Biography
Prof. N. Raghuram is the founder-Head of the Centre for Sustainable Nitrogen and Nutrient Management the School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. He also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Springernature journal, Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, which he nurtured over two decades to the highest impact factor (3.6) ever achieved by any journal of Indian origin. He is also Adjunct Professor of plant biology at the University of Hyderabad and a member of the Central Advisory committee of FSSAI. His research specialises in plant G-protein signalling and crop nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency (NUE/PUE), apart from their broader environmental aspects and policy. He comprehensively characterized the rice phenotype for NUE and PUE for the first time in any crop, identified contrasting Indian rice varieties, analyzed their transcriptomes and shortlisted candidate genes for NUE/PUE. He is currently genome-editing them in rice for crop improvement. He also established the role of GPCRs in plant G-protein signaling and their role in rice NUE/PUE.
Awarded as the best teacher and outstanding researcher by his university and INSA, he co-led the first Indian, South Asian and International Nitrogen Assessments and served on the Indian Interministerial National Nitrogen Steering Committee. He was a Steering Committee member of the UNEP Global Partnership for Nutrient Management and global Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative. He also served on the consultative committee of FAO-WHO-UNEP on the health and environmental impacts of pesticides and fertilizers. He co-organized 3 International Nitrogen Conferences, including as Chair of N2024 and facilitated the first ever India-led UNEP resolution on Sustainable Nitrogen Management. He is currently President of the Society for Conservation of Nature and the Sustainable India Trust, which advocate evidence-based policies on sustainable nutrient management to address the triple planetary crisis of pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change. He taught over 20 courses for B.Tech/M.Tech/M.Sc. and mentored 11 Ph.D. theses and 101 dissertations for M.Tech/M.Sc./B.Tech in 3 universities. He held national and international projects worth over Rs. 10 crores and has been a consultant to Unilever, UN agencies and World Bank.