PAU's Nikita Sandhu Becomes First From University To Receive INSA Associateship

Ludhiana: 

Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) scientist Dr Nikita Sandhu has created history by becoming the first faculty member from the university to receive the prestigious INSA Young Associateship from the Indian National Science Academy (INSA).

The INSA Young Associateship is a highly competitive national honour awarded to outstanding scientists below the age of 40 in recognition of their exceptional research contributions and leadership potential in advancing science in India.

Dr Sandhu was selected for this honour for her pioneering research in agricultural biotechnology. With this achievement, she has now earned young scientist honours or fellowships from all three of India’s premier scientific academies—the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), and the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI). This milestone makes her the first young scientist across all faculties at PAU to receive this rare and distinguished combination of recognitions.

Recently, she was also chosen as a NAAS Associate for 2025 and an INSA Young Associate Fellow for 2025, further strengthening her national academic standing.

Dr Sandhu completed her PhD in 2014 from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, and CIRAD, France. Her doctoral research was supported by the Monsanto Beachell Borlaug International Scholarship Programme.

Following her PhD, she undertook four years of postdoctoral research at IRRI, Philippines, before joining PAU in 2018 as a molecular geneticist at the School of Agricultural Biotechnology.

Over the course of her academic career, Dr Sandhu has received numerous prestigious awards, including the NASI Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award, SERB Women Excellence Award, DBT BioCARe Women Scientist Award, CSIR-UGC Junior Research Fellowship, IRRI Seed Grant Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the UNLEASH Lab International Innovation Award.

Her research excellence has also been recognised through the successful acquisition of five national research grants funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), along with one international research project supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), United Kingdom.

Senior PAU officials, including Vice-Chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal, Director of Research Ajmer Singh Dhatt, Director of the School of Agricultural Biotechnology Yogesh Vikal, and Director of the GS Khush Institute of Genetics, Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Parveen Chhuneja, congratulated Dr Sandhu on her significant achievement and praised her contributions to agricultural science.