Monali Nanda, a Project Fellow from the Department of Biodiversity and Conservation of Natural Resources at the Central University of Odisha, has been awarded the Poster Presentation Award-2023 at a National Conference on Plant Tissue Culture held in Durg, Chhattisgarh. The conference was sponsored by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Delhi. Monali’s poster on the potential of neglected wild yam species used by tribal people of the Koraput district in Odisha to alleviate hunger and malnutrition was selected for the award. She is currently working on a research project on metabolite profiling and bioprospecting of underutilized wild yams used by tribals of Koraput, Odisha, under the guidance of Dr. Debabrata Panda, Principal Investigator of the Department of Biodiversity and Conservation of Natural Resources. This recognition highlights the significance of Monali Nanda’s work and further strengthens Odisha’s position in the field of biodiversity and conservation of natural resources.