Prof. A. Biju Kumar
Vice Chancellor Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS)
Prof. A. Biju Kumar is currently the Vice Chancellor of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Senior Professor & Head of the Department of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries at the University of Kerala, with over three decades of experience in teaching and research in fisheries and ocean sciences. Trained in biodiversity science and marine biology at leading international institutions, including the Czech and Mexican Academies of Sciences, the University of Adelaide, the University of Guelph, the University of Oviedo, and the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, he was recognized among the world’s top 2% scientists in zoology/marine biology in the 2024 Stanford–Elsevier global ranking.
His research expertise spans marine biodiversity, fisheries management, taxonomy, marine pollution (including marine litter and microplastics), aquatic ecology, climate change impacts on biodiversity, and invasion biology. He has collaborated extensively with students and researchers, leading to the discovery of a new family of parasitic copepods, 11 genera, and over 60 new species of aquatic organisms, with three species named in his honour. Prof. Kumar has published approximately 260 research papers and 28 books, and serves on the IUCN Species Survival Commission as well as several national and international scientific committees.