Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Archives

Praveen Arany

Dr. Praveen Arany is a trained dentist, oral pathologist, and biomedical engineer. He served as an assistant clinical investigator at NIDCR/NIH, Bethesda, and is currently an associate professor with tenure at the University at Buffalo, New York. He has six patents, over 150 scientific publications with over 12,000 citations, and an h-index of 43. His research has been featured in many mainstream media highlights in over 70 countries. He has also received numerous awards recognizing his research contributions, such as the Excellence in Research award from the World Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy (WALT), the Young Investigator award from the National Cancer Institute/NIH, the Young Investigator Award from the Wound Healing Society, the Horace Furumoto Young Investigator award from the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, and the Theodore Maiman Award from the Academy of Laser Dentistry. He is the chair of the photobiomodulation (PBM) group in Optica and the former president of WALT, NAALT (North American Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy), and the Lasers & Bio-photonics Group of the International Association of Dental Research.

Dr. Arany has been a key figure in organizing the field of PBM. As an intramural investigator at NIDCR/NIH and in a leadership position at WALT and NAALT, he was instrumental in the adoption of the nomenclature for PBM as an MeSH term for PubMed. Among his other achievements are the demonstration of a novel PBM molecular mechanism involving latent TGF-beta 1 activation, and outlining clinical biomarkers, molecular biomarkers, treatment delivery, and dosimetry. Most recently, he advocated for procedural (insurance) codes to enable safe and effective PBM clinical protocols. This has resulted in clinical practice guidelines recommendations for treating several human diseases and promoting wellness, especially in supportive cancer care.

In India, oral cancer affects over a million people annually. Dr. Arany’s Fulbright-Nehru project is introducing the non-invasive, low-dose, and light PBM therapy for oral cancer patients in India, which has been proven to significantly improve both quality of life and quality of care.

Eric Davidson

Dr. Eric Davidson is professor of the Appalachian Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, where he served as director for six years. His research areas include terrestrial nutrient cycling, greenhouse gas emissions from soils, global biogeochemical cycles, and sustainable agriculture. Dr. Davidson is a past president and fellow of the American Geophysical Union; a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and a highly cited researcher in Web of Science. He served as the North American Center director for the International Nitrogen Initiative and as a NASA project scientist for the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia. Dr. Davidson was also a Jefferson Science Fellow. He currently serves as senior editor for AGU Advances. He previously served as an editor for Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Global Change Biology, and Soil Science Society of America Journal. Dr. Davidson received his PhD from the Department of Forestry at North Carolina State University and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in soil microbiology at the University of California at Berkeley and at the NASA Ames Research Center. He worked for 22 years at the Woods Hole Research Center, including a term as president and executive director. He is the author of Science for a Green New Deal: Connecting Climate, Economics, and Social Justice and You Can’t Eat GNP.

Only about half of the nitrogen applied to croplands as fertilizers and manures goes into harvested products; the remainder is mostly lost as air and water pollution. Dr. Davidson’s Fulbright-Nehru project is investigating the potential impacts of the coming green ammonia transformation for fertilizers in India within the broader context of sustainable nitrogen management. In this regard, he is interviewing experts and stakeholders from government ministries, the fertilizer industry, schools of agronomy and environmental sciences, farmer groups, and biotechnology innovators to ascertain their awareness of green ammonia technology and their expectations of positive and negative consequences for agricultural productivity, economics, farmer well-being, and environmental quality.