SRINAGAR: Ishrat Riyaz, a PhD research scholar from the Division of Genetics & Plant Breeding (GPB) at SKUAST-Kashmir’s Faculty of Agriculture, Wadura, has been honored with the prestigious INSPIRE Fellowship by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
Ishrat, working under the guidance of Prof. Parvaze A. Sofi, Head of the Division of GPB, received the fellowship based on her innovative research proposal for her doctoral studies. Her research focuses on evaluating the national core set and landrace diversity of beans in the Kashmir Valley, examining their morphological, nutritional, and climate-adaptive traits through an integrated phenotyping approach combined with multi-omics platforms.
She has previously been awarded the University Gold Medal for her undergraduate performance and received an overseas fellowship to Kansas State University under the NAHEP program. Ishrat has also published research in high-impact journals such as Scientific Reports, Plant Genetic Resources, and Genetic Resources & Crop Evolution.
The Vice-Chancellor of SKUAST-K, Prof. Nazir Ahmad Ganai, congratulated Ishrat on her achievement and expressed hope that her success would motivate other research scholars to excel in their academic and research pursuits. Dean Faculty of Agriculture, Prof. Shakil A. Mir, and her mentor also extended their best wishes for her continued success.