Colleagues and former students are remembering Vibha Srivastava as a pioneering scientist, dedicated mentor and compassionate friend whose influence extended far beyond the laboratory.
Srivastava, a biotechnologist and professor in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences with the U of A Division of Agriculture, spent more than two decades advancing research in plant biotechnology, rice genetics and genome editing while helping train the next generation of scientists. She died Aug. 29 at the age of 61 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Born in Faizabad, India, she earned a doctorate in plant pathology at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi in 1991 and conducted postdoctoral training at the University of Florida and the University of California, Berkeley.
With UADA and its research arm, the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Srivastava adapted CRISPR-based gene-editing methods that allowed researchers to introduce beneficial genetic changes in rice more quickly and precisely. Unlike traditional transgenic approaches that introduce DNA from another organism, gene editing can be used to make targeted changes within a plant's own genome.
Srivastava also taught courses in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the U of A. She celebrated her 20th year with UADA and Bumpers College in 2021.
Source : uark.edu