Harnessing Plant Stimulating Molecules: Innovations in Stress Biology and Crop Resilience

M. Iqbal R. Khan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany and serves as Deputy Director of the Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) at Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India. He also holds adjunct appointments at Korea University, Seoul, South Korea, and at The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Dr. Khan’s research focuses on major staple crops, particularly wheat, with the objective of reducing their susceptibility to environmental stress under projected future climatic conditions and contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. His work addresses the challenges posed by environmental stressors to agricultural productivity, which remain a critical concern for global food and nutritional security. He has published over 100 research articles and has edited several books and authored multiple book chapters with leading publishers. He has an established citation record, as reflected in widely used bibliometric indicators. Dr. Khan has been recognized as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in the Animal and Plant Science category and has been listed among the top 2% of scientists globally by Elsevier and Stanford University (2021–25). He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), in Plant and Agricultural Sciences, and a recipient of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) Young Associates award (2024). His accolades include the R.H. Dastur Gold Medal Award―ISPP (2023), the Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award―NASI (2021), and the Young Scientist Award―ISPP (2018). He serves on the editorial boards of many renowned journals, including Plant and Soil, Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 3-Biotech, and Plant Physiology Reports. He has also served as a guest editor for Agriculture, Frontiers in Plant Science, Sustainability, and Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.

Dr. Sudhakar Reddy Palakolanu has more than 14 years of expertise in plant molecular biology, functional genomics, and gene editing. His research focuses on identifying and analyzing genes associated with complex traits using advanced molecular and biotechnological approaches. His work aims to enhance key agronomic traits in dryland crops, particularly millets, through the application of cutting-edge techniques. By integrating modern biotechnological tools, he seeks to validate candidate genes identified through trait dissection, supporting sustainable crop development. Dr. Reddy’s accomplishments have been recognized through several prestigious national awards, including the Young Scientist Award and the INSPIRE Faculty Award from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (DST-GOI). He also received a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which supported his research in Germany. In addition, he has served as a guest scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines, where he worked on CRISPR–Cas9-mediated genome editing to improve rice grain quality. He has an extensive research portfolio that includes numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, books, and patents. He also serves as a reviewer for leading international journals, including Trends in Plant Science, Genome Biology, Frontiers in Plant Science, Physiologia Plantarum, Plant Cell Reports, Plant Biotechnology Journal, and BMC Plant Biology, among others.