Dr. Amalendu Ghosh is currently working as a Scientist in Advanced Centre for Plant Virology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. He completed his postgraduate (2005-2007) and doctoral degree (2007-2010) in Agricultural Entomology from Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani, West Bengal with several distinctions. He has been a faculty member at IARI, New Delhi for the past seven years. His main research interest lies in understanding the relationships of insect vectors and plant viruses and developing novel molecules aiming to interrupt the inter-relationships and restrict the spread of diseases. Dr. Ghosh has demonstrated the inhibition of virus transmission by thrips and whitefly using double-stranded RNA and antisense oligos.
Dr. Ghosh has been the recipient of Endeavour Research Fellowship (Australian Government), four Young Scientist Awards, and nine competitive research grants.
During his Fulbright-Nehru Research Fellowship, he aims to carry out targeted gene editing and determine the effects on development, reproduction, embryogenesis, and vector competence of thrips. With his expertise in insect science combined with plant virology, he aims to learn and conduct research with a multidisciplinary approach at the Department of Plant Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman. He wishes to apply the CRISPR/Cas9 system in Thrips palmi (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) to induce sterility thereby reducing the transmission of tospoviruses. This approach will help to develop an eco-friendly tactic that is adaptable to changing climate to manage thrips as a pest and restrict the spread of tospoviruses.