Dr. Ashish Kumar Srivastava is Scientific Officer-G at Nuclear Agriculture and Biotechnology Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai. In addition, he is permanent faculty at Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai and visiting faculty at the Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, University of Mumbai.
His research work is focused on developing strategies for enhancing crop resilience towards different abiotic stresses. The stimulatory potential of thiourea has been demonstrated for enhancing stress tolerance and crop productivity through lab and small-scale field experiments. Further, using the “multi-omics” based systems biology and genome-wide association mapping, Dr. Srivastava has delineated the molecular basis of thiourea-mediated action. In addition, he has worked on peaceful application of radiation and demonstrated that gamma-irradiated chitosan can boost the productivity of different crops under realistic field conditions. He is a recipient of various national and international awards/fellowships, including Young Scientist Award of National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), Allahabad, 2018; Newton-Bhabha International Grant from DBT-BBSRC, 2018; President International Fellowship from Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 2016; Young Scientist Medal from Indian National Science Academy (INSA), 2014; Young Scientist Award from the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), 2014 and EMBO Short-Term Fellowship, 2011. He has also edited books for reputable publishers, like Wiley and Springer.
During his Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence tenure, Dr. Srivastava is working to reduce arsenic accumulation in rice, using a combination of chemical and genetic approaches. The findings will help in developing arsenic-free rice, which is safer for human consumption.