Jyoti P. Kakati

Jyoti P. Kakati, Ph.D., is a Research Associate at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, SC, USA, a research center from Clemson University, SC. As a plant science researcher, he has over six years of experience in plant physiology, metabolomics, lipidomic, plant tissue culture, plant transformation and molecular biology. He is proficient in conceptualizing, designing, and implementing independent projects on major oil crops (soybean and peanut) under controlled (laboratory, growth chamber, greenhouse) and field conditions for studying the impact of abiotic stresses (heat and drought) on different growth stages of the plants. He has been an excellent communicator, with skills proven useful in peer-reviewed publications and oral and poster presentations. He is a good team player and leader with futuristic views and a strong belief in disciplined work to achieve them.

Growing up in an agricultural family in northeast India and living in different places while earning professional and academic experiences have made him a global citizen. His friends and colleagues have always praised him for his friendly and easygoing nature while meeting common goals without compromising the quality of the work.

Gautam Saripalli

Dr. Gautam Saripalli joined as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sachin Rustgi’s group at Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, SC, USA, in September 2023. Before joining here, he worked in wheat genomics at the University of Maryland (UMD) as a postdoc for 2 years (September 2021 to September 2023). He holds a master's degree in Agricultural Biotechnology from Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat and a Ph.D. from Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut, located in India. During his Ph.D., he worked in genomics for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in wheat. He published over 20 papers in this area (https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=8uflux4AAAAJ&hl=en) during his Ph.D. and postdoc tenure at UMD. At Dr. Rustgi’s lab, he will be focusing on peach genomics and will continue to work in wheat genomics. In peach, his work involves the development of peach rootstocks resistant to Armillaria root rot (ARR) while concurrently minimizing decomposition rates and carbon cycling within the environment using molecular biology approaches.

Sachin Rustgi

Dr. Sachin Rustgi is an Associate Professor of Molecular Breeding in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Clemson University. He is also a Faculty Scholar at the Clemson University School of Health Research and the Center for Human Genetics, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University, Pullman, the Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding at Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut, and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology, Kashmir. Dr. Rustgi’s research primarily focuses on developing dietary therapies for individuals with celiac disease or allergies to wheat or peanuts, developing biomarkers for heat tolerance in soybeans and peanuts, and creating novel strategies to mitigate major insect pests and fungal pathogens affecting primary South Carolina crops. His work has led to several high-impact publications in internationally recognized journals. Additionally, Dr. Rustgi has authored or edited three books. In recognition of his academic contributions, he received the Faculty Excellence in Research Award from the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, and the See Fellow Award from the Society of Extension Education in Agra, India.