Association of Nepalese Agricultural Professionals of Americas (NAPA)

IT Committee (2026-2028)

Chair

Sanjok Poudel, PhD

Assistant Professor and Extension Animal Production Specialist

Cooperative Extension at North Carolina A&T State University

Dr. Poudel received his Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences from Virginia Tech and MS in Animal Science from Tuskegee University. He is an Extension Animal Production Specialist at North Carolina A&T State University. In this position, he collaborates closely with extension agents and stakeholders across North Carolina to identify the needs of small and limited-resource producers. He provides practical guidance in implementing research-based best management practices to effectively support these producers. Through his research and extension efforts, Dr. Poudel aims to contribute to the development and dissemination of knowledge that promotes sustainable and climate resilient livestock production in North Carolina.

Ananta Acharya, PhD

Data Lead, Early Product Development

Inari Agriculture, West Lafayette, IN, USA

Dr. Acharya is data lead, Early Product Development for Inari Agriculture. He leads scientists and data analysts who specialize in solving complex genomics and bioinformatics data problems and move the gene edited plants through the product development and plant breeding. Before joining Inari, Ananta worked as a research scientist in Corteva Agriscience. Dr. Acharya's research interests are use of Bioinformatics and computational biology in Agriculture, esp. crop improvement. He has experience in working with plant breeding, genetics, genomics and computational biology while in academia and while working in the agriculture industry. He has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in the field of plant breeding, genomics and bioinformatics. Dr. Acharya was Joint Secretary of NAPA (2018-2020) and has served in various sub-committees since 2017. He is also managing editor of GJAAS. 

Dev Paudel, PhD

Scientist II, Tome Biosciences

Dr. Dev Paudel is currently working as a Scientist II at Tome Biosciences. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Environmental Horticulture Department at the University of Florida - Gulf Coast Research and Education Center where he studied genomics of blackberry and citrus. Dr. Paudel received his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science in 2009. After completing undergraduate degree, he worked as Horticultural Development Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture in Nepal, where he was stationed at the District Agricultural Development Office in Sindhuli. Dr. Paudel completed his MS degree in Crop Science from Texas Tech University in 2012 under the guidance of Dr. Eric Hequet where he evaluated the potentials of new testing methods in cotton breeding. After this, he worked as a Research Technician at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Pecos, TX where he optimized growing algae for biofuel. Dr. Paudel received Graduate School Fellowship from the University of Florida to complete his PhD in Agronomy where he studied genomics and breeding of elephantgrass. After PhD, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Agronomy Department at the University of Florida where he worked on genome wide association studies in cowpea and GXE interactions in turfgrass. Dr. Paudel is a life member of NAPA. In the immediate past term, he was the Joint Secretary and was also responsible for maintaining and updating the NAPA website.

Mr. Amod Karki