Stress Biology of Cyanobacteria

Dr. Ashish Kumar Srivastava completed his MSc in botany and Ph.D. in molecular biology of cyanobacteria from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. His area of research is molecular assessment of diversity and stress responses of cyanobacteria inhabiting different ecosystems. He has served in Mizoram University and Banaras Hindu University as an assistant professor. He is the recipient of the Endeavour Research Award 2009 from the Australian Government. He also received the Young Scientist Award from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and the BPS Project Award of British Psychological Society. He is a life member of the National Academy of Sciences, India. He joined the prestigious Indian Administrative Services in 2011 and is currently posted in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India. Professor Amar Nath Rai completed his MSc from B.H.U. (gold medalist) and Ph.D. from the University of Dundee, UK. After having served Mizoram University as the vice-chancellor, he joined North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Varanasi, India, as vice-chancellor in 2010. He is an internationally recognized scientist in the field of nitrogen fixation and plant-microbe interactions. He has written books published by renowned publishers like CRC Press (United States) and Kluwer Academic Publisher (the Netherlands) and has published his research in journals with high-impact factor. Professor Rai is the recipient of the Amity Academic Excellence Award and Young Scientist Award. He is also a member of the Central Advisory Board on Education and Scientific Advisory Committee to the Cabinet, Government of India. Brett A. Neilan is a molecular biologist and an expert in the study of toxic cyanobacteria that affect water quality globally. He obtained his Ph.D. in microbial and molecular biology from the University of new South Wales (UNSW). He is currently professor of microbial chemistry, Australian Research Council Federation Fellow, deputy director of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, co-director of the Environmental Microbiology Initiative at UNSW, member of the Australian Society for Microbiology and Sydney Institute for Marine Science, and adjunct professor at the Chinese Academy of Science. Dr. Neilan's research focuses on microbial and molecular diversity, specifically the genetics of toxic cyanobacteria. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles and was awarded three Australian Museum Eureka Prizes and the Australian Academy of Science Fenner Medal.