An atmosphere of joy and celebration filled Graphic Era when it was learnt that a new species, Nantronococcus pandeyae sp. Nov. had been named after Dr. Anita Pandey, a faculty in Department of Biotechnology, in honour of her extensive research contribution to microbial diversity of Indian Himalayan region. The brilliant scientist informed that she made these impeccable contributions to science through CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur; GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora; and Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun.
Driven by the passion to work in the Himalayas, Dr. Pandey had initially joined the research group of Dr. LMS Palni at CSIR-IHBT, Palampur during 1990-1992 and worked on Tea Rhizosphere Microbiology. Later, she moved to GBPNIHE, Almora under the leadership of Padmashree Prof. A.N Purohit and worked on microbial diversity and biotechnological applications across the Himalaya.
Presently, she is affiliated with Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun, and is focusing on adaptation biology and identification of microbial indicators with reference to Indian Himalaya, a research area that gains immense significance in light of the present global attention on Biodiversity and Climate Change.
It is also worth mentioning that Dr. Pandey is a recipient of National Young Woman Bioscientist Award by DBT, Govt. of India, New Delhi and Vishisht Mahila Vaigyanik Sammaan (Eminent Woman Scientist) by USERC, Govt. of Uttarakhand. She has hosted CV Raman International Fellowships for African Researchers twice (Morocco and Egypt). She has participated in exchange research programmes, workshops, and conferences with the aim to share knowledge at various National as well as International forums like Biocontrol of Plant Diseases Laboratory, USAD, Beltsville, USA (Visiting Scientist); MTCC, IMTECH, Chandigarh, India; FEMS-11, Geneva, Switzerland; Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, France; SEB Brighton 2016 (UK).
It is through the presence of academic luminaries like Dr. Anita Pandey that Graphic Era stands tall as powerhouse of knowledge and research. We are sure that her extraordinary achievement will inspire the students to excel and stand out.
