Share your story and shine at JK Monitor!đ Welcome to JK Monitor, where every story matters and every achievement is celebrated! We invite you to share the remarkable journey of your life and showcase your accomplishments to the world. Join our exclusive interviews that honor exceptional individuals just like you. JAMMU: Prof. Yash Pal Sharma, Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences and Rector, Udhampur Campus, University of Jammu, has been conferred the prestigious Prof. K. Natarajan Memorial Award by the Mycological Society of India (MSI). The award was announced during the 52nd Annual Meeting of MSI and National Conference on âFungi for Bharat: Fungi for Better Health in Agriculture, Remediation and Technologyâ, held at the Department of Botany, University of Delhi, from November 20â22, 2025. Prof. Sharma was nominated for his significant contributions to the fields of Mycology and Plant Pathology, as well as for his distinguished service to the Mycological Society of India.
With a teaching career spanning over 29 years, Prof. Sharma has guided 19 Ph.D. and 16 M.Phil. scholars, mentored one Post-Doctoral Fellow, and published over 180 research papers and book chapters, in addition to authoring four books. His research group works extensively on the diversity of wild mushrooms, traditional ethnomycological knowledge, mycofoods, and the creation of a comprehensive database on mushroom diversity and indigenous knowledge to support cultivation and conservation efforts in the North-Western and Trans-Himalayan regions of Jammu & Kashmir and the cold deserts of Ladakh.
Prof. Sharma has successfully completed six major research projects, and his team has discovered, characterized, and named more than 30 new species of mushrooms, along with one new species of rose and two new species of lichens, all of which are new to science. In recognition of his contributions, three mushroom species, namely Amanita sharmae, Lactarius sharmii, and Coltricia sharmae, have been named in his honour by his students.
