electrochemical sensor for the detection of fungal crop pathogens.
Alumni
Research Fellows
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Undergraduates
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Dr. Navjot Kaur, Room 2410, IV Floor, Havells Block
Plaksha University, Alpha Sector 101, IT City Rd, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab, 140306
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