Microbial Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture

Dr. Ghada Abd-Elmonsef Mahmoud is an associate professor of applied microbiology in the Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University. She also, the head of Applied Biotechnology Department at the Molecular Biology Researches and Studies Institute, Assiut University, Assiut 71516, Egypt. She got her M.Sc. in microbiology, titled “Biodegradation of Hydrocarbons by Fungi,” in 2013. She got her Ph.D. in microbiology, titled “Isolation and Characterization of Microorganisms Producing Vitamins,” in 2016. Her main research interests include plant growth-promoting microorganisms, isolation and identification of different microorganisms, taxonomic ranking of bioactive material-producing microorganisms, enhancement of metabolic production efficiency of microorganisms, biodegradation of the environmental pollutants, functional impact of genetically modified microorganisms, molecular biology and metabolic profiling of pathogenic microorganisms, biosynthesis of nanoparticles from microorganisms, and their use as novel active antifungal agents. She has authored/co-authored more than 88 scientific publications, 13 book chapters, six review articles, and one book in the microbiology field. She has also been part of more than 80 workshops and training programs. She has reviewed more than 161 research papers as an academic reviewer in high-impact factor journals. She completed 13 M.Sc. and Ph.D. theses during the last five years and supervised more than 10 M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. She has been a scientific judge of the Egypt Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) since 2022. She is a member of the American Society of Microbiology, the Egyptian Soil Science Society, the Society of Basic and Applied Mycology, and Applied Microbiology International. Her work has attracted significant impact, which is evident from 1200 citations with the h-index of 19 and the i-10 index of 35. She is an editor for the Frontiers in Energy Research Section (in Bioenergy and Biofuels), and she is a reviewer of 40+ peer-reviewed research journals for Elsevier, Wiley, MDPI, Springer, Taylor, and Francis. Dr. Bikash Kumar is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Chhattisgarh, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. He also served a National Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Biosciences and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam. He received his B.Sc. (Hons) in 2012 and M.Sc. (Distinction) in 2014 in biotechnology and bioinformatics from Guru Ghasidas University, Bilaspur (a central university), and Pondicherry Central University, respectively. Later, in 2014, he worked as a junior research fellow in the Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, India. In 2015, he enrolled for Ph.D. and started his research at the Bioprocess and Bioenergy Laboratory under the research supervision of Prof. Pradeep Verma from the Department of Microbiology, Central University of Rajasthan, India. His work focuses on the development of biomass pretreatment technologies, biomass valorization, and microbial enzyme production (cellulases, laccase, and xylanases) for a greener energy and environment. His other research areas are bioprocess technology, food technology, and microbial biotechnology. The work has resulted in the publication of more than 46+ research articles, review papers, and book chapters. He has edited four books for Elsevier, Springer, and CRC Press. He has provided editorial assistance in 11 other books for CRC Press, Elsevier, and Springer and has been ack His work has attracted significant impact, which is evident from 2,973+ citations with the h-index of 25 and the i-10 index of 30. He is a life member of the Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI), the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI), the Mycological Society of India (MSI), and the Association of Carbohydrate Chemists and Technologists, India (ACCTI). He has received several awards from Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-Senior Research Fellowship (CSIR-SRF), the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF) scholarship, Department of Science and Technology -cience and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB) National Post Doctoral Fellowship(N-PDF), and the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI)-Young Scientist Award. Dr. Bikash Kumar is an associate editor in the Frontiers in Energy Research, a guest editor for special issue in the Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, BMC Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials, and Green Technology, Resilience, and Sustainability, and a review editor for the Frontiers in Chemistry and Frontiers in Energy Research. He is a reviewer for 24+ international journals and has reviewed more than 82+ papers for Elsevier, Wiley, MDPI, Springer, Taylor, and Francis. Dr. Kumar is the recipient of DST-SERB NPDF project funding of ~3.5 million INR. He is included in the top 2% of the Scientist List by Stanford University in the list for the year 2023.