Biographical note

Dr. Alok Pandya is an innovator, interdisciplinary researcher, and academic leader specializing in the development of personalized biosensors for point-of-care/need diagnostics and rapid disease detection. His work focuses on developing advanced biosensing technologies for real-time health monitoring. Currently serving as an Associate Professor at the School of Applied Science and Technology, Gujarat Technological University, he brings over 11 years of research experience dedicated to biosensor-driven rapid diagnostics. Before joining GTU, Dr. Pandya spent 8 years as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Advanced Research (IAR) and 3 years as a Research Associate at Ahmedabad University. He has also been a Visiting Professor at the University of California, San Diego, conducting research on wearable biosensors, and an Entrepreneurial Lead under the US National Science Foundation’s I-Corps™ program, gaining expertise in medical innovation and technology commercialization. A researcher and technologist, Dr. Pandya has published 60+ research articles, authored 5 books & 12+ book chapters, and holds 5 granted patents. His work has secured national and international funding to advance biomedical and forensic diagnostic technologies. He has been honored with prestigious awards, including the SERB-International Research Experience Award, the SERB Young Scientist Award, and the IAR Research Excellence Award. Dr. Pandya has developed cutting-edge biosensing platforms for rapid AMR detection, cardiovascular disease diagnostics, plant pathogen identification, and forensic body fluid analysis. With global research collaborations spanning France, the USA, and India, Dr. Pandya continues to drive innovation in biosensor technology, translating scientific discoveries into real-world applications for precision diagnostics and personalized healthcare. Dr Vijai Singh is a Professor and Dean (Research & Innovation) at School of Sciences, Indrashil University, Rajpur, Mehsana, Gujarat, India. He was an Associate Professor in the Department of Biosciences, School of Sciences, Indrashil University, Rajpur, Mehsana, Gujarat, India. Prior this this, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology at the Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, India and also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at the Invertis University, Bareilly, India. Prior to that, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Synthetic Biology Group at the Institute of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Paris, France and School of Energy & Chemical Engineering at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, South Korea. He received his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Uttar Pradesh Technical University, Lucknow, India with a research focus on the development of molecular and immunoassays for diagnosis of Aeromonas hydrophila. His research interests are focused on building novel biosynthetic pathways for production of medically and industrially important biomolecules. Additionally, his laboratory is working on CRISPR-Cas9 tools for genome editing. He has more than 11 years of research and teaching experience in synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, bioinformatics, microbiology, and industrial microbiology. He has published 100 articles, 70 chapters, 15 books and 3 patents. He serves as an associate editor, editorial board member, and reviewer of several peer-reviewed journals. He is also a member of the Board of Study and Academic Council of Indrashil University and is the Member Secretary of the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC) at the same University.