SMVDU Katra, October 12, 2020. Ms. Ruchi Shah has successfully defended her doctoral thesis, titled ‘Genetic Susceptibility in Esophageal Carcinoma patients from Jammu and Kashmir”, and has become eligible for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biotechnology at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra.

Ms. Shah worked under the supervision of Dr. Swarkar Sharma, School of Biotechnology, SMVDU, Katra. During the oral defence, Padma Shri Prof. RK Sinha, Vice-chancellor, SMVDU, and Prof. Ashok Sharma, Dean, College of Sciences & Head, SoBT Dr. Sharada Potukuchi, SMVDU were present, and they congratulated her for the successful Ph.D. Viva Voce defence.

The researcher has published many research papers in international peer reviewed journals from her thesis. She has received many awards in international & national conferences. Her study serves as the first comprehensive study on Esophageal cancer. The observations of her thesis are a major contribution to the literature from the Jammu and Kashmir region. Dr. Ruchi Shah acknowledged DST, Govt. of India, Women Scientist Scheme-WoS-A for grant and fellowship. She also thanked the DST scheme as it was instrumental in motivating her for the research.