Executive Director

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dr. Namraj Dhami is incumbent Executive Director (Aug 20, 2021 – present) of PURC. Dr. Dhami is a plant biologist and researcher. Currently, he is an Associate professor of Pharmacognosy / Medicinal Botany at the School of Health and Allied Sciences, Pokhara University, Nepal. He has 18 years teaching and research experience at Pokhara University. His research interests include exploration of nutritionally and medicinally important metabolites in crops and medicinal plants and has published over 20 research and review articles in internationally reputed professional journals. His specific research interest is exploration of nutritionally and medicinally important plant secondary metabolites and biofortification of micronutrients (e. g. carotenoids, the precursors of vitamin A) in food and feed crops.
Education
  1. PhD Plant Cell and Molecular Biology (Mar 2015 – Dec 2019), Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Australia. Thesis: Environmental and developmental regulation of carotenoid metabolism in Arabidopsis leaves.     (URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:53174).
  2. MSc Plant Biotechnology (Sep 2010 – Aug 2012), Wageningen University, The Netherlands. Thesis: Cloning and characterization of sesquiterpene lactone synthases from Inula britannica L.   (URL: https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/titel/2019601).
  3. MSc Botany (Dec 2001 – Dec 2003), Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Thesis: Study on effectiveness of native Bradyrhizobial isolates for N2 fixation in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)                (URL: https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.27027.63522).
  4. BSc Biology (Sep 1998 – Aug 2001), Siddhanath Science Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Scholarship
  1. International Postgraduate Research Award (Mar 2015 – Mar 2018), Western Sydney University, Australia.
  2. Higher Degree Research Tuition Fee Waiver Scholarship (Mar 2015 – Dec 2018), Western Sydney University, Australia.
  3. Netherlands Fellowship Programme Scholarship (Sep 2010 – Aug 2012), Nuffic (The Dutch organization for internationalisation in education), The Netherlands.
Public profiles

Google scholar: https://bit.ly/2qYSYzm | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6014-3500 |
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/namrajdhami/ | Twitter: https://twitter.com/namdhami |
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/namraj.dhami | PUSHAS: https://pushas.edu.np/faculty/namraj-dhami/|      Email: [email protected]

Roles and Responsibilities of Executive Director

The Executive Director of Research Center is the fulltime and tenured chief executive of the Research Center with a mandate to oversee academic and PURC funded research and innovation activities conducted in all the academic and research institutions of Pokhara University. The appointment and related provisions regarding the Executive Director follow Pokhara University Research Center Regulations 2059 and Pokhara University Act 2053.

The fundamental responsibility of Executive Director of Research is to plan, develop, manage, and lead the Research and Innovation (R&I) in the University. Also, the Executive Director is responsible for developing and executing the R&I plans, programs, and strategies of the center. The duties, rights and responsibilities of the executive director shall be as follows:

  1. Provide leadership and manage the operations and activities of the center.
  2. Formulate plan, programs and budget as per the objectives of the center.
  3. Develop and revise, as needed, the vision, mission, strategy, and plans of the center.
  4. Collaborate with the Faculties, Schools and Colleges to develop a comprehensive Research and Innovation strategic programs.
  5. Manage and administer the center’s offices and employees.
  6. Conduct space planning, enhancement and continuous improvement related to the labs and other affiliated facilities.
  7. Organize conferences, workshops, research and innovation fairs, events and meetings to promote research, innovation, entrepreneurship and development activities.
  8. Develop and conduct necessary training in the area of research, innovation, entrepreneurship and development.
  9. Build partnerships and collaboration to create strategic alliances with national and international Research and Innovation institutions.
  10. Develop and manage the budget and funding.
  11. Manage Center’s communication channels, website and the different social media accounts and handles.
  12. Identify opportunities for external fundraising, apply for funding, submit project proposals, and follow up with the funding agencies for securing sanction of projects.
  13. Prepare and submit annual report to the Research Management Committee for approval.
  14. Conduct other activities as delegated by Executive Council, Academic Council, and Research Management Committee.

Previous Executive Directors

1. Assistant Professor Umesh Prasad Gupta, MSc
Tenure: May 3, 2012- May 2, 2016 (BS 2069/01/21 – 2073/01/20)
Profile: https://pushas.edu.np/faculty/umesh-prasad-gupta/

2. Associate Professor Gulam Mohammad Khan, MPharm
Tenure: May 8, 2016 to May 7, 2020 (BS 2073/01/26 – 2077/01/25)
Profile: https://pushas.edu.np/faculty/gmkhan/