Dr. Sonia Kaushal joined PAU as Assistant Nutritionist in the Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana on 11.01.2016 and worked there till 29.02.2016. After that, on 1.03.2026, she was transferred as Assistant Chemist in the Department of Chemistry, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana ( to-date). She completed her BSc (Medical) from Punjab University, Chandigarh in 1996 and M Sc (Chemistry) from PAU in 1999. She did her PhD (Organic Chemistry) from PAU in 2001.  Her field of specialization is Organic Chemistry. She has guided 17 MSc Chemistry and 2 PhD students as major advisor, published 38 research papers in national and international journals. She has presented 16 papers in national and international conferences. She has delivered 10 extension lectures in various training courses organized to guide farmers, farm women, AOs/ADOs/HODs/DESs and KVK scientists.

Professional Accomplishments 

 Research Publications: 

1. Heena, Kaushal S, Kalia A and Kaur V (2022) Proximate, mineral, chemical composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of dropped fruits of Citrus reticulata Blanco”. J Food Meas Charact 16 (6): 4303-17 (IF: 2.43)
2. Katnoria H, Kaushal S, Hunjan M S, Kaur V, Sharma P Jangra (2024) Chemical characterization and antifungal potential of Trigonella foenum-graecum L followed by molecular docking studies. J Essent Oil Bear Pl 27 (1) 57-72 (NAAS: 7.97)
3. Heena, Kaushal S, Kalia A, Panwar H, Kaur V (2024) Unraveling the chemical composition antibacterial, antioxidant and cytotoxic potential of Citrus reticulata Blanco dropped fruit          extracts. Biocatal Agric Biotechnol 57: 103104-22 (IF: 3.4)  
4. Kaur V, Kaushal S, Kalia A and Heena ( 2024) Nutmeg vs mace: Evaluation of functional, nutritional, antioxidant and antimicrobial traits to employ as a food preservative. Food Biosci  62: 105193. (IF: 4.8)
5. Heena, Kaushal S, Hunjan M S, Kaur Y, Singh K, Goyal B, and Kaur V ( 2025)  Exploring the antimycotic potential of dropped citrus fruit extracts as a biopesticide against phytopathogenic fungi in rice accompanied by molecular docking studies. Waste Biomass Valor. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-024-02865-x (IF: 2.6)

Awards and Recognitions: 

• M.Sc. and PhD students has been awarded best thesis award at International Conference on Navigating Unique Trends in Agricultural Research, Innovation, Engineering, Nutrition and Technology “NUTRIENT-2025”
• Best oral paper award in International conference on advanced functional materials: future perspectives held on 6-8 August 2022 at SLIET, Longowal.