Area of Research	Marine pollutants (Microplastics, associated heavy metals and pesticides), Environmental Chemistry, Waste management, Bioremediation, Marine Biodiversity
Education	MFSc, PhD (Pursuing)
Awards and recognition	Overall Best Masters Dissertation Award (2019) Best Ph.D student award (2022) Prof. Rabindranath Krothapalli Overall Gold Medal– BFSc (Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University - 2018) University Grants Commission (UGC) Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) – AIR 21 (GEN) ICAR MFSc Institute’s Fellowship – AIR 11 (GEN) ISPIC Smart protein ambassador (2021) NAARM AGGNITE 4.0 Winner (1st) (2024) CCARI 'IGNITE' Young Agri-entrepreneurs Conclave 2024 Winner (1st) BOBP Lifting LiFE CONTEST WINNER (2023) Best poster award in Aquatic environment management them – AUABE, organized by KUFOS, 28 November at Hotel Le Meridien, Kochi CIFE’s Best Fisheries Business plan contest winner 1st – 2021, 2023, 2024
Publications (Best 5 publications)	Microplastics in the foreshore coastal waters, sediment, and coastal fauna of a highly populated megacity – A study on the effect of anthropogenic discharge on clams,  Chanikya Naidu., Xavier, K.M., Shukla,S.P., Jaiswar, A.K. and Nayak, B.B., 2022 (Marine Pollution Bulletin – Elsevier) Comparative study on the microplastics abundance, characteristics, and possible sources in yellow clams of different demographic regions of the northwest coast of India Chanikya Naidu., Xavier, K.M., Shukla, S.P., Jaiswar, A.K. and Nayak, B.B., 2022 (Journal of Hazardous materials letters - Elsevier) Ecotoxicological and physiological risks of microplastics on fish and their possible mitigation measures, Chanikya Naidu*., Mallik, A*., Xavier, K.M*. (Science of the total environment – Elsevier) Microplastic contamination in salted and sun dried fish and implications for food security – A study on the effect of location, style and constituents of dried fish on microplastics load Rukmanangda. R*., Chanikya Naidu*., Xavier, K.M., Shukla, S.P., Jaiswar, A.K. and Nayak, B.B., 2022 (Marine Pollution Bulletin – Elsevier) Microplastic contamination in salt-cured fish and commercial sea salts: an emerging food safety threat in relation to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Palanisamy, S., Naidu, B.C., Venkatesh, S., Porayil, L., Balange, A.K., Nayak, B.B., Shaju, S. and Xavier, M., 2024. (Environmental Science and Pollution Research – Springer)