Rakha Hari Sarker, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Botany,
University of Dhaka
Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Email : rhsarker2000@yahoo.co.uk
Permanent address: Sherpur, P.O. – Sherpur, Bogra, Bangladesh

Professor Dr. Rakha Hari Sarker has been involved in teaching and research on Genetics, Biostatistics, Plant Breeding and Biotechnology at the Department of Botany, University of Dhaka since 1982.

He has obtained his Ph. D. degree from University of Reading, UK working on the ‘Selfincompatibility mechanisms of Brassica.’ He was awarded Commonwealth Scholarship for his Ph. D. during the period of 1984-1988.

Apart from this Ph. D. program he has received various Advanced training in Plant Breeding, Plant Biotechnology, Plant Genetic Engineering and Biosafety from Germany, CIMMYT (Mexico), International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, India and Cornel University, USA.

He has a variety of research interest on Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology. Currently he is involved in research related to the improvement of pulses, grain legumes and potato through Plant Genetic Transformation and other modern biotechnology. He is also interested in varietal improvement of oil-seed Brassica using both conventional breeding and biotechnology. Moreover he is interested in detecting the cause of plant diseases using molecular techniques.

He is also involved in the improvement of jute varieties through conventional breeding. One of his Ph. D. students Dr. Rahima Khatun of Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI) has developed a new jute variety called ‘BJRI Deshi Pat -9’ in 2017 through her Ph. D. research work. Professor Rakha Hari Sarker was her supervisor during this investigation.

He has published more than 100 research articles in several national and international journals including Proceedings of the National Academy Science (PNAS), USA; New Phytologists; Euphytica; Cytologia; SABRAO Journal; IRRN; Phytomorphology; Thai Journal of Agric Science; Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture; Journal of Phytopathology; Journal of Plant Disease and Protection; In vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology-Plant and Indian Journal of Agricultural Science.

He is also co-author of two Proceedings of two International Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology Conferences held in Dhaka. He is co-author of four books published by international publishers. He is also a writer of chapters of two text books on Plant Breeding and Biotechnology.

He has so far supervised more than fifty M. Sc. / M.S. students in the field of Plant Breeding, Tissue Culture and Plant biotechnology. Seven Ph. D. students and two M. Phil students have obtained their degrees under his supervision. He has also supervised one post doctoral fellow.

Professor Sarker is serving as one of the editors of Bangladesh Journal of Botany (BJB), Dhaka University Journal of Biological Sciences, Bangladesh Journal of Scientific Research and also the Executive Editor of Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology Journal (PTC&B). He is one of the members of the Governing Body of National Institute of Biotechnology (NIB). Recently he has been appointed as the Director of Dhaka University Centre for Advanced Studies and Research in Biological Sciences. Currently he is the Chairperson of Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) of University of Dhaka. He is a scientist member of the National Executive Committee on Biotechnology (NECB) of Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. He is member of the Core Committee of the National Technical Committee of Crop Biotechnology (NTCCB) of Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (Under the Ministry of Agriculture). He is also an expert member of the Technical Committee of crop Biotechnology of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC). He is the President of Bangladesh Association of Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology (BAPTC&B), Vice-President of Bangladesh Botanical Society and Vice-President of Dhaka University Botany Alumni Association (DUBAA). He is also the Vice-President of Bangladesh Biology Olympiad Committee.

He has been involved in organizing a number of International Conferences on Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology in Dhaka. He has received Research Grants from US Department of Agriculture (USDA), BAS-USDA, Ministries of Education and Science and Technology, Govt. of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Professional Experiences
a) NST Rsearch Fellow : Department of Botany, University of Rajshahi (from January 1981 to May 1982)
b) Lecturer : Department of Botany, University of Dhaka (from May 1982 to March 1989)
c) Commonwealth Scholarship : Department of Botany, University of Reading, for Ph.D. U.K. (from October 1984 to September 1988)
d) Assistant Professor : Department of Botany, University of Dhaka (from March 1989 to March 1995)
e) Associate Professor : Department of Botany, University of Dhaka (from March 1995 to July, 1997)
f) Professor : Department of Botany, University of Dhaka (from July 1997 to date).

Source: Professor Dr. Rakha Hari Sarker

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