Dr. Sagarika Parida is a Professor in the Department of Botany, School of Applied Sciences, at Centurion University of Technology and Management, Bhubaneswar, where her work bridges plant pathology, microbiology, and the scientific validation of traditional herbal medicine. She completed both her Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Botany at Utkal University, laying the foundation for a career that has spanned more than nineteen years of teaching and over seventeen years of active research.
Dr. Parida’s served as a research scholar at the National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Cuttack, and as a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Entomology at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, where she engaged deeply with plant-pest and disease interactions. She later carried out postdoctoral research at CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT), an experience that broadened her expertise into pharmacognosy and natural-product chemistry. Throughout her career, she has also taught undergraduate and postgraduate students at institutions including the Regional Institute of Education (NCERT) and KISS University, Bhubaneswar, in addition to her home institution.
Scientifically, Dr. Parida’s work sits at the intersection of several disciplines. Her research in microbiology centers on the isolation and characterization of microorganisms and the study of antimicrobial activity, while her phytopathology work involves the isolation, inoculation, and identification of plant pathogens, along with disease scoring and the maintenance of pure cultures. Building on this, her contributions to Integrated Pest and Disease Management combine field and laboratory investigation of phytopathological and entomological problems with the design of practical control measures, supported by careful data compilation and interpretation. This applied, field-tested approach reflects a research philosophy grounded as much in agricultural realities as in laboratory precision. A distinguishing feature of Dr. Parida’s scholarship is her sustained engagement with ethnomedicine and the Indian Knowledge System. She has pursued rigorous pharmacognostical and phytochemical evaluation of herbal drugs, including anatomical and microscopic analysis, powder microscopy, and the identification of diagnostic marker cells within Ayurvedic formulations. This expertise led to a significant contribution during her postdoctoral tenure: she authored fourteen monographs for The Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India (Part II, Volumes I and III), prepared for the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy under India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In parallel, she has extended her computational interests into in-silico drug design directed against multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, applying modern bioinformatics approaches to the search for new antimicrobial leads drawn from natural sources.
Dr. Parida’s scholarly output reflects the breadth of this interdisciplinary agenda. She has authored more than eighty-five journal articles and fourteen book chapters, contributed numerous popular science articles, and edited three books, disseminating her findings across both specialist and general scientific audiences. Her research productivity and mentorship have been formally recognized: she received the Distinguished Researcher Award at the Provost’s Annual Research Conclave in 2024 for her contributions to research, publications, and patents, and has guided four doctoral scholars to the successful completion of their Ph.D. degrees. Her work has further been honoured with the IDMA ACG-SCITECH Best Research Paper Award in the discipline of Natural Products in both 2023 and 2024, as well as a Best Research Paper Award at the international conference IPSBBCP 2024. Beyond conventional research and publication, Dr. Parida has shown a consistent interest in translating specialized knowledge into practical and pedagogical outputs. She developed the skill course “Topiary Garden Artist,” which received approval at the 40th meeting of the National Skill Qualification Committee (NSQC), reflecting her commitment to applied horticultural training alongside her core scientific work. She has also contributed video lectures to the e-Lecture portal developed by the Directorate of Distance and Continuing Education (DDCE), Utkal University, extending her teaching reach to a wider community of learners.
Taken together, Dr. Sagarika Parida’s career illustrates a coherent scientific identity built around the study of plant health, microbial life, and traditional medicinal knowledge, unified by a commitment to rigorous, evidence-based inquiry. Her work continues to advance the fields of phytopathology, integrated pest and disease management, ethnomedicine, and pharmacognosy, while contributing meaningfully to both the scientific literature and the practical, real-world application of botanical and microbiological research in India.
