Dr. Dilip R. Panthee is an Associate Professor and Tomato Breeder at the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University (NCSU). His expertise is in plant breeding, genetics, genomics, QTL mapping, molecular marker development, and marker-assisted selection. His tomato breeding program uses conventional and molecular breeding approaches to improve tomato disease resistance, yield, and fruit quality. He has released 13 hybrid tomato cultivars and 19 tomato breeding lines. He has published over 95 journal articles, 10 book chapters, and more than 85 abstracts and research reports. He has mentored tens of graduate students, Post-Doctoral Research Scientists, Research Scholars, and Visiting Scientists.
He has received ten professional awards for contributing to the scientific community, including the Fulbright Specialist Award, Julian C. Miller Sr. Distinguished Research Award, and Vegetable Breeding Excellence Award. Prof. Chittaranjan Kole is an internationally renowned academician with a spectacular professional career spanning over 40 years. His life-time original scientific contributions, specifically in the the fields of Plant Genomics and Biotechnology have been globally appreciated. His scholarly publications include 170 research articles mostly published in peer-reviewed international journals, 35 book chapters, and over 200 books with globally-reputed publishers. His academic contributions have been profusely appreciated by seven Noble Laureates.
His research contribitions have been recognized with several international awards and fellowships. Prof. Kole has worked as a faculty member, Head of Department, Dean or Vice Chancellor in three universities in India and as Visiting Professor in three universities in the USA. Currently, Prof. Kole is acting as the Founding President of the Genome India International and also of two other international organizations including International Climate Resilient Crop Genomics Cosnsortium and International Consortium on Phytomedomics and Nutriomics.