Dr. Priya Katyal joined PAU as Assistant Microbiologist on 7 th Mar 2014 after completing M.Sc. (Microbiology) and Ph.D (Microbiology) from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana in 2001 and 2005, respectively. Prior to her joining at PAU, She has worked as Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology at Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana from the year 2010 to 2014. Her field of specialization is Industrial Microbiology and is currently working in the scheme “Development of microbial processes for utilization of Agri.raw/waste materials into value added products”. She is working on development and commercialization of products such as fermented beverages, microbial biocolors and bioenzymes. She is also actively involved in the trials on “in-situ” management of paddy straw and bioremediation approach for waste water. She has handled one adhoc research project sponsored by Punjab Pollution Control Board, three testing projects and two RKVY sponsored projects as Co-PI. She has guided 18 M.Sc and 3 Ph.D students as major advisor, published 60 research papers in national and international journals and presented 100 papers in national and international conferences. She has also published one book, one practical manual and a bulletin as co-editor. She has delivered 50 lectures to guide farmers and entrepreneurs on utilization of surplus fruits and vegetables for production of fermented beverages and microbiological testing of water. Presently, she is the Chairperson of the teaching committee of the department and member of Academic Affairs Committee of College of Basic Sciences and Humanities. She is also a member of Anti-ragging committee of the University. In addition to her teaching, research and extension activities she has been appointed as the Warden, Hostel no. 11,12,14 of the PAU.

Professional Accomplishments

Research Projects completed

1. Completed one adhoc research project entitled “Conservation and restoration of ecology of river Beas in the wake of spillage of molasses in the river Beas 2018-2023 (As Co-PI) sponsored by Punjab Pollution Control Board.

2. Handled three testing projects on paddy straw degradation efficacy of commercial formulations.

3. Two RKVY sponsored projects entitled “Development of Syntrophic microbial consortia for ex-situ conversion of paddy straw to agricultural compost” and “Bioconversion of fruit and vegetable waste into field manure through composting” as Co-PI.

4. Associated with one ICAR sponsored project “Development of fast decomposition technology for biogas generation from paddy straw LDH/EAAI-DRET-BCT/2021/1

Research Publications:

1. Chaudhary V, Katyal P, Panwar H, Kaur J, Aluko R E, Puniya A K, Poonia A K (2022). Antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties of the red biopigment extract from Monascus purpureus (MTCC 369). J Food Biochem DOI: 10.1111/jfbc.14249.). (NAAS Rating 8.72)

2. Chaudhary V, Katyal P, Puniya A K, Panwar H, Arora M, Kaur J, et al (2023). Pilot-scale process to produce bio-pigment from Monascus purpureus using broken rice as substrate for solid-state fermentation. European Food Research and Technology 249(7):1845-55. (NAAS Rating 9.5)

3. Kaur H, Katyal P, Natt S K, Vikal Y and Chandel S (2024). Co-existence of metal transporter genes and heavy metal bioremediation potential of bacterial strains from the effluent water. Ind J Microbiol https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-024-01362-y (NAAS Rating 9.0)

4. Kaur H, Katyal P, Chandel S, Singh D, Kumar P and Choudhary M (2024). Microbes mediated alleviation of chromium (Cr VI) stress for improved phytoextraction in fodder maize (Zea mays L.) cultivar. Heliyon https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.heliyon.2024.e40361. (NAAS Rating 9.4)

5. Chaudhary V, Katyal P, Kaur J, Bhatia S, Singh S et al. (2024). Bioactivity and safety analysis of Monascus red biopigment. Food Bioscience 57: 103523. (NAAS Rating 11.2)

Awards and Recognitions:

1. University fellowship holder and received Award of Honor from SAASCA, P.A.U for highest OCPA in Ph.D.

2. Recipient of prestigious OKP fellowship from Dutch Government
3. Recipient of “Advance faculty training” to ATRI, Taiwan from PAU
4. Received three Best Paper presentation award at National and International Conferences.

5. Recipient of AMI-Springer Nature Best Oral Presentee Award 2024 for the value of EUR 300 as prize token