Head of Department
YouTube Channel Department of Zoology
Official Twitter handle: @ZoologyLkouniv
Official Facebook account: Zoology Lucknow
Official Instagram account: zoology.lkouniv
About the Department
The Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, shares its birth with that of the university itself, the year 1921. Zoology is one of the founding departments and main stays of the university and was formed as a result of the bifurcation of the Department of Biology, Canning College. The roots of the department were strengthened by the initial leadership of the officiating head, Dr. G.S. Thapar (Ph.D. London, 1925), and then by the first Head of Department, Dr. K.N. Bahl (D.Sc., D.Phil., Oxford, 1921) in 1923, who later became a Professor. He successfully nurtured the department till 1950 into an establishing ground and leading light for many Zoology departments of the country. He was succeeded by Prof. G.S. Thapar, who laid the foundation for Helminthology in the country. The next Head, Prof. M.B. Lal, added new heights to the field of Physiology and Experimental Zoology. Subsequent Heads of the Department, Professors PD Gupta, Ram Rakshpal, BK Tandon, Bhoomittra Dev, KC Pandey, Vinod Gupta, Nirupama Agrawal, Minakshi Shrivastava. A. K. Sharma, Madhu Tripathi, Omkar, Sudhir Kumar, S.P.Trivedi, M.Serajuddin, Sangeeta Rani, M.Serajuddin have contributed not only to their respective fields but have added new dimensions to the department. Under recent four leaderships, the department has been identified as UGC-SAP (DRS-I & II), DST-FIST, DST-PURSE and Centre of Excellence (Dept. of Higher Education, Govt. UP) department.
Current Faculty members are contributing in the areas of Protozoology, Parasitology, Environmental Toxicology, Entomology, Chronobiology, Endocrinology, Neurobiology, Fisheries, Human Genetics, Molecular Biology, bone Biology and Wildlife.
Prof. Amita Kanaujia is a leading figure in biodiversity and wildlife conservation, with extensive contributions to research, outreach, and environmental awareness at regional, national and international levels. She has played a pivotal role in documenting biodiversity and promoting conservation ethics through a wide range of initiatives, including long-term projects, field-based studies, and public engagement programmes. She has authored more than 100 international and national research publications, contributed to 9 conference proceedings, written 12 book chapters, and authored 10 books. Since 2019, she has been associated with the publication of the quarterly Wuthering Wild magazine and has also developed more than 25 awareness publications for forest guards and the general public, significantly strengthening grassroots conservation efforts.
She has successfully executed 17 projects and organized numerous training programmes, workshops, conferences, webinars, and outreach activities in collaboration with national and international organizations such as RCE, CEE, and the United Nations University, with a strong focus on Sustainable Development Goals and green skill development. Prof. Kanaujia has guided 14 completed Ph.D. scholars with several ongoing, mentored 23 interns, and actively fostered institutional collaborations through MoUs with different organizations. Her contributions have been recognized through prestigious honors such as Fellow of the Zoological Society of India, Congress of Zoology Medal, Fellow of the Indian Academy of Environmental Sciences, Fellow of the Indian Academy of Science & Nature, along with multiple Best Poster Awards, reflecting her sustained commitment to wildlife conservation and scientific outreach.
The Department is already one of the pillars of classical Zoology across India. It is our aim to strengthen this foundation, while making deeper and stronger forays into fascinating aspects of the animal world, using modern path breaking techniques. We are as a department committed to spreading the wonders of Zoology to the specialist as well as the commoner.
