Educational Background:
• 2009-2013: PhD in Biochemical Technology (Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India) • 2007-2009: M.Tech in Chemical Engg. (Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, India) • 2003-2007: B.E in Biotechnology Engg. (Rajasthan Technical University, India)
Current Responsibility at CIAB:
Linking bench level R&D to the application stream involving testing, validating, improving, integrating technologies and processes for their application/performance analysis/linearity of yields analysis etc. for tangible outcomes in a realty field/industry constraints and uses in Indian scenario.
Positions held:
• July 2013-April 2014, Designation: Assistant Professor, Organization: Amity University Gurgaon • May 2014- December 2015, Designation: Research Associate, Organization: CIAB, Mohali • Jan 2016 – July 2022, Designation: Research and Innovation System Analyst (Scientist), Organization: CIAB, Mohali • July 2022 onwards, Designation: Scientist-C, Organization: CIAB, Mohali
Research Interests:
Bio-based Chemicals and Enzymes: - • Currently, team's primary research focus revolves around discovering and designing bioprocesses for the production and scaling up of high-value functional biomolecules. • Group have collected potential natural microbial isolates from various environmental conditions and are utilizing them for biochemical processing to valorize biomass and derived product omic profiling. • The biosynthesis of functional molecules, including xylitol, prodigiosin, and biopigments, has been successfully established using abundant biomass sources such as rice straw. Functional Foods and Smart Proteins: - • Group developed innovative and cost-effective process engineering methods for manufacturing functional food and nutraceutical molecules. These include vegan protein supplements, soluble dietary fibers, cocoa butter substitutes, and pectin derived from a diverse range of agricultural agri-food byproducts. • Through established Chemo-Enzymatic and Hydrothermal processing techniques, we have successfully produced prebiotic biomolecules such as pecto-cellulose and xylooligosaccharides from food by-products. Carbon Capture and Utilization: - • Group developed sustainable algal bio-refinery for carbon capturing and preparation of super food.
Awards and Achievements:
• Best Research Presentation Award, 4th International conference on recent advance in bioenergy research at Sardar Swarn Singh National Institute of Bioenergy, Kapurthala, 9th - 12th Oct., 2023. • National Science Day Award, PSCST&DST, Punjab in 2022. • Best Poster award in woman scientist and entrepreneur conclave at IISF-2018, Lucknow • ECR–SERB award-2017 (DST) • Arise- 2016 by ICAR-IARI • CSIR travel award-2012 • Young researcher representative from India in SEE Forum Japan-2011 • Best project award in I2Tech Open house 2010, IIT Delhi • SRF from MHRD (2009-2013) at IIT Delhi
Memberships in Academic/ Societies/ Professional bodies :
• Life Member, The Biotech Research Society, India (BRSI) • Life Member, The International Bioprocessing Association, (IFIbiop) • Life Member of International society for energy, environment and sustainability (ISEES) • Life membership of The Catalysis Society of India (CSI) • Membership of Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) • Membership of Indian National Young Academy of Science (INSA-INYAS), https://inyas.in/user/meena-krishania-choudhary/
Books/Book chapters :
