Dr. S. Antony Ceasar

Dr. S. Antony Ceasar, Ph.D., is a Professor (Research) in the Division of Biotechnology at Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore. He holds a Ph.D. in Plant Biotechnology from the University of Madras, an M.Phil. in Biotechnology and an M.Sc. in Biochemistry from Bharathidasan University, and a B.Sc. in Botany. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications from Madurai Kamaraj University. His doctoral research focused on genetic engineering of finger millet for fungal resistance.

He has received several international fellowships, awards and research mobility opportunities, including the Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship, World University Network-Research Mobility Program Award, Marie Curie Fellow-Visiting Title at the University of Leeds, BELSPO Non-European Postdoctoral Fellowship, and Best Researcher Award-2018. He has been listed among the World's Top 2% Cited Scientists by Stanford University since 2022 and received Springer Nature Editor of Distinction Awards in 2025. His academic and administrative responsibilities have included Director of the Rajagiri R&D Cell, Chairman of the Institutional Biosafety Committee, Head of the Division of Biosciences, editorial and guest editorial roles, and reviewer responsibilities for reputed journals and research funding agencies.

His professional experience includes research positions at Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Loyola College, the University of Liège, the University of Leeds and the University of Alberta. His teaching experience includes Biochemistry and Biotechnology, with courses handled in Genetic Engineering, Biochemistry, Plant Biotechnology, Protein Chemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, and related laboratory courses. His research interests include millet science and biotechnology, plant molecular biology, plant phosphate transport, plant nutrition signaling, plant-AM interactions, gene expression studies, gene cloning, plant transformation, RNA interference and CRISPR/Cas9. He has guided postdoctoral scholars, Ph.D. students, M.Phil. projects, master's projects and undergraduate projects.

He has secured research funding from agencies and programmes including DBT, European Union, World Universities Network, BBSRC, DST-SERB and DSIR for research on finger millet, foxtail millet, phosphate transport, zinc efficiency, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing, millet research and sustainable livelihood initiatives. His publication contributions include an edited Springer book on millets, numerous book chapters and a substantial body of peer-reviewed journal publications covering millet biotechnology, plant genome editing, CRISPR/Cas systems, plant nutrient transport, climate-resilient crops, plant molecular biology, and food and nutritional security.