Dr. Mehak Puri is a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Environmental Science, Life Sciences, and Wastewater Management from CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law and Policy from National Law University Delhi and WWF-India, and a Master's in Environmental Science (University Rank 2) from Panjab University, Chandigarh.
She had over six years of experience in academia, policy, and applied research in water and sanitation, waste and water management, pollutant analysis, and environmental impact assessment. She worked with international and national bodies—including the Ministry of Water, Tanzania, the Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda, the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigeria—on sanitation frameworks and water policy reforms. She was also involved in key programs such as AMRUT 2.0, Jal Jeevan Mission, Amrit Sarovar, and the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
As a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), she contributed to sanitation policy reform and public awareness. At CSIR-NEERI, she focused on emerging contaminants, eco-toxicological risk, analytical instruments, and advanced treatment technologies.
She authored several peer-reviewed publications and participated in conferences, policy dialogues, and public outreach through platforms like Down to Earth. She has received several recognitions, including the IWRA Early Career Young Professional membership and a national award in poster competition from the National Biodiversity Authority.
Her research interests includes environmental governance, emerging contaminants, water and sanitation, environmental impact assessment, waste management for environment sustainability. She also led capacity-building efforts for technical experts and local administrators, with a strong emphasis on science-based action for sustainability.

• Nadaia Guettai, Yassine Kadmi, Mehak Puri, Kamal Kerkich, Brahim Bouargane (2024). “Occurrence, analysis, and removal processes of emerging pharmaceuticals from waters for the protection and preservation of a sustainable environment: A review.” Journal of Cleaner Production. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142654 (SCI Journal IF: 9.7)
• Mehak Puri, Kavita Gandhi, Sanjay M Kashyap, M. Suresh Kumar (2023). “Occurrence, fate,and ecological risk assessment of bisphenol A, butylparaben, and diethyl-phthalate in collection systems and the wastewater treatment plant of the urban area.” Journal of Environmental Quality Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.22137 (SCI Journal IF: 1.5)
• Mehak Puri, Kavita Gandhi, M. Suresh Kumar (2023). “Degradation of Endocrine disrupting chemicals using various sulfate radical activation methods: Kinetics and Mechanism.” Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1002/JCTB.7461 (SCI Journal IF: 2.8)
• Mehak Puri, Kavita Gandhi, M. Suresh Kumar (2023). “Emerging environmental contaminants: A Global Perspective on policies and regulations.” Journal of Environmental Management 332:117344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117344 (SCI Journal IF: 8.0)
• Mehak Puri, Kavita Gandhi, M. Suresh Kumar (2022). “A global overview of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment: occurrence, effects, and treatment methods.” International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology 41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04636-4 (SCI Journal IF: 3.0)
• Mehak Puri, Kavita Gandhi, M. Suresh Kumar (2022). “The Occurrence, Fate, Toxicity, and Biodegradation of Phthalate Esters (PAEs): An overview.” Water Environment Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/wer.10832 (SCI Journal IF: 2.5)
• Vartika Srivastava, Mehak Puri, Tanmay Srivastava, P.V. Nidheesh, M. Suresh Kumar (2022). “Integrated soil washing and bioreactor systems for the treatment of hexachlorocyclohexane contaminated soil: A review on enhanced degradation mechanisms, and factors affecting soil washing and bioreactor performances.” Environmental Research. 208:1127-1152.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.112752 (SCI Journal IF: 7.7)
   

• Back from the Brink: Rejuvenating India’s lakes, ponds and tanks: A Compendium of Success Stories, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, ISBN: 978-81-946639-8-0
• New Life: Gaps and challenges in managing lakes and ponds and groundwater in four selected AMRUT cities of UP, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi 

• Baseflow one of most important factors driving river flooding in Peninsular India [link]
• Are Indian megacities forgetting their rainwater endowment? [link]
• From wasteland to tourist attraction: How a Uttar Pradesh village pond boosts Gram Panchayat economy [link]
• This UP village puts its greywater to good use to combat local flooding, recharge groundwater [link]
• Policies to protect India’s vanishing wetlands are in place but are missing in action [link]
• Assessment of Lake Sapanca in Turkiye shows why monitoring waterbodies is key to conservation [link]
• How this nature-based solution can generate clean energy while purifying wastewater [link]

• International Water Resources Association and UNESCO-2023. Poster Presentation: Online International Conference on the topic “Photodegradation of diethyl phthalate, butylparaben, bisphenol A using UV/H2O2 process: response surface analysis and toxicity evaluation.
• Himachal Regional Centre, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh-2022. Poster Presentation: Online National Conference on the topic Degradation of Bisphenol A using Sulfate Radical.