UoH faculty selected for NASI Scopus Young Scientist Award

Hyderabad, Jan 6 : Dr. Rahul Kumar, Assistant professor, Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad (UoH) here has been selected for the highly prestigious NASI Scopus Young Scientist Award (2022) for ‘Agriculture, Plant Sciences, and Rural Development’ category.
This award is given to Dr Rahul for his outstanding scientific contributions to plant stress biology, mineral nutrition, and fruit ripening, the University said in a release here on Friday.
The award consists of a citation & a plaque and a Prize of Rupees 75,000.
The primary research in Dr. Rahul Kumar’s laboratory is focused on understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) in plants, for which his group have already identified and characterized several candidate genes.Additionally, they have identified tomato cultivars which perform better under limited Pi availability.His group is also focused on understanding the role of plant hormones in the regulation of developmental processes such as reprogramming of root system architecture under Pi starvation or fruit ripening in tomatoes.
His laboratory along with his collaborators has also developed a nano-Pi fertilizer with enhanced agronomic use efficiency.
Overall, his group aims to develop crops with high PUE and cut down phosphorus usage in farming using technological interventions to make agriculture more sustainable.The Scopus Young Scientist Awards, first launched by Elsevier in 2006, is part of Elsevier’s global initiative to support early career researchers in their quest to advance the frontiers of science across a broad range of disciplines.
In 2009, India officially adopted the program within its scientific community through Elsevier’s collaboration with The National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI). The program honours outstanding young researchers in India who are building their careers in academic research, helping them gain recognition for their work.