Completed B.Sc. in 1998 from Gurukul Kangari Vishwaviddyala, Haridwar, M.Sc Plant Pathology in 2000 and Ph.D. Plant Pathology in 2005 from G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar. Currently posted as Plant Pathologist in Oilseeds Section, Deptt. Of Plant Breeding & Genetics, PAU, Ludhiana. Working on management of charcoal rot and collar rot of sunflower and sesame phyllody and other foliar diseases

Ongoing Projects:

1. All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Sunflower funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi

Projects Accomplished:-

1. Enhancing income of oilseed growers through dissemination of improved technology and marketing linkages for sesame and canola rapeseed-mustard in Punjab (under NMOOP, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt of India)

1. Network project on mainstreaming sesame germplasm for productivity enhancement and sustainability through genomics-assisted core development and trait discovery (funded by DBT since 2020)

Selected Research Publications (maximum up to 5):

1. Panjabi-Masand P.; Yadava S.K.; Sharma P.; Kaur A.; Kumar A.; Arumugam N.; Sodhi Y. S.; Mukhopadhyay A.; Gupta V.; Prahan A. K. and Pental D 2010 Molecular mapping reveals two independent loci conferring resistance to Albugocandida in the east European germplasm of oilseed mustard Brassica juncea. Theor. Appl. Genet. 121(1): 137-145 (NAAS rating: 9.90) .
2. Olukolu, B.A.,Negeri, A.,Dhawan, R.,Venkata, B.P.,Sharma, P.,Garg, A.,Gachomo, E.,Marla, S.,Chu, K.,Hasan, A.,Ji, J.,Chintamanani, S.,Green, J.,Shyu, C.R.,Wisser, R., Holland, J.,Johal, G.,Balint-Kurti, P 2013. A Connected Set of Genes Associated with Programmed Cell Death Implicated in Controllingthe Hypersensitive Response in Maize. Genetics 193(2): 609-620 (NAAS rating: 10.64).
3. Gill, R., Sandhu, P. S., Sharma, S. and Sharma, P. 2021. Pathogenicity determinants of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and their association to its aggressiveness on Brassica juncea. Plant Pathol. J. 37(4) (NAAS 7.57).
4. Sekhon, A.S., Sandhu, P.S., Sharma, P., Sharma, K.K. and Belludi, R. (2019) Effect of date of sowing on development of root rot complex disease in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.). Int J Curr Microbiol Appl Sci. 8(11): 1192-1205. (NAAS: 5.38).
5. Chhabra, G., Sandhu, P.S. and Sharma, P. (2019) Pathogenic variability of Albugo candida isolates from Punjab causing white rust disease of mustard. Plant Disease Research 34 (1): 8-12. (NAAS: 4.58)

Awards/Honours/Distinctions: (Exclude best poster/paper presentations, Appreciation letters etc.)

• Awarded CSIR Research Fellowship during Ph.D.

Awarded UPTDC Merit Scholarship during M.Sc