People

Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan

Professor, Principal Investigator

Banani Mondal

I graduated with B.S. in Botany from the University of Calcutta, India. Later, I developed a deep interest in Molecular Biology and Genetics. So, I ended up graduating with an M.S. in Genetics from the same university. I did my Ph.D. in Genetics from the Bose Institute, Calcutta. During my doctoral program, I studied molecular interactions between Indian mustard and the fungal pathogen Alternaria brassicicola. My current research focuses on understanding the whitefly-virus interaction at the molecular level. Apart from that, I am deeply interested in popularising science in regional language.

Kamran Rashid

I graduated with BS Biotechnology in 2013 from Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, KP, Pakistan, and M.Phil. Biotechnology from Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, KP, Pakistan with one year research work from Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF), Punjab, Pakistan. I Have done my Ph.D. degree in Biotechnology in 2022 from GCUF. During my Ph.D. study, I have worked on Plant Viruses (Molecular Plant Virology) and Molecular Plant Pathology. I have worked on a project “Geographical Distribution and Molecular Characterization of Geminiviruses Infecting Crop and Non-crop Hosts in Pakistan”.  I have experienced with Nested PCR and Real-Time PCR, cDNA synthesis, Gel documentation, Gene Cloning, Agro-Transformation, Bacterial Culturing, Streaking, Spreading, and other necessary molecular and microbiology techniques.  

Currently I am working as a Research Professional and Post-Doc Researcher in UGA, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan. Here In UGA my research strictly focused on begomoviruses (a group of single-stranded exclusively plant-infecting DNA viruses) and on transmission of this group of plant-infecting viruses by whiteflies. These viruses and their vector are major threats to vegetable (squash, tomato, and snap bean) production in Georgia. My research included basic and applied aspects of plant-virus-insect relationships/interactions with the goal of benefitting the vegetable growers of Georgia. 

Gurjit Singh

My undergrad is in Agricultural Sciences from the Punjab Agricultural University in India. Later, I decided to continue my studies as a Masters student in the Turfgrass and Ornamentals IPM lab of Dr. Shimat Joseph at the UGA Griffin campus, where I researched improvements to the IPM strategies against the Fall armyworm insect pest in bermudagrass systems. The multitrophic interactions among the host plants, plant-microbes, and insect vectors got my attention, and after graduating in Summer 2020, I joined Dr. Babu’s lab as a PhD student. Here, I am employing molecular techniques to investigate the interactions between host plants, plant viruses, and whiteflies in Cucurbits, with the ultimate goal of improving the IPM strategies against the whitefly vectors of plant viral diseases. Most of my research includes transmission bio-assays in the greenhouse and lab work, but also comprises of some field sampling during summers.

Vamsidhar Reddy Netla

I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Sciences from Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, India in 2019. I then went on to earn a Mater’s degree in Plant Pathology from the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bangalore, India in 2022. During my Master’s programme, I conducted research on virome analyses in chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) using next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect and identify known and novel viruses. Here, my research focuses on understanding the interactions between thrips, peanuts and viruses