Dr. Ranbindra Nath Verma, M.Sc., Ph.D., FPSI, FMSI, Ex-Director, National Research Centre for Mushroom (now Directorate of Mushroom Research, DMR), Solan (HP) and former Project Coordinator, All India Coordinated Mushroom Improvement Project (AICMIP) from 1994-2002, has nearly 40 years of experience in Teaching, Research and book-writing in fields of Botany, Mycology, and Fungal Physiology.Dr. Verma, with Masters in Botany  had his initial stint in teaching and translation of some Master-Pieces of Botany. Dr. Verma did his Doctorate in 1973 under Professor K.S. Bilgrami and co-authored, "Physiology of Fungi"with him.  As member of  Agricultural Research Service he served as Principal Scientist and HOD Plant Pathology Division in ICAR Reserch Complex for NEH Region, Shillong  and did pioneering work  in Crop-disease-management and Mushroom-biology with trainings at IRRI(Philippines) with  Dr. G.S. Khush; and at HPAU, Solan(H.P.) with Professor R.L. Munjal.  . Dr. Verma  undertook Mushroom-survey in NEH Region (1983 to 1990), and   as P.I. of  a World Bank Project on Strain Improvement  worked on germplasm collection, characterization and improvement of strains. He established a Mushroom Gene-Bank with a repository of exotic and indigenous germplasm, and helped to develop  protocols for  DNA Finger-printing and cryoperservation. As a plant pathologist, Dr. Verma worked on Resistance breeding of rice, maize and soybean and some of his breeding lines were included in  AICRIP-trials.