She studied at Bansilal Balika Vidyalaya, Begum Bazaar, Hyderabad and passed Higher School Secondary Certificate in the year 1955. In 1957, she studied Intermediate at Koti Women’s College, Hyderabad. In 1959, she passed her graduation with Botany main, Zoology and Chemistry from the same college. She did post-graduation in M.Sc Botany with Hydrobiology main in Final level at Osmania University. She was awarded Ph.D for her thesis on ‘Experimental and Cytological Studies on Certain Desmids’ from Osmania University in the year 1967 under the able guidance of Prof. Jafar Nizam and Prof. M.R. Saxena. As most of the literature was in German, she passed Junior and Senior Diploma in German Language at Arts College, Osmania University,in the year 1963 - 65 for a period of 3 years. Her area of specialization is Hydrobiology, Phycology, Cytology and Ultrastructure Ecology.
Career
In 1966, she was appointed temporary lecturer in Osmania University, Hyderabad.
In 1968, she was appointed permanent lecturer and posted at P.G. Centre of Osmania University at Warangal, which later on, in the year 1974, become Kakatiya University.
Further, serving the same university, she became Reader and Professor and Head in the Department of Botany.
She assumed charge as Vice-Chancellor of the University on 6 May 1998 for a period of three years.
Research
She did one year Post-Doctoral research as a Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellow at Royal Holloway and Bedford College, University of London, UK., with Prof. John D. Dodge and took training for three months on the processing of Biological Material for Electron Microscopy.
She did her Post-Doctoral Research with Dr. J. Sulek at the Institute of Microbiology, Trebon, Czechoslovakia.
She also visited various institutions at Oxford, Cambridge, France, Czechoslovakia, Bratislava and Toronto.
As Professor of Botany, she visited United Kingdom during 1980 - 81 under Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship.
Presented a paper on "Institutional Leadership and Management of Change", South Korea, Seoul and Participated in the International Conference of University Presidents held at Suwon campus of Kyung Hee University during 10–13 October 1999.
Her research experience is of 36 years. She contributed more than 350 papers in National and International Journals, guided 25 Ph.Ds and two M. Phils and published ten books.
Offices held
President, Phycological Society of India.
Associate Editor of Seaweed Research and Utilization, an international Journal.
National Advisory Committee, Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women Studies, Hyderabad.
Associate Editor, Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Health, USA.
Appointed as member of search Committee to suggest a panel of names for appointment to the post of Vice-Chancellor, Dr. YSR Horticultural University, West Godavari District by Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Awards and Honours
She was honoured with Best Women Scientist award in 2000 at Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana and was awarded Gold Medal by Plant Science Association, Uttar Pradesh.
She was felicitated in A "National Seminar on Current Trends in Biotechnology" organized by the Department of Biotechnology, Lal Bahadur College, Warangal on 30 November and 1 December 2007.
She was also Guest of honour in various National and International Seminars.
She was honoured with YSRK Sharma Gold Medal by the Society for Plant Research, Bareilly.
She was patron for National Conference on Biodiversity, Biology and Biotechnology of Algae, 9 - 10, January, 2017 Organized by Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
