Biomass, Biofuels, Biochemicals: Advances in Enzyme Catalysis and Technologies

Dr. Sudhir P. Singh obtained his Ph.D. in the year 2011 from University of Lucknow, India. Subsequently, he worked as research associate and then as Project Scientist at National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, India. He joined Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing, Mohali, India in 2015, as Scientist-C. He has been working in the area of molecular biology, and synthetic biology. In the area of plant molecular biology his some of the significant contribution are: development stringently regulated expression systems for inducing male sterility and male sterility-fertility restoration system in plants, investigation of tissue and cell-type specific distribution pattern of mineral nutrients in wheat grains and its possible impacts on bioavailability, the first transcriptome analysis and molecular insights into seed development biology in the fruit crops, Custard apple and Litchi, and secondary metabolite pathways in Rose-scented geranium, development of approaches based on Rootstock-scion or modified viral genome based long distance signalling as possible strategies for inducing trait modification such as seedlessness. His current research focus is towards development of synthetic biocatalysts for biotransformation of agro-industrial by-products and residues into value added biomolecules. In the area of biosynthetic technology his some of the significant contribution are: development of novel approaches for transformation of agro-industrial residues and bioresources into functional and prebiotic biomolecules, development of a novel strategy for the improvement of operational stability of D-psiose 3-epimerase enzyme. He has been interested in employing the basic knowledge for translational research. He has published 33 research papers in peer reviewed journals, 4 review articles/book chapters, and 4 patents to his credit.

Professor Ashok Pandey is currently Executive Director, Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability-India, Lucknow. He is HSBS National Innovation Chair (Biotechnology) and is/has been Visiting/Distinguished Professor in many countries. His major research and technological development interests are industrial & environmental biotechnology and energy biosciences, focusing on biomass to biofuels & chemicals, waste to wealth & energy, etc.

Dr Reeta Rani Singhania is currently Associate Professor at National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology at Kaohsiung in Taiwan. Her major research area Microbial & Enzyme Technology and Bioprocess Technology, with current focus on value-added compounds from lignocellulosic biomass including oligosaccharides and bioethanol. She has 16 patents, edited four books and published more than 180 research articles, several book chapters and conference communications. She is the recipient of several national and international awards. She is the Editor of Bioresource Technology Reports and System Microbiologyand Biomanufacturing and Associate Editor of Heliyon Energy.

Prof. Christian Larroche is Director of Polytech Clermont-Ferrand, a graduate school of engineering of University Clermont-Auvergne, France. He is also member of the research laboratory Institut Pascal and of the laboratory of excellence ImobS3 at the same university. He has strong research skills and expertise in the area of applied microbiology and biochemical engineering. He is author of 220 documents, including 114 articles, three patents, 15 book chapters and 24 co-editions of books or journal special issues. He is member of French Society for Process Engineering (SFGP), French Society of Biotechnology and European Federation of Chemical Engineering. He is administrator of IBA-IFIBiop and editor of Bioresource Technology.