Shimla born awarded Yong Scientist Award at Florida

CHANDIGARH: Dr. Raj Deepika Chauhan was awarded the 2019 Young Scientist award at the In Vitro Biology Meeting held at Florida for her contribution in advancement of Biotechnology in last ten years. The Society for In Vitro Biology recognizes outstanding early-career scientists who have made significant advancements the field of in vitro biology every year at the annual meeting.

Her work has offered researchers methods and tools to address bottlenecks in plant tissue culture and genetic improvement of crops. Her research is crucial for expanding the production of important crops for food, pharmaceuticals and energy. In the coming years, Dr. Chauhan hopes to apply the insights gleaned over a remarkable career to the improvement of plants for sustainable agriculture. She attributes the scientific success she has enjoyed to the support she received from her husband Yogender Singh Chauhan. Her inspiration had been her father Late Mr. Dalip Kaul who worked very hard as a Punjab National Bank employee to provide the best education to his children. She feels truly fortunate for the invaluable guidance received from her father-in-law Late Mr. Roshan Chauhan was had been a true inspiration to her. The young scientist award from SIVB is very special to her as it highlights her accomplishments and 10 years of hard work. She aspires to be an inspiration to the young generation so that they can make a change.

Dr. Raj Deepika Chauhan was born and raised in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. She did her early education from Hainault Public School, Shimla that is when she developed her interest in science. She received her Bachelor in Science from St. Bedes College and was among the top students in her batch. She went on to pursue M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, India. Her masters and doctoral studies produced major insights into the biochemistry, plant tissue culture and improvement of important plant species. More to the point, the experience gave her the sturdy technical and scientific foundation that has supported a sterling scientific career. She was awarded gold medal for her Ph.D. and was also among the top 100 meritorious students from all over India who was invited by Prime Minister to witness Republic day parade in 2010.

With doctoral degree in hand, she had set her cap for the South Africa, arriving in 2009 at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She was awarded University of Pretoria International Student postdoctoral fellowship to work in Dr. Zander Myburg's lab where Dr. Chauhan conducted research on enhancing the cellulose biosynthesis in Eucalyptus. She was invited to present her work at several scientific conferences held in South Africa and also in Brazil. Later in 2011, Dr. Chauhan was offered a position by Donald Danforth Plant Science center , USA to work on improvement of cassava for food security. She worked briskly on multiple projects and lead team of upto 10 researchers in Dr. Nigel Taylor's Lab. Along the way, she has authored over 35 research publications in renowned journals that have been followed by researchers all over the world. She has also attended numerous scientific conferences and has been invited to present her work in USA and Ireland, Dublin.