By TCN News,
Aligarh: Prof. Wasim Ahmad of the Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has been felicitated by the Zoological Society of India for his commendable research activities and outstanding contribution in the field of Zoology at the 20th All India Congress of Zoology
The Zoology Congress was jointly organized by the Zoological Society of India, the Helminthological Society of India and the Indian Fisheries Association held at Central Institute of Fisheries Education in Mumbai recently.
Prof. Ahmad who is an expert on the taxonomy of soil inhabiting nematodes of the Orders Dorylaimida, Mononchida and Tylenchida, has not only described several hundred new taxa of nematodes from around the world but has also given new definition and classification of higher taxonomic groups based on his morphological, ultra structural and molecular studies.
His recent studies on phylogenetic relationship of mononchs using 18s rDNA sequence has given a new insight into the classification of this group. He has also contributed significantly to the functional diversity and food web diagnostics of soil inhabiting nematodes in natural forests.
The major part of his work has been published in top nematology journals of the world, such as Nematologica/Nematology from The Netherlands; Revue de Nematologie/Fundamentals and Applied Nematology from France; International Journal of Nematology from UK; Journal of Nematode Morphology and Systematics from Spain Nematologea Mediterranea from Italy and Journal of Natural History, UK.
Besides, his monumental book entitled “Dorylaimida; Free-living, predaceous and plant parasitic nematodes” published by RJ Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands is a unique world-wide reference for study of dorylaim nematodes. A similar treatise by him on Mononchida has just been published by EJ Brill, The Netherlands.
He has visited a large number of countries of the world as an expert for the study of dorylaim and mononchid nematodes and is recipient of prestigious visiting fellowships from Royal Society (London). DFG (Germany), TWAS (Italy), JSPS (Japan), Erasmus Mundus (European Union), CAS (China), KOSEF (Korea), RMBR (Singapore), and many others.
Apart from that, he is on the editorial board of several prestigious journals published from India and abroad and is reviewer of papers published in most of the Nematology Journals of the world. He is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Linnaean Society of London.
[Photo by rmbr.nus.edu.sg]