Dr. Neelam Thakur has been serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology at Sardar Patel University, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, since the year 2022. She also holds the roles of Coordinator and Head of the Zoology Department at the same institution. Prior to her tenure at Sardar Patel University, she worked as an Associate Professor in the Department of Biosciences at Chandigarh University in Punjab. Dr. Thakur earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from Himachal Pradesh University in 2012. Following the completion of her Ph.D., she joined the Immunology lab at CSIR-Imtech, Chandigarh, as a Research Associate in 2012. Her research interests encompass various fields, including early diagnosis of tuberculosis and cancer, nanotechnology for cancer diagnostics and therapy, cytogenetic analysis of intellectually disabled individuals, and microbiome studies. She has a substantial research track record, having published more than 20 research papers in international journals of high repute. Additionally, she holds a patent titled Antigenic composition and method of expression thereof. Dr. Thakur has been recognized for her contributions to research with two Young Researchers Awards and one Eminent Researchers Award from government-registered societies and organizations. Dr. Prudhvi Lal Bhukya is a Virologist currently serving as a Scientist at the ICMR-National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research (NARFBR) in Hyderabad. Presently, he heads the Vaccine Testing Facility at NARFBR. His areas of expertise include preclinical vaccinology studies, host-viral interaction studies of emerging human viral infections, and the prevention and control of diseases, along with the development of tools to prevent outbreaks. He earned his Ph.D. from the ICMR-National Institute of Virology-Pune, focusing on the human hepatitis B virus. He has established his credentials through his work on HBV and HEV, as evidenced by his publication record. Dr. Bhukya has presented his research at numerous national and international conferences. His achievements include several publications in international journals of high repute.
