Imtiaz Ahmed, PhD , is Professor at Department of Zoology at the University of Kashmir, India. His pioneering contributions in the field of research include the determination of complete essential amino acid requirements of Indian major carp, Cirrhinus mrigala, at the fingerling stage as a part of his doctoral thesis and the 10 essential amino acids requirement of Heteropneustes fossilis and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss at fingerling stage as a part of research projects. The key finding of his research projects have been submitted to the funding agency for proper implementation. He has determined and recommended the feeding regime/appropriate ration size of some important cultured fish species for the proper utilization of feed. The protein requirement of two cultured fish species inhabiting Kashmir water bodies i.e., Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio communis and C. carpio specularis were reported by him first from Kashmir.
Apart from his studies in protein and amino acids requirements, he has also established quantitative information on vitamin requirements of different cultured fish species. He is the first to determine the feeding regime and protein and energy maintenance requirement of rainbow trout, O. mykiss, from Kashmir waters in lab conditions. He has also established nutritional values of indigenous snow trout Schizothorax spp., and seasonal variation in hemato-biochemical composition of fish habitating in coldwaters of Kashmir valley. In addition, he has also generated data on hemato-biochemical reference intervals of three fish species of the region. Dr. Ahmed has published more than 100 papers in well-reputed international journals and has several book chapters to his credit.
Dr. Ahmed has supervised several MPhil and doctoral students in the area of fish nutrition, fish physiology, reproductive biology and limnology. Ishtiyaq Ahmad, PhD , is a Senior Researcher in the Division of Fish Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Fisheries, Rangil, Ganderbal, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Kashmir, India, where he is focusing on developing pure lines for the genetic improvement in rainbow trout in order to uplift the overall aquaculture production. He has his specialization in fish nutrition, fish physiology and biochemistry, nutrigenomics, fish parasitology and molecular biology. His major research contribution is the establishment of optimum branched chain amino acid requirements for rainbow trout. He is an author of more than 35 research articles and several book chapters with international publishers, such as Scientific Reports, Aquaculture Nutrition, Aquaculture Research, Aquaculture Reports, Journal of Applied Ichthyology, Frontiers in Marine Sciences, etc. Dr. Ahmad has participated and presented his work at state, national, and international conferences, seminars, workshops, and symposia.
He has received many awards, which include a young scientist award from a national organization and several best paper presentation awards. He is serving as editorial member and review editor for several reputed international journals, such as PLOS ONE, Frontiers in Nutrition, etc. Dr. Ahmad has also worked as a Senior Research Fellow in DBT-sponsored project on the nutrient requirements of rainbow trout fingerlings. In addition to this, Dr. Ahmad is the recipient of a CSIR NET award. He pursued his doctorate degree at the Fish Nutrition Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India. Shabihul Fatma Syed, PhD , is currently working as Associate Professor at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.
She is a passionate research scientist with over 13 years of international academic teaching and research experience in biological sciences (zoology), mainly the protein biochemistry, dietary protein and amino acids requirements; vitamins and essential minerals requirements; and biochemistry, nutritional physiology, aquatic toxicology, pesticides/insecticides and their impact on human health, public health issues and challenges. She is an international researcher and has extensive experience in working on challenging projects, building and developing collaborations, creating networks, and mentoring and training students. Her challenging postdoctoral work has fostered resource management skills and has honed her organizational and project management capabilities, enabling her to adapt to varied research environments. She is also a science communication enthusiast and a skilled scientific writer and reviewer for various publishers, including Academic Press from Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Cambridge Press etc.