Raju has completed his PhD in Plant Science from the University of Saskatchewan under the supervision of Dr. Isobel Parkin. During his PhD training, he has explored the genetic diversity in the Camelina species to understand the genome evolution in Camelina sativa. His research interest includes whole-genome assembly, association mapping, and manipulation of key traits through interspecific hybridization and genome editing techniques for crop improvement.

Before coming to Canada, he worked at the Nepal Agricultural Research Council for 4 years as a technical officer and lately as a scientist in the same institute, where his research focus was to understand genetic variability present in the local landraces of cereals and spice crops through molecular approaches.

At GIFS, Raju has joined the OPAL platform with Dr. Andrew Sharpe in developing genomic resources to understand key traits in oilseed crops.