Research Interests
Dr. Lata’s research interests include:
- In-vitro mass propagation of important medicinal plants using biotechnology and bioengineering tools.
- Phytochemical analysis of medicinal plants.
- Short- and long-term germplasm conservation of medicinally important plants.
Biography
Dr. Lata earned her BS (Hons.) in Botany from the University of Delhi in 1990, followed by an MS in Biotechnology from Guru Nanak Dev University in 1993. She completed her PhD in Plant Physiology in 1997 at the High-Altitude Plant Physiology Research Center (HAPPRC), HNB Garhwal University, a Central University of India. Following her PhD, she received initial postdoctoral training at the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Cytogenetics, Department of Botany, University of Delhi.
In March 2000, Lata joined the University of Mississippi as a Postdoctoral Research Associate and currently serves as a Principal Scientist at the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR), School of Pharmacy. At NCNPR, she has developed micropropagation protocols for several high-value medicinal plants, including cannabis, American mayapple, black cohosh, echinacea, and goldenseal. Over the years, her work has encompassed the genetic selection of elite strains, germplasm conservation through in-vitro mass propagation, and long-term conservation via cryopreservation of medicinally important plants.
Cannabis sativa– Botany and Biotechnology
Suman Chandra, Hemant Lata and Mahmoud A. ElSohly (Eds.) Springer Nature (2017)
Advances in Micropropagation of Cannabis sativa L.: A Multipurpose Medicinal Plant
In: Tissue Culture Techniques and Medicinal Plants: Enhancing Propagation and Production, Eds. Husen and Pant, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis, pp 93-112. Hemant Lata, Esther Uchendu, Suman Chandra, Chandrani G. Majumdar, Ikhlas A. Khan and Mahmoud A. ElSohly (2024)
Cryopreservation of axillary buds of cannabis sativa l. by v-cryoplate droplet-vitrification: the critical role of sucrose preculture
CryoLetters 40 (5), 291-298. Hemant Lata, Esther Uchendu, Suman Chandra, Chandrani G. Majumdar, Ikhlas A. Khan and Mahmoud A. ElSohly (2019)
In vitro mass propagation of Cannabis sativa: A protocol refinement using novel aromatic cytokinin meta-topolin and the assessment of eco-physiological, biochemical and genetic fidelity of micropropagated plants
Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, 3: 18-26. Hemant Lata, Suman Chandra, Natascha Techen, Ikhlas A. Khan and Mahmoud A. ElSohly (2016)
Cannabis Cultivation: Methodological Issues for Obtaining Medical-Grade Product, Epilepsy and Behavior, 70: 302–312.
Suman Chandra, Hemant Lata, Mahmoud A. ElSohly, Larry A. Walker, David Potter (2017)
Education
B.S. Botany, Delhi University (1990)
M.S. Botany, 999999 GNDDU/PUNJAB INDIA (1993)
Ph.D. Botany, 999999 AMRISTAR/GARHWAL INDIA (1997)