• Deepika Umarao, Saumya Singh, Devender Pratap Singh, Shivani Maddirala, Surajbhan Sevda, Meena Krishania, Treatment of Solid Food Waste Using Solid-State Fermentation: Its Current Use and Future Perspective, Biological/Bio-Chemical Approaches for Solid Waste Management: The way forward – Volume II, CRC Press, 2023 (Accepted) • Divyani Panwar, Parmjit S. Panesar, Gisha Singla, Meena Krishania, Avinash Thakur, “Recovery of Nutrients and Transformations of Municipal/Domestic Food Waste”, Waste Valorisation: Waste Streams in a Circular Economy, John Wiley & Sons, 2020, 109-159. • Meena Krishania, Sindhu Raveendran, Binod Parameswaran, Vivek Ahluwalia, Vinod Kumar, Rajender S Sangwan, Ashok Pandey, Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Design of Bioreactors in Solid-State Fermentation, Publisher: Elsevier-2018 • 1st Chapter entitled “Country Report on Renewable Energy Potential in India” in 1st addition book of Feasibility study on Renewable Energy potential in Asia-2011. Japan • Krishania M. (2010). “Bioethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Materials”, LAP Lambert publication, Germany, 978-3843365116
PATENTS :
Granted: - • Patent filed (201811000749): Cornvita as a product from corn fiber and dairy whey in any form or its derivatives process of its production and uses thereof. (2018). Inventors: Krishania M, Sangwan RS, Dalveer K, Singla G. (Patent no. 348500) • Patent filed (201611016793): A process for the production of prebiotic oligosaccharides and nearly zero calorie functional sugar from the cane molasses and use for the same. (2016). Inventors: Sudhir P. Singh, R.S. Sangwan, Manisha Sharma, Satya Narayan Patel, Meena Krishania, KusumLata, Umesh Singh. (Patent no. 366820) • Patent filed (201811048486): Novel process for the production of off odour/off flavour free protein hydrolysate from maize gluten meal and uses thereof. Inventors: Krishania M, Singh U, Dalveer, Gisha. (Patent no. 417417) • Patent filed (201711008368): A liquid whey beverage product named CIAB-NAVITA containing a fiber rich preparation produced from fruit processing by-products wastes and uses of the product. (2018). Inventors: Sangwan RS, Krishania M, Sandhu PP, Priyanka, Deepak. (Patent no. 450346) Filed: - • Patent Filed (201911017743): A green strategy for the development of debittered dietary fibre rich edible powder from kinnow juice industry waste and uses thereof. (2019). Inventors: Krishania M, Singla G, Dalveer, Singh U. • Patent filed (201711007926): A novel process of producing debittered edible fibre powder from the composite kinnow juice processing industry residues (exocarp, mesocarp, endocarp, juice sacs and seeds) and pulp residue after juice clarification. (2017). Inventors: R.S. Sangwan, Pankaj Preet Sandhu, Meena Krishania. • Patent filed (202011054929): Process for the preparation of chocolate with mango butter as a substitute for cocoa butter and use thereof. (2020) Inventors: Meena Krishania , Sushil Kumar Kansal , Monika Garg. • Patent filed (202211066184): One pot ozone assisted microconstituent dislodgement from biomass hydrolysate in bioprocessing system and use thereof”. (2022). Inventor: Meena Krishania and Saumya Singh. • Patent filed (202311033899): “Bioactive pigment production from rice straw and uses thereof”. (2023). Inventor: Meena Krishania, Saumya Singh, Umesh Singh.
Selected Research Publications:
• Saumya Singh, Shailendra Kumar Arya, Meena Krishania (2024), Insights into bioprocessed xylitol crystallization: Physico-chemical and techno-economic perspectives, Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, 101642, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2024.101642. • Vibhu Mishra, Dalveer Kaur, Saumya Singh, Devendra Pratap Singh and Meena Krishania (2024), Sustainable nanofiber synthesis from corn protein meal for enhanced vitamin E and curcumin nutrient delivery in food systems, Sustainable Food Technology, DOI: 10.1039/d3fb00236e • Saumya Singh, Gurkanwal Kaur, Devendra P. Singh, Shailendra Kumar Arya, Meena Krishania* (2024), Exploring rice straw’s potential from a sustainable biorefinery standpoint: Towards valorization and diverse product production, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 184, 314-331, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2024.01.105. • Singh, S., Arya, S.K. & Krishania, M* (2024). Bioprocess