Appa Rao Podile, Professor of Plant Sciences and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad (UoH), has received the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) Fellowship. The INSA has appreciated the 'outstanding’ contributions of Appa Rao in plant sciences in general and plant-microbe interactions in particular.

His recent work on transglycosylation by bacterial chitinases published in journals of high impact and his earlier contributions on the use of chitinolytic bacteria for the control of fungal diseases of plants were recognised by INSA. The citation reads that “his work on chitinases enabled the development of alternatives to the toxic antifungal compounds for plant protection”.

Appa Rao has guided 20 students for Ph.D. and handled several national and international research projects. He has about 95 peer reviewed high impact publications and also filed 2 patents. His work has been cited more than 2,200 times with an h-index of 25, according to a release.