Tariq Ahmad Dar, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Sri Pratap College (affiliated with Cluster University), Srinagar, India, where he is engaged in the teaching of plant physiology, biodiversity, plant ecology and taxonomy, cell and molecular biology, crop genetics, and plant breeding. He is involved in enhancing growth, yield, and active constituents of medicinal and aromatic plants using plant growth regulators like jasmonates, gibberellins, and depolymerized polysaccharides. He has published his research and presented his work at national and international conferences as well. Bilal Ahmad, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Kashmir, India, where he teaches plant physiology and biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and plant ecology. He has researched the influence of plant growth promoters, radiation-processed polysaccharides, and nanoparticles on various medicinal plants under normal and perturbed soil environments, particularly heavy metal stress. He has presented his research at a number of national and international conferences and has received several awards. Dr. Ahmad has authored 36 research papers and edited books with international publishers. He is also a reviewer for several journals of international repute. Khalid Rehman Hakeem, PhD, is Professor at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he is also Head (Plant Biotechnology Research Unit) at the Princess Dr. Najlaa Bint Saud Al Saud Center for Distinguished Research in Biotech. A prolific author and editor, he is also a visiting professor at Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and was formerly affiliated with universities in India, Turkey, China, and Malaysia. Prof. Hakeem has more than 14 years of teaching and research experience in plant ecophysiology, biotechnology and molecular biology, medicinal plant research, plant-microbe-soil interactions as well as in environmental studies. He is the recipient of several fellowships at both national and international levels. He was recently elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, London.
