Dr. Shikha Dixit received her B.Sc. degree in agriculture from Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur in 2010. She obtained her postgraduation degree in plant biotechnology from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru. She received an ICAR fellowship during her graduation and a DBT fellowship for her postgraduate studies after securing ninth position in a national-level exam. She received her Ph.D. in molecular biology and biotechnology in the year 2020 from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. Her Ph.D. research was focused on understanding the defense molecular signaling pathway in response to fungal pathogens. During her postdoctoral research, she worked on DBT-funded and ICAR-funded projects, focusing on improving tolerance against necrotrophic pathogens by finding unique signaling factors in response to pathogens. She has published her research in prestigious journals and has also presented her findings at numerous national and international conferences. Apart from the academic fellowships, she is also the recipient of the IARI merit medal in 2020 and the ITS grant in 2023.
Adverse climatic conditions affect both plants and pathogens. Given their rapid adaptation ability, fluctuations in the weather pattern provide pathogens with more favorable conditions to thrive and increase the possibility of intense disease breakouts. As a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research fellow at the Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, Dr. Dixit is identifying genes conferring favorable root architecture and pathogen tolerance under the dual-stress situation.