Ashwani Pareek, Executive Director of the National Agrifood Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Punjab is a prominent plant biologist and educator noted chiefly for his contribution to the area of plant molecular biology and biotechnology. He is currently working as a Professor of plant molecular biology and biotechnology at the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Professor Pareek completed his doctoral research (Ph.D.) with his exemplary work on ‘Molecular Characterization of stress proteins in Oryza sativa L. with emphasis on 90 kDa family’ from the Department of Plant Molecular Biology, the University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi. 
His lab at NABI exploits the use of genetic, genomic, molecular, and physiological approaches to tap into the broad genetic base of rice for identifying genes and creating physical, chemical, and genetic mutants, attributing abiotic stress tolerance and enhancing yield in crop plants such as rice. His keen interest also lies in unraveling the signaling mechanisms involved in plant abiotic stress tolerance. His research has translated into the development of transgenics using RNA interference technology for enhanced salinity and drought tolerance. Presently, his lab is using CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing for modulating transcription factors in a fashion leading to the abatement of abiotic stress tolerance in rice.