Coordinator, Forest Biomaterials Program
Dr. Sabina Shrestha is an Associate Professor in the Forest Biomaterials Program at Madan Bhandari University of Science and Technology. She holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Kyung Hee University, South Korea and an M.Sc in Botany from Tribhuvan University. She had served at the Department of Botany and Department of Environment Science, Patan Multiple Campus (2002-2008).
With over a decade of experience in the field of natural products chemistry, Dr. Shrestha’s expertise lies in the isolation and structural characterization of bioactive compounds from natural sources. She was the recipient of the Youth Scientist Award for her research on phytochemical constituents of Desmostachya bipinnata and Rhus parviflora from Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2013. She served at the Natural Products Chemistry Laboratory, Graduate School of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Resources, Kyung Hee University, S. Korea as a post-doctoral fellow from 2011-2013. She also worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Biochemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Biotechnology, College of Applied Life Science, Jeju National University, S. Korea from 2014-2015. She is the founder director of the Himalayan Biome Research Institute, Nepal. She served as a Biotechnology consultant at MBUST from July 2020 to March 2024.
Her expertise includes the isolation and structure characterization of natural products compounds. She has contributed over 50 research papers in peer-reviewed journals. She has co-authored the books Wilderness and Diversity of Life in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, Himalayan Flowers, Trees and Animals, and Our National Parks and Wildlife Reserves. She is the species illustrator of the books Birds of Nepal, Ichthyology of Nepal, and Herpetology of Nepal. She served as a member of the editorial board of the journal Applied Science and Technology Annals. She is the secretary of the Nepal national chapter of The Asian Society of Natural Products. Dr. Shrestha is committed to bringing significant impact on conservation and the sustainable utilization of Nepal’s forest resources for application in food and medicine.