Om Parkash Dhankher

Prof. Om Parkash Dhankher is a distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture. His research integrates plant biotechnology, phytoremediation, and climate-resilient crop development, focusing on detoxification of heavy metals, stress tolerance, and metabolic engineering for biofuels. He leads the Dhankher Lab, which pioneered transgenic plants for arsenic phytoremediation and manipulation of glutathione pathways.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology, Durham University (1998)
  • M.Phil. in Biochemistry and Genetics, Kurukshetra University (1998)
  • M.Sc. in Botany, Kurukshetra University (1987)
  • B.Sc. in Medical, Maharishi Dayanand University (1985)

Research interests include molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance, glutathione homeostasis for oxidative stress, arsenic-free crop engineering, and nanotechnology applications in agriculture. His work on sulfur nanoparticles has demonstrated reduced toxicity in rice and Brassica napus, while his Crambe abyssinica and Camelina sativa projects focus on biofuel yield enhancement. He pioneered the first transgenic plant combining arsC and γECS for arsenic remediation.

Scientific leadership is reflected through editorial roles in Plant Cell Reports, Frontiers in Plant Sciences, and Environmental Pollution (among others). His accolades include fellowships from CSSA, ASA, ISEB, and ISPP, alongside US patents for metal-resistant plants and oil content engineering. Notably, his research on plant-based nickel extraction featured in the Wall Street Journal (2025) and was highlighted in Nature Biotechnology (2002), earning over $10M in research funding.

Publications span 117 peer-reviewed articles and 4 books, including breakthroughs on arsenic detoxification, nanoparticle-plant interactions, and stress-associated proteins. His work has been featured in Science, Nature, PNAS, and ACS Nano, with recent 2025 articles on Camelina nickel tolerance and nanomaterial gene delivery. Collaborations span institutions in India, China, Italy, and Egypt through international outreach programs.