optimization for enhanced xylitol synthesis by new isolate Meyerozyma caribbica CP02 using rice straw. Biotechnol Biofuels 17, 31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-024-02475-8 • Khushboo Singh, Harpreet Kaur, Meena Krishania, Kiran Bains, Amarjeet Kaur (2024), Hot water infusion technique to prepare antioxidant-rich beverage with pomegranate peel: Formulation, nutritional study and cost analysis, Food Chemistry Advances 4 100601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.focha.2023.100601. • Kanika Miglani, Saumya Singh, Devendra Pratap Singh and Meena Krishania*, Sustainable production of prodigiosin from rice straw derived xylose by using isolated Serratia marcescens (CMS 2): statistical optimization, characterization, encapsulation & cost analysis, Sustainable Food Technol., 2023, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D3FB00100H • Saumya Singh, Kamal K. Pant, Meena Krishania*, Current perspective for bio-oil production from agricultural residues in commercialization aspect: A review (2023), Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis, 175, 106160, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2023.106160. • Gurkanwal Kaur, Meena Krishania*, Monica Sachdeva Taggar, Anu Kalia,(2023), Adsorptive removal of inhibitors from paddy straw hydrolysate using surfactant modified bentonite clay for fermentative xylitol production, Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04618-7 • Gurkanwal Kaur, Monica Sachdeva Taggar, Anu Kalia, Meena Krishania, Alla Singh, (2023), Fungal Secretomes of Aspergillus terreus Repertoires Cultivated on Native and acid/alkali Treated Paddy Straw for Cellulase and Xylanase Production, BioEnergy Research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-023-10637-z • Anjali Sharma, Mona Yadav, Apoorv Tiwari, Usman Ali, Meena Krishania, Manju Bala, D. Mridula, Paras Sharma, Giridhar Goudar, Joy K. Roy, Umashanker Navik, Monika Garg,(2023), A comparative study of colored wheat lines across laboratories for validation of their phytochemicals and antioxidant activity, Journal of Cereal Science 112 (2023) 103719. • Gurpreet Kaur, Dalveer Kaur, Sushil K.Kansal, Monika Garg, Meena Krishania* (2022), Potential Cocoa Butter Substitute Derived from Mango Seed Kernel, Food Chemistry, 131244 • TP Sari, Ranjna Sirohi, Meena Krishania, Suvarna Bhoj, Mrinal Samtiya, Muskaan Duggal, Deepak Kumar, Prarabdh C Badgujar (2022), Critical overview of biorefinery approaches for valorization of protein rich tree nut oil industry by-product, Bioresource Technology, 127775. • Anita Kumari, Satveer Kaur, Natasha Sharma, Jaspreet Kaur, Meena Krishania, Vandita Tiwari, Monika Garg (2022), Effect of processing on the phytochemicals and quality attributes of vermicelli developed from colored wheat, Journal of Cereal Science, 103560 • Monika Garg, Satveer Kaur, Anjali Sharma, Anita Kumari, Vandita Tiwari, Saloni Sharma, Payal Kapoor, Bhawna Sheoran, Ajay Goyal, Meena Krishania (2022), Rising Demand for Healthy Foods-Anthocyanin Biofortified Rich Colored Wheat Is a New Research Trend, Frontiers in Nutrition, 913 • Saumya Singh, Prithwish Kola, Dalveer Kaur, Gisha Singla, Vibhu Mishra, Parmjit S Panesar, Kumar Mallikarjunan, Meena Krishania (2021), Therapeutic potential of nutraceuticals and dietary supplements in prevention of Viral Diseases: A review, Frontiers in Nutrition, 640 • Umesh Singh, Dalveer Kaur, Vibhu Mishra, Meena Krishania (2022) Combinatorial approach to prepare antioxidative protein hydrolysate from corn gluten meal with dairy whey: Preparation, kinetics, nutritional study and cost analysis, LWT, 112437. • Gisha Singla, Parmjit S. Panesar, Rajender S. Sangwan, Meena Krishania (2021), Effect of packaging materials on the shelf-life of vermicelli supplemented with enzyme processed kinnow pulp residue, Journal of Food Process Engineering, 13862. • Singla G, Singh U, Sangwan R.S., Panesar P.S, Krishania