Dr. Mohd Ashraf Rather

Dr. Mohd Ashraf Rather is an Assistant Professor at the Division of Fish Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Fisheries, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K). He completed his undergraduate studies at the College of Fisheries, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, and earned his Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Fisheries Biotechnology from the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai. Dr. Rather's research interests include functional genomics, nanobiotechnology, and computational and structural biology of fish proteins. He has made significant contributions to the understanding of kisspeptin genes and the nano-delivery of proteins in Indian major carps. Throughout his career, Dr. Rather has received numerous accolades, including the Prof. K. H. Alikunhi Gold Medal from CIFE and the Dr. Karunasagar Best Post-Graduate Thesis Award from the Professional Fisheries Graduates Forum (PFGF). In 2017, he was honored with the Young Scientist Award by the Society of Fisheries and Life Science, College of Fisheries, Mangalore. Additionally, he secured the first rank in the Asia-Pacific Alltech Young Scientist Award in 2012, presented by Alltech, USA. Dr. Rather has published over 40 research papers in national and international peer-reviewed journals. He also serves on the editorial boards of various research journals and has mentored several Master's and Doctoral students in Fisheries Biotechnology and Fisheries Science.