BHU JRF Botany MMV Recruitment 2026

BHU JRF Botany Recruitment 2026: Overview

Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, has one opening for a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in the Department of Botany at Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (MMV). The fellow will work on a research project funded by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), project code P-07/1377, titled "Study on maize microbiome and their effect on host transcripts and metabolites". The project runs for three years, and the job is a project-based research fellowship rather than a regular university post.

This project looks at the microbes that live in and around maize plants and how they change the plant's gene activity and chemical makeup. If you enjoy lab work in plant-microbe interactions, molecular biology and omics, and you want a funded start towards a PhD-level research career, this is a good fit. The project is led by Dr. Surendra Kumar Gond, Associate Professor in the department.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Tenure: The post is purely temporary and ends with the project. There is no promise of a permanent job at BHU after the project closes.
• Subjects accepted: Your master's degree must be in Botany, Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Life Science or Microbiology; a qualifying national test (UGC/CSIR-NET or GATE) is compulsory, not optional.
• Preference: When candidates are otherwise equal, SC/ST candidates get preference as per Government of India rules. Prior research in the project's area also counts in your favour.
• Useful skills: Hands-on work with q-PCR, NGS, transcriptomics and metagenomics is listed as desirable.
• Interview: Only shortlisted candidates are contacted by email, and the interview may be held online or in person. No TA/DA is paid for attending.

Application Submission Notes

This is an email-only application. Fill the application proforma given as Annexure-I with the advertisement, then scan it along with your certificates and combine everything into one PDF file named after you.

Send that single PDF to surendragond@gmail.com with the subject line "Application for Project JRF". Applications must reach within 21 days of the advertisement appearing on the BHU website. The form asks for your NET/GATE score, academic record, any research experience and publications, so keep those details ready before you start.

Tip: Scan every page clearly and check that the PDF opens before you send it. The form also asks whether any court case is pending against you, your category, and the titles of your B.Sc. and M.Sc. projects, so fill every part honestly. For questions, the project office lists surendra.gond@bhu.ac.in as a second contact address for the Principal Investigator.

• Collect and grow maize plant samples for microbiome studies
• Isolate and identify microbes associated with maize plants
• Run molecular biology work such as DNA/RNA extraction and q-PCR
• Prepare samples for sequencing, transcriptomics and metagenomics analysis
• Analyse data on host gene activity and plant metabolites
• Keep lab records and share progress reports with the Principal Investigator
• Help write research papers and project reports for ANRF