M* (2021) Comparative study of various processes used for removal of bitterness from kinnow pomace and kinnow pulp residue. Food Chemistry 335 (127643), 1-9. • Saumya Singh, Dalveer Kaur, Sudesh Kumar, Meena Krishania * (2021), Process scale-up of an efficient acid-catalyzed steam pretreatment of rice straw for xylitol production by C. tropicalis MTCC 6192. Bioresource Technology,124422. • Monika Garg, Anjali Sharma, Shreya Vats, Vandita Tiwari, Anita Kumari, Vibhu Mishra, Meena Krishania (2021), Vitamins in cereals: Critical review of content, health effects, processing losses, bioaccessibility, fortification and biofortification strategies for their improvement. Frontier in Nutrition 8, 254. • Gisha Singla, Parmjit S. Panesar, Rajender S. Sangwan , Meena Krishania* (2020), Enzymatic debittering of Citrus reticulata (Kinnow) pulp residue and its utilization for the preparation of vermicelli. J. Food Process Preserv. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfpp.15135 • Gisha Singla, Parmjit S Panesar, Rajender S Sangwan, Meena Krishania * (2020) Enzymatic processing of Citrus reticulata (Kinnow) pomace using naringinase and its valorization through preparation of nutritionally enriched pasta. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 1-8. • Dalveer Kaur, Gisha Singla, Umesh Singh, Meena Krishania* (2020), Efficient process engineering for extraction of hemicellulose from corn fiber and its characterization. Carbohydrate Polymer Technologies and Applications, 100011. • Gisha Singla, Meena Krishania*, Pankaj P. Sandhu, Rajender S. Sangwan, Parmjit S. Panesar Value addition of kinnow industry byproducts for the preparation of fiber-enriched extruded products, Journal of Food Science and Technology. (2019),56 (3), 1575-1582. • Meena Krishania*, Vinod Kumar, Rajendra S. Sangwan. (2018) Integrated Approach for Extraction of Xylose, Cellulose, Lignin and Silica from Rice straw, Bioresource Technology Reports, 89–93. • Vinod Kumar, Meena Krishania, Pankaj Preet Sandhu, Vivek Ahluwalia, Edgard Gnansounou, Rajender S.Sangwan*. (2017) Efficient detoxification of corn cob hydrolysate with ion-exchange resins for enhanced xylitol production by Candida tropicalis MTCC 6192, Bioresour Technol. , 251, 416-419. • Meena Krishania*., Vinod Kumar., R.S.Sangwan (2017), Thermochemical treatment and solventogenesis of rice straw for the production of carboxymethyl cellulose, Journal of Bioprocess Technology 103, 530-536. • Manisha Sharma, Satya Narayan Patel, Kusum Lata, Umesh Singh, Meena Krishania, Rajender S. Sangwan, Sudhir P. Singh. * (2016) A novel approach of integrated bioprocessing of cane molasses for production of prebiotic and functional bioproducts, Bioresource Technology 219, 311–318. • Krishania M, Vijay VK, Chandra R. (2016), Performance evaluation of various bioreactors for methane fermentation of pretreated wheat straw with cattle manure. Green Processing and Synthesis 5 (2), 113-121. • Krishania M, Vijay VK, Chandra R (2015), An Enhancement of Methane Fermentation by Combined Alkali Pretreatment of Wheat Straw. Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy 9 (3), 327-333. • Krishania M., Vijay V.K., Chandra R. (2013), Methane Fermentation and Kinetics of Wheat Straw Pretreated Substrates Co-digested with Cattle Manure in Batch Assay. Energy (57), 359-367, Elsevier. • Krishania M., Kumar V., Vijay V.K., Malik A. (2012), Analysis of different techniques used for improvement of biomethanation process: A review. Fuel (106),1-9. • Krishania M., Kumar V., Vijay V.K., Malik A. (2012), Opportunities for improvement of process technology for Biomethanation Processes: Review. Green Processing and Synthesis. Walter De Gruyter.USA.1(1), 49-59. • Krishania M., Bakal S.B., Chaurasia S.P. (2010), Bioethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Materials: Pretreatment, Saccharification and Fermentation. Journal of Biofuels. 1(2), 236-244.