Dr. Neeru Bala is a dedicated environmental scientist and academic professional holding a Doctorate in Environmental Sciences. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Khalsa College for Women, Amritsar, where she teaches Environmental Sciences, Disaster Management, and Plant Sciences at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her academic responsibilities include laboratory teaching, fieldwork supervision, student mentoring, examination evaluation, and guiding research-based assignments.

Research Expertise

Dr. Bala’s research interests encompass environmental pollution, air pollution tolerance in plants, plant physiological stress, ecotoxicology, soil health, heavy-metal contamination, microplastics, environmental and human health risk assessment, and genotoxicity. She has expertise in experimental research, environmental modelling, statistical analysis, multivariate analysis, experimental design, model fitting, and optimization. She is proficient in instrumental techniques including spectrophotometry, flame photometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy, and ICP-OES.

Research Contributions & Publications

Dr. Bala has demonstrated consistent research productivity through publications in peer-reviewed journals and contributions to scholarly books. Her research has addressed air pollution tolerance and greenbelt development, heavy-metal contamination in agricultural soils and rice grains, groundwater-associated health risks, metal accumulation by plants, soil quality, and the effects of environmental stressors on plant physiology. Her work has appeared in journals including Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, Annals of Biology, and Protoplasma.

She has also contributed chapters to books published by leading academic publishers such as Elsevier and CRC Press, covering heavy-metal-induced stress in legumes, particulate matter and lung cancer, mountainous soil management, ecophysiological research, microplastics in soil and water, and sustainable approaches to soil health.

Awards, Presentations & Academic Engagement

Dr. Bala has actively participated in national and international conferences, symposiums, and workshops. She received a Best Paper Presentation Award for her research on heavy-metal analysis and health-risk assessment of agricultural soil in the Batala region of Punjab. She has presented research on air pollution tolerance indices, soil toxicity and quality, heavy-metal contamination, air-quality assessment, and environmental risks at several academic forums.

Teaching, Mentoring & Professional Skills

Alongside research, Dr. Bala has experience in teaching practical and theoretical courses, mentoring students, supervising field and research projects, and supporting postgraduate dissertation work. Her strong communication and interpersonal skills enable her to work effectively with diverse academic groups. She is fluent in Hindi, English, Dogri, and Punjabi.

Eligibility for Young Researcher Award 

Dr. Neeru Bala is eligible for the Young Researcher Award in Scientific Laurels based on her emerging and consistent contributions to environmental science research. Her doctoral-level expertise, active academic career, peer-reviewed publications, scholarly book chapters, conference presentations, Best Paper Presentation recognition, and multidisciplinary research in environmental pollution, heavy metals, soil and water quality, plant stress, microplastics, and environmental health demonstrate strong research potential. Her commitment to translating scientific findings into sustainable environmental strategies further strengthens her suitability for recognition as a Young Researcher.