KU faculty secures prestigious SPARC grant for climate-resilient maize research

Srinagar, Jan 6: In a significant academic achievement for the University of Kashmir (KU), Dr. Riffat John, a faculty member in the Department of Botany, has been awarded a major research grant under the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) of the Ministry of Education, Government of India.

Dr. John has secured the SPARC project titled “Unstructured but Essential: Understanding and Exploiting Intrinsically Disordered Proteins for Climate-Resilient Maize” under the Agri and Food Technologies theme. The project has been approved by the SPARC Apex Committee, chaired by the Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India.

Vice Chancellor of KU, Prof. Nilofer Khan, congratulated Dr. John and said the award reflects the University’s growing research footprint and its emphasis on meaningful international collaborations.

“Such initiatives strengthen interdisciplinary research and contribute to addressing region-specific agricultural and climate challenges,” she said.

She further added that the University remains committed to supporting faculty-led research that aligns scientific inquiry with societal and environmental needs while fostering global academic engagement.

Dean Research, KU, Prof. Mohammad Sultan Bhat, also congratulated Dr. John on the achievement and said that securing a SPARC grant is highly competitive.

“It reflects the quality and global relevance of the research being undertaken at the University,” he said.

The two-year international collaborative project involves research partnerships with The Pennsylvania State University, USA, and the Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR), Ludhiana.

The project focuses on advancing a proteomics-based understanding of maize resilience to cold and low-temperature stress, with particular relevance for crop adaptation in hilly and cold agro-climatic regions of northern India.

Dr. John will serve as the Principal Investigator from the University of Kashmir. The collaboration will enable access to advanced protein interaction and intrinsically disordered protein analysis platforms.

The award strengthens the University’s participation in nationally coordinated international research programmes.