Bhubaneswar, Jan 14: On Thursday, famous Odia scientist and , Dr Ajay Kumar Parida became the Director of Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), here. Parida is a resident of Jajpur. He has made remarkable research contributions in fields such as agriculture, plant molecular biology and biotechnology. His pioneering contributions are the identification of stress tolerant genes specifically for salinity and drought. He has also made research contributions towards the basic understanding of the genetic architecture and species relationship in mangroves, cereals, legumes and other cultivated crop species. He has also become the supervisor of 25 students for their Ph.D. degree, has published more than 100 peer reviewed papers and traveled to more than 30 countries. He also has a hand in application of science and technology for rural development and is actively involved in working with grassroots organizations and local communities.
Additionally, Parida has been an elected member of the National Academy of Agriculture Sciences (NAAS) and National Academy of Sciences of India (NASI). He has also received several awards and recognition including the Padma Shri in 2014 for his outstanding contribution in the field of Science and Engineering. Before joining at the ILS, here, he was the Executive Director of MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai.
