Chandigarh, June 12 -- Dr Alka Rao has become the first woman full-time director of CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), the institute stated on Thursday. Dr Rao, who has more than two decades of research experience, succeeded Dr Souvik Maiti, director of CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) who had been holding the additional charge of CSIR-IMTECH since March. Prior to her appointment, Dr Rao was on deputation from the institute since March 2024 to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the ministry of health and family welfare and served as the adviser for science, standards and regulation division at the FSSAI, New Delhi. A trained protein engineer and a molecular microbiologist, she led critical food safety initiatives, regulatory frameworks and international policy alignment at FSSAI....