"Ashwani Pareek, Executive Director of NABI is a prominent plant biologist and educator noted chiefly for his contribution in the area of plant molecular biology and biotechnology. He is currently working as Professor of plant molecular biology and biotechnology at the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Professor Pareek completed his doctoral research (PhD) with his exemplary work on ‘Molecular Characterization of stress proteins in Oryza sativa L. with emphasis on 90 kDa family’ from the Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi. His lab at NABI exploits use of genetic, genomic, molecular, and physiological approaches to tap at the broad genetic base of rice for identifying genes and creating physical, chemical and genetic mutants, attributing abiotic stress tolerance and enhancing yield in crop plants such as rice. His keen interest also lies in unravelling the signalling mechanisms involved in plant abiotic stress tolerance. His research has translated into the development of transgenics using RNA interference technology for enhanced salinity and drought tolerance. Presently, his lab is using CRISPR/Cas9 based genome editing for modulating transcription factors in a fashion leading to abatement of abiotic stress tolerance in rice."