Medicinal Plants

Dr. Nirmal Joshee is a Professor of Plant Science at Fort Valley State University (FVSU), Fort Valley, GA, USA. He earned his Ph.D. from North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, India. He did post-doctoral research work in Japan (Biotechnology Institute, Akita) and the USA (University of Nebraska Medical Ctr., Omaha, NE) before joining FVSU. Dr. Joshee is one of the founding members of American Council for Medicinally Active Plants (ACMAP), and currently serves as the Vice-President. His lab conducts research in the field of plant tissue culture and conservation, antitumor compounds in the genus Scutellaria, and gene transfer strategies for plant transformation and secondary metabolite production.
Dr. Sadanand Dhekney is an Associate Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. He received a PhD in Horticulture from the University of Florida (UF), which was followed by post-doctoral research at UF and Assistant/Associate Professor positions at the University of Wyoming. Dr. Dhekney's research focusses on genetic improvement of perennial fruit species using conventional and molecular breeding approaches. His current research is directed towards grapevine genetic improvement using precision breeding and genome editing. Dr. Dhekney is also actively involved in teaching several courses in plant biotechnology and horticulture. Dr. Dhekney has a long association with the Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB). He has received the 2013 Young Scientist Award from the Society for In Vitro Biology, the 2016 Early Career Research Achievement Award from the University of Wyoming and the 2017 Excellence in Research and Teaching award from the National Agricultural Honor Society, Gama Sigma Delta.
Dr. Prahlad Parajuli is an Assistant Professor of Tumor Immunology and Neuroimmunology at Wayne State University School of Medicine and Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI, USA. He completed his Ph.D. from Delhi University, India, followed by two post-doctoral stints at the University of Tokushima Medical School, Japan and then at the University of Nebraska Medical School, Omaha, NE, USA. Apart from being a founding member of American Council for Medicinally Active Plants (ACMAP), Dr. Parajuli is also a member of AACR and AAI. His research focuses on studying the molecular mechanisms of tumor-immune interaction, neuroinflammation as well as anti-tumor and immune modulatory activities of various medicinal plants.