Dr. Pious Thomas

Dr. Pious Thomas is the CEO & Director of Thomas Biotech & Cytobacts Centre for Biosciences, an R&D Company, established in Bangalore, India in 2019 with a prime focus on Agri-Biotech. Prior to that, he held a research position at ICAR—Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru for 28 years as Scientist/ Senior Scientist/ Principal Scientist. Dr. Thomas did his masters in Horticulture at Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, his Ph.D at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, and his Post-Doctorate at the University of Sheffield, UK. His broad research interests included Horticulture and Plant Biology/Biotechnology. Specific research areas include plant tissue culture, micropropagation, gene expression, molecular breeding and microbiology. Endophytic Microbiology is the thrust research area, leading to the discovery of Cytobacts, which are considered ubiquitous intracellular bacteria in vascular plants. He is a fellow of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi, and a recipient of several national awards.