Profile
Education: • M.Sc. in Biochemistry from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana • Ph.D. in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Tottori University, Japan • Postdoctoral research in Grain Processing Quality at Tottori University, Japan Experience: • Associate Scientist at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Syria • Scientist F at the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali Specialization/Research Areas: • Development of designer crops with improved nutritional and processing quality • Utilization of plant breeding and wide introgression approaches for public benefit Achievements: • Developed biofortified Black wheat with anthocyanins as antioxidants • Conducted functional and health studies on black wheat • Signed MOUs/NDA with 28 companies for black wheat commercialization • Involved in 6 international/national projects • Filed 4 patents • Published 70 international publications and 11 book chapters • Published 1 popular article in newspaper • Registered 3 germplasms with NBPGR
Current Focus Areas
Developing designer crops with enhanced nutritional and processing quality through plant breeding and wide introgression approaches.
Translating research findings into practical applications.
Utilizing generated germplasm to improve public life.
Collaborating with farmers and industry stakeholders to drive implementation and adoption of innovative agricultural solutions.
Selected Publications
Garg, M., Tanaka, H., Ishikawa, N., Takata, K., Yanaka, M., & Tsujimoto, H*. (2009). Agropyron elongatum HMW-glutenins have a potential to improve wheat end-product quality through targeted chromosome introgression. Journal of cereal science, 50(3), 358-363.
Garg, M*, Chawla, M., Chunduri, V., Kumar, R., Sharma, S., Sharma, N. K., Kaur, N., Kumar, A., Mundey, J.K., Saini, M.K., & Singh, S. P. (2016). Transfer of grain colors to elite wheat cultivars and their characterization. Journal of cereal science, 71, 138-144.
Sharma, S., Khare, P., Kumar, A., Chunduri, V., Kumar, A., Kapoor, P., Mangal, P., Kondepudi, K.K., Bishnoi, M., & Garg, M*. (2020). Anthocyanin‐biofortified Colored Wheat Prevents High Fat Diet‐induced Alterations in Mice: Nutrigenomics Studies. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 1900999.
Sharma, A., Yadav, M., Sharma, N., Kumari, A., Kaur, S., Meenu, M., & Garg M* (2022) Comparison of wheatgrass juices from colored wheat (white, black, blue, and purple) for health promoting phytochemicals. Food Research International, 161, 111833.
Ali, U., Chaudhary, E., Kaur, S., Sharma, A., Yadav, M., Kumari, A., Sheoran, B., Tiwari, V., Sharma, S., Tiwari, A., & Garg, M* (2023). Evaluation of anthocyanin rich color wheat lines (black, blue, purple) for their cake making quality. Journal of Cereal Science, 113, 103757.