Milan Kumar Lal, PhD in Plant Physiology, works in the area of abiotic, abiotic stress and nutritional aspects of potato and other starchy crops at ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, India. He is an expert in the area of abiotic stress, such as heat, drought salinity and heavy metals. Moreover, he also works on the effect of biotic stresses, such as fungi, viruses and bacteria on plant physiological, biochemical and molecular responses. Apart from this, he also has expertise in the nutritional and quality aspects of starchy crops, including resistant starch, glycemic index, phytonutrients, functional fermented foods and beverages, bioactive compounds, and various processing techniques to enhance these components in food products of starchy crops. His findings have generated more than 85 publications in international peer-reviewed journals.