Manchikatla Venkat Rajam

Biography

Dr. M. V.  Rajam is Professor of Genetics at the University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi and has over three decades of research experience in the fields of plant biotechnology and polyamine physiology, and recently RNAi applications in plants, and published over 110 papers, including book chapters/reviews.  Dr. Rajam received his M. Sc (1979) and Ph. D (1983) degrees from Kakatiya University, Warangal, AP, India and had a postdoctoral research experience at Yale University, New Heaven, and Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA (1984-85). He is a Fellow of The National Academy of Sciences, India and Fellow of The Indian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and member of several learned scientific societies.  He serves as a member of editorial board and Associate Editor of some important international journals, and a reviewer for many international and national journals.  He has also received several honors and awards.

Research Interest

My research uses transgenic and other molecular approaches like RNAi to address a wide range of questions in plant development and stress responses. The current major research interests of my laboratory is to use RNAi technology to unravel the functions of polyamine biosynthesis genes in various developmental processes, including fruit ripening, stress responses, and to develop transgenic crops for disease, insect and nematode resistance through plant RNAi-mediated silencing of vital genes of the target pathogens and pests.