New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Dr. Vijai Kumar Gupta is the Senior Scientist, ERA Chair of Green Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Science, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia. He is on research leave from MITS University, India. Before joining NUIG, he worked as Assistant Professor of Biotechnology, FASC, MITS University, Lakshmangarh (Sikar), India. His areas of expertise include mycological research and plant-microbial interactions, bio-fuels and bioenergy research, and microbial biotechnology. He completed his Ph.D. in microbiology at Dr. R.M.L. Avadh University, Faizabad, UP, India in 2009. He is an expert in the area of fungal biology and biotechnology. He is the active member of International Sub-commission on Trichoderma and Hypocrea, Austria and a working group member of the International Society for Fungal Conservation, UK. His work with Fusarium spp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Aspergillus spp. Penicillium spp., and Trichoderma spp. has been complemented by contributions to biotechnological development, molecular diversity, disease diagnostic, plant pathology, fungal-plant interaction, secondary metabolites, and industrial applications. Dr. Gupta is the Fellow of Prestigious- The Linnaean Society, London, UK; Fellow of Hind Agri Society, India; Fellow of Society of Applied Biotechnologist India; and Fellow of International Society of Contemporary Biologist, India. He has been honored with several awards in his career including the prestigious Indian ICAR Senior Research Fellowship and Indian Young Scientist Award 2009 and 2011, and Gold Medal Award-2009 for his advanced research achievements in the field of fungal genetics and biology. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Plant Pathology, USA; Senior Editor of Fungal Biology & Biotechnology, BioMed Central; Series Editor of a book series on fungal biology with Springer; and regional editor (Asia) and editorial board member of several international and national journals. He has edited about 16 books for publishers of international renown such as CRC Press, Taylor and Francis, USA; Springer, USA; Elsevier Press, The Netherlands; Nova Science Publisher, USA; LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany; and CABI, UK.

Susanne Zeilinger studied Microbiology and Genetics at the University of Vienna where she received her PhD in 1995. She gained experience in production and characterization of Trichoderma reesei extracellular proteins during a stay at the VTT Technical Research Center of Finland and pioneered the utilization of molecular biological and genetic engineering tools for the study of Trichoderma species. When working as a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Biochemical Technology and Microbiology at the Vienna University of Technology, Susanne Zeilinger’s research focused on cellulase gene regulation. During a stay as visiting scientist at the Institute of Plant Pathology in Portici, Naples, Italy, Susanne Zeilinger extended her knowledge in the field of Trichoderma biocontrol. Back at the Vienna University of Technology, she built her own research group and became group leader at the Research Area of Biotechnology and Microbiology thereby focusing on studies towards the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying Trichoderma mycoparasitism. Since 2015, Susanne Zeilinger is university professor of Microbiology at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, where she currently heads the Mycology division at the Department of Microbiology. She has been honored with several awards such as EMBO, APART (Austrian Academy of Sciences) and FWF (Austrian Science Fund) fellowships, and a research prize of the City of Vienna. Her current research focuses on microbial interactions with a special emphasis on signal transduction and secondary metabolism in mycoparasitic fungi. Susanne Zeilinger has authored over 60 publications and has edited several books.

Professor Harikesh Bahadur Singh is Professor & Head of the Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Over the past 35 years, Professor Singh has served Central Universities and CSIR Institutes with his teaching and research. Based on his scientific contribution and leadership in the field of plant pathology, Professor Singh has been honoured with prestigious awards such as the CSIR technology award, Vigyan Bharti award, and BRSI Industrial Medal. His research has resulted in more than 300 publications and 17 books. Professor Harikesh Bahadur Singh is Head of the Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. Over the past 36 years, Professor Singh has served at Central Universities and CSIR Institutes with his teaching and research. He is also a Visiting Professor at Cornell University and University of Illinois, USA. Based on his scientific contribution and leadership in the field of plant pathology, Professor Singh has successfully completed 21 research projects worth more than 7.5 crores. He had Established fruitful research collaborations with academic and industry researchers and published more than 300 research papers and 17 books jointly with national and international collaborators and granted 19 patents. He is recognized as top scientist in the emerging Nanotechnology field in India as evidenced through research publications and successful projects. He has been honoured with prestigious awards, such as the CSIR technology award, M.S. Swaminathan award, Mundkur Memorial award, and BRSI Industrial Medal. He is the member of several research task force committee of Government of India.

Dr. Irina Druzhinina studied biology at the Lomonosov’s State University in Moscow, Russia, and at the University of Vienna, where she graduated (PhD) in 2001. Thereafter she became a University Assistant in the research area of C.P. Kubicek at Vienna University of Technology, and habilitated in 2011 in “Microbiology”. She is now leader of the working group “Microbiology” at the same institute.

The scientific work of Irina Druzhinina started with a focus on mycology and molecular evolution, working on species diversity and population differentiation in Trichoderma, where she established an online tool for species identification based on DNA barcodes that is today one of the main resources for this purpose for researchers worldwide. In addition, she worked on such diverse topics as phenotype profiling of industrial fungi, peptaibol biosynthesis in Trichoderma, biodiesel production by marine algae, Trichoderma endophytes, biofungicide development and molecular ecology of Trichoderma. In the last years, her interest expanded to ecological genomics, i.e. the use of genome wide information to study the evolutionary adaptation of Trichoderma in its habitats. She acts as a member of the editorial board for Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and is the chair of the International Subcommission on Taxonomy of Trichoderma and Hypocrea, a member of ICTF/IUMS. She published > 60 papers in peer reviewed international journals and edited a book