Dr. Dhaka Ram Bhandari

Dhaka Ram Bhandari served as the executive director and member secretary of the executive council of Gandaki Province Academy of Science and Technology (GPAST), an autonomous government institution dedicated to science, technology, and innovation, completing his four-year tenure in November 2024. Before this, Bhandari worked as a Scientific Co-worker and Project Manager at Justus Liebig University Giessen and TransMIT GmbH, respectively. In addition to this, he was also the Visiting scientist at the Center for Biotechnology Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal, and Sativik Nepal, Pokhara. 

He has obtained his Doctorate in Natural Sciences from Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany, and Erasmus Mundus Master of Science Advanced Spectroscopy from the University of Leipzig, Germany, University of Bergen, Norway, and the University of Lille, France. Bhandari has a long-term research interest in subjects of Natural Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Spectroscopy, Analytical Sciences, Bioanalytics, Metabolomics, Natural Products, Phytochemicals, and Novel Drug molecules. Moreover, he has gained practical experience in using cutting-edge tools and techniques relevant to his field of studies, such as Mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF, ESI-Orbitrap instruments; LTQ-Orbitrap, Q Exactive), HPLC, and many more. Bhandari has published over 20 scientific articles in high-impact factor international journals and 2-book chapters as lead author and co-author. He has also attended numerous international conferences and symposiums. Likewise, he has presented oral and poster presentations on different global platforms. 

Bhandari has also been awarded various awards and scholarships, such as ‘The Wolfgang-Paul-Award for the best PhD thesis in the field of mass spectrometry by the German Society for mass spectrometry, ‘The DGMS Travel Award, 2012, and ‘The Erasmus Mundus Scholarship, 2008’, etc. for his excellent contributions towards science and technology. Furthermore, he is a registered pharmacist (G-419) and a member of the Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Chemical Society, and the National Young Academy, Nepal - NaYAN.