Two young scientists from India, Dr. Swarnendra Banerjee (University of North Bengal) and Dr. Pradeep Kumar (Banaras Hindu University), joined the Frontier Laboratory "Bioengineering of the Rhizosphere" of the Academy of Biology and Biotechnology of the D.I. Ivanovsky SFedU as postdocs. The researchers will work under the guidance of Doctor of Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher at SFedU Academy of biology and biotechnology, Head of the International Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology Vishnu D. Rajput.

Previously, Dr. Swarnendra Banerjee worked on the potential health benefits of fruits rich in phytochemicals and investigated the clinical use of silver nanoparticles synthesized from fruit juice to treat specific diseases. In his work, he also paid special attention to the use of nanotechnology to combat arsenic-induced genotoxicity in crops such as peas and black currants. Notably, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) synthesized using fruit juice have been found to reduce arsenic levels in these crops, thereby steadily increasing their yields.

Dr. Pradeep Kumar worked as a postdoc at Banaras Hindu University and worked on the development of nanoparticles and nanobiocar, as well as their application in heavy metal decomposition, delivery and tissue engineering of plants. Dr. Kumar's main research areas are the environmentally friendly synthesis of nanoparticles for the determination of biologically active compounds, heavy metals and the catalysis of toxic dyes, the effect of nanomaterials on plant growth and evaluation of the results of analysis related to oxidative stress, as well as the identification of the concentrator gene of the plant defense system and its network with a small number of ligands.

Both young scientists will work on bioengineering solutions for sustainable soil management within the framework of the strategic project of the SFedU "Soil Resource Management Systems" of the federal program "Priority 2030" (head Tatiana Minkina).