Dr. Judith Maria Braganca, Professor of Biological Sciences at BITS Pilani, K K Birla Goa Campus, is also a leading researcher in extremophile microbiology.  Prof. Braganca received the Goa Rajya Vidyanik Puraskar award in recognition to her significant contributions to environmental science, research and innovation.  The award was recently presented to Prof. Braganca by Mr. Atanasio Monserrate, Hon Minister for Science, Technology and Waste Management; Mr. Jose Noronha, Chairman of Goa State Innovation Council (GSInC) and Mr. Mohd. Shabir, IAS, Member Secretary Goa DST.

Dr. Braganca earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Goa University in 2003 with Prof. Irene Furtado and subsequently joined BITS Pilani in 2004. Since then she is involved in teaching a number of courses at the First Degree, Higher Degree and Work Integrated Learning Programmes (WILP).  Dr. Braganca has presented her research work at numerous National and International conferences. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of Frontiers in Microbiology - Extreme Microbiology. With several impactful publications and a strong citation record, she has made significant contributions to environmental biotechnology while mentoring and inspiring the next generation of researchers.

Five doctoral candidates have been awarded PhD under her supervision and are well placed in Academic positions at Tata Institute of Genomic Research NCBS, Bengaluru, Goa University, University of Utah, USA etc. Besides she has mentored numerous Master’s Thesis and other academic projects. She has served as principal investigator for both institutional and externally funded research projects.

Dr. Braganca has been a leading contributor to the study of microbial diversity in India's solar saltern ecosystems. Her research brings together microbial biodiversity, extremophile biology, metal tolerance, microbial biopolymers, pigments, nanoparticles and biotechnology. Dr. Braganca's laboratory has extensively investigated the production of pigments, extremo-enzymes and biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) also known as bioplastics using halophilic archaea and bacteria. Her research demonstrated the utilization of agro-industrial wastes as low-cost feedstocks for biopolymer production. These studies contribute to the development of environmentally sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. She has also explored biomaterials research, including the development of PHBV-based nanocomposites for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Her collaborative studies have produced bacterial cellulose-based silver-selenium nanocomposite scaffolds with antioxidant and antibacterial properties designed for active wound healing and skin tissue engineering applications. The unique haloarchaeal carotenoid pigments exhibit antioxidant properties superior to those of β-carotene, underscoring their promising potential as natural bioactive compounds. Her work illustrates how extreme environments can serve as natural laboratories for discovering microorganisms and biological processes with technological potential.