Dr. Ram Pratap Singh

EXPERIENCE : 12 Years. Prior to joining CUSB, he served as Senior Scientist for over eight years in the Division of Avian Physiology and Genetics at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore. After completing his master’s degree in Animal Science from M. J. P. Rohilkhand University in 2005, he continued his Ph.D. with Central Avian Research Institute, Bareilly, working on the reproductive physiology of Japanese quail. Then, in 2009, he joined for post-doctoral work at the School of Animal Biology, the University of Western Australia under Prof. Graeme Martin’s mentorship. Later, he joined for another post-doctoral training at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, USA, where he was trained with Drs. Budhan Pukazhenthi and David Wildt.

So far, his most important contribution is the establishment of ‘National Avian Forensic Laboratory (NAFL)’ at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore. Under Dr. Singh’s leadership, the NAFL also have started a Genome Resource Bank (GRB) for preserving biomaterials of birds for research and conservation purposes. It has already acquired biomaterials from 20% of the Indian birds and has helped resolve many intricate issues such as the one relating to the Mig-21 crash in Bikaner in 2019 due to bird hit. Dr. Singh has contributed significantly to developing MoEFCC’s Visionary Perspective Plan for Avian Conservation in India for 2020-2030. Dr. Singh has served as member of the ‘ad-hoc Animal Committee’ of the National Board for Wildlife, MoEFCC, Govt. of India. Dr. Singh also served as a member of various other committees of MoEFCC, Govt. of India, on ‘Alteration of Schedules of Wildlife (Protection Act), 1972’, ‘Farming and Trade in Japanese quail’ and ‘Research on the Wild Relatives of Domestic Animal Species’.