Three PhD Scholars, Ms. Swati Dahariya, Ms. Chalasani Danteswari and Ms. Mouboni Dutta from School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad have been selected for prestigious Newton Bhabha PhD placement Programme 2018-19. This was announced by the Dean of the School Prof. K.V.A. Ramaiah. Newton Bhabha PhD Placement Programme is a partnership between the British Council and the Departments of Science and Technology and Biotechnology, Government of India. Through this program PhD scholars across United Kingdom and Indian sub-continent are provided research funding for a short period from March to October annually.
Swati
Ms. Swati Dahariya is working with Prof. Ravi Gutti, Department of Biochemistry and under this programme she will work with Dr. Anton Enright, University of Cambridge, UK to work on molecular regulation of platelet production process.
Chalasani
Ms. Chalasani Danteswari, working with Prof. Appa Rao Podile in Department of Plant Sciences will work with Dr. Andy Neal, Rothamsted Research Ltd, Harpenden, UK under this program. Ms. Danteswari will pursue biological nitrogen fixation research and will study soil bacterial diversity changes of cereals and pulse crops.
Mouboni
Ms. Mouboni Dutta, working with Prof. P. B. Kirti in the Department of Plant Sciences will use this fellowship to work with Dr. Ulrike Bechtold, University of Essex, UK to carry out research on abiotic stress tolerance.
Swati, Chalasani and Mouboni have been working on closely related areas of research for their Ph.D. work at School of Life Sciences in the University. The selection to this fellowship, enables them to carry out collaborative work with the respective laboratories.
The Newton Fund builds research and innovation partnerships to support economic development and social welfare, and develop research and innovation capacity for long-term sustainable growth. This is achieved by building the skills of doctoral scholars through cross-border research collaborations in higher education institutions. Tackling global challenges including, access to affordable health care, food and energy security, and meeting the social and economic needs of a growing population requires an integrated research and innovation approach, bringing together communities from different disciplines, sectors and countries in high-quality collaborations.
The Dean of the School Prof. Ramaiah congratulated all the three students on their selection for this programme. He is expecting that this visit to UK, under this fellowship, will give a lot of encouragement to all three girls to do even better in their research work.