Revathi Ponnuswamy
Hyderabad, Telangana| Grant Category: | Fulbright-Kalam Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships (Research) |
| Project Title: | Climate-smart rice hybrids and their clonal propagation by synthetic apomixis |
| Field of Study: | Climate |
| Home Institution: | ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad, Telangana |
| Host Institution: | University of California , Davis, CA |
| Grant Start Month: | September 2025 |
| Duration of Grant: | Nine months |
Brief Bio:
Dr. Revathi Ponnuswamy is a Senior Scientist (Plant Breeding) at ICAR-Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Hyderabad, India with 17 years of rich experience in rice research. She was awarded a PhD in Genetics from the premier agricultural research institution, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. She is one of the meritorious scientists who as Principal Investigator successfully spearheaded multi-disciplinary research projects by securing competitive research grants from various organizations, including Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science and Technology, Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), and ICAR.
Her achievements as a successful researcher and plant breeder are reflected in her peer-reviewed publications and development of high-yielding, climate-resilient, and stress-tolerant rice varieties and hybrids to smallholder farmers of India. She has received several awards and fellowships. In her capacity as an educator, she has mentored and guided the academic pursuits of several MSc and PhD students.
During her fellowship at University of California, Davis, Dr Revathi is training in a breakthrough synthetic apomixis technology from the lab where it was invented. Her research project aims to enhance rice production and productivity amidst rapidly changing climatic conditions through synthetic apomixis, which could save on rice hybrid seed cost of millions of resource-poor farmers in India.