rofessor Upendra Nath Dwivedi, a senior Professor and Head, Department of Biochemistry is one of the most distinguished scientists of India in the area of Biochemistry and Biotechnology.

He earned his masters and Ph.D. degrees from the historic Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi and started his career as a scientist at Biological Sciences Department, National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune in 1982. Professor Dwivedi joined the University of Lucknow as a Reader in the Department of Biochemistry in 1985 and rose to the post of Professor in 1995 and became Head of the Department of Biochemistry in 2006. He was appointed the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Lucknow in 2008 and Vice Chancellor in 2009.

Professor Dwivedi has been an excellent teacher and a great mentor. During his research career spanning over 34 years he worked in some of the internationally acclaimed laboratories of the world including the Michigan Technological University, Houghton, USA and North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA.

His area of specialization is Molecular Biology, Biotechnology and Enzymology where he has published over 70 research papers in the journals of high impact factors and has made over 65 presentations worldwide including Gordon Research Conference on Plant Molecular Biology, USA. His current research interest focuses on genetic manipulation of plant species to reduce the lignin content which would provide a major boost to the paper industry besides increasing the fodder value of the plants. He has already made some major breakthrough in research which has been received very well by the scientific communities and the Indian paper industry. His laboratory has been supported by the Dept. of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, New Delhi, CSIR, New Delhi (NMITLI grant), AICTE, New Delhi and Council for Science & Technology, UP. More than 30 students have received their Ph.D. degrees under his able guidance and many more involved in active research.

          Prof. Dwivedi has also brought honour to the university by being awarded Biotechnology Overseas Associateship (DBT, Govt. of India) twice and the prestigious Shikshak Shri Samman, 2008 and Saraswati Samman, 2011 conferred by Higher education, Government of U. P. He is also on the editorial panel of several national and international journals in the area of modern biological sciences. He is a fellow of Indian Society of Agricultural Biochemists and life member of several distinguished societies including Indian Society of Agricultural Biochemists, Society for Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Indian Science Congress Association and Society of Biological Chemists, India.