A proud alumna Dr Sudeshna Thakur, Ph.D. from the Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), has enshrined the glory of this elite institution by bagging the prestigious BioCARe research project. She has been awarded a project entitled “Functional characterization of octopamine receptor in Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)” under the Biotechnology Career Advancement and Re-orientation Programme (BioCARe) scheme for the Women Scientists, sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. The project worth Rs 50 lakh will be implemented in the Insect Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Entomology under the mentorship of Dr Vikas Jindal, Principal Entomologist, who himself has won different adhoc projects from DBT, SERB, UGC, etc. Dr Thakur will be working as Principal Investigator to characterize the insect biogenic amine receptor and monoamines in whitefly, a deadly pest in cotton crop. Dr Jindal said that monoamines activating octopamine receptor in whitefly will be identified which may provide base for the development of next generation insecticides.

Dr Thakur has been a meritorious student throughout her academic career. She is a recipient of Mrs Jaswant Kaur Bindra Fellowship and Baba Ganga Singh Memorial Innovation Award in Ph.D. programme.

Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU; Dr MIS Gill, Dean Postgraduate Studies; Dr AS Dhatt, Director of Research and Dr DK Sharma, Head, Department of Entomology, congratulated Dr Thakur and her mentor Dr Jindal for this achievement and wished them all success in their future endeavours.