Biography

Dr. Sachin Kumar (DOB: April 03, 1982) began his research career as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in 2007 at the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut (UP), India. During his time as a JRF, he had the opportunity to visit the Department of Plant Sciences at North Dakota State University (NDSU), Fargo, North Dakota, USA, for five months (June to October 2007). There, he worked with Dr. Shahryar Kianian on a National Science Foundation (NSF), USA-funded research project titled “DEtecting Adduct Lesions IN Genomes (DEALING) in wheat.” His research focused on the development of diploid wheat (Triticum monococcum) deletion lines for reverse genetics and high-resolution radiation hybrid mapping of chromosome 3B in wheat.

In 2012, Dr. Kumar earned his PhD in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, under the joint supervision of Professor H.S. Balyan and Professor P.K. Gupta. His dissertation was titled “Physical mapping of DNA-based molecular markers and genome analysis in bread wheat.”

After completing his PhD, Dr. Kumar was awarded the prestigious Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Visiting Fellowship under the Canadian Government Laboratories Program. He worked for three years (2012–2015) at the Swift Current Research and Development Centre (formerly Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada, with Dr. Ron Knox. His work was part of a research project titled “Canadian Triticum Advancement through Genomics,” funded by Genome Canada.

In 2015, Dr. Kumar was selected as an Assistant Professor at Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, and has been working in the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding since then. He has published 16 research articles in highly reputed peer-reviewed journals such as BMC Genomics, BMC Research Notes, Theoretical and Applied Genetics (TAG), Euphytica, PLoS One, Field Crops Research, Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology, Molecular Breeding, and Theoretical and General Genetics (TGG). His research interests focus on plant genomics and molecular breeding, especially in cereal crops like wheat. His work includes developing molecular markers, high-throughput SNP genotyping, constructing high-density genetic maps, physical and radiation hybrid maps, comparative mapping, QTL analysis, GWAS, and marker-assisted selection for agronomically important traits.

In 2017, Dr. Kumar was awarded the Early Career Research Award (ECRA) by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, India, along with a grant of INR 52 lakhs for a three-year research project. He is also the Principal Investigator of an international collaborative research project, “Improved Wheat for Heat Tolerance and Climate Resilience,” funded by USAID (USA) and DBT-BIRAC (India).

In 2024, Dr. Kumar assumed the role of Associate Professor in the Department of Botany, Faculty of Science at Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. In this position, he is dedicated to advancing molecular research in botany and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations among life science departments. With a strong background in crop genomics, his research focuses on identifying genetic markers and traits for crop improvement, particularly in response to climate change (high temperature). His commitment to education and research continues to drive advancements in plant science and biotechnology.