Prof. Omkar has been actively engaged in teaching for over three decades and in research for nearly four decades. He is currently working as Professor and Head of the Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow, India. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India and seven more professional bodies. His contributions have gained him several distinctions: the Young Indian Zoologist of 20th Century Gold Medal from the Zoological Society of India (2000), the Prof. T N Ananthakrishnan Foundation Award from the Prof. T. N. Ananthakrishnan Foundation, Chennai (2012), the Rescholar Award of Excellence in Agricultural Entomology from the Association of Entomologists, Patiala (2014) and the Prof. G. S. Shukla Gold Medal from the Academy of Environmental Biology, India (2014). He has authored the books Concepts of Toxicology, Experimental Animal Physiology & Biochemistry, Kin recognition and Oviposition Strategies in aphidophagous ladybirds, andMonitoring and Management of Mango fruit fly, Predaceous Ladybirds of Uttar Pradesh; and edited the books Pesticides, Man & Biosphere, Prof. S. B. Singh Commemoration Volume, Modern Approaches to Insect Pest Management, and Ecofriendly Pest Management for Food Security (Academic Press/Elsevier Inc.).
Prof. Omkar has published more than 150 research papers in international journals and 62 in Indian journals, 21 book chapters and 14 popular science articles. His research primarily concerns identifying and harnessing the potential of beneficial insects, in particular ladybird beetles, for which he is globally recognized. He has supervised 20 Ph.D. theses and completed ten research projects funded by state and central govt. agencies. He is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Tropical Insect Science, Cambridge University Press and chief editor of the Journal of Applied Bioscience besides being President of the International Society of Applied Biology. He works as a referee for nearly 40 international and 20 prominent Indian journals, in addition to serving as a subject expert on grant applications for the Swiss National Science Foundation and other central and state govt. funding agencies. He has received prestigious travel awards from the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, which have allowed him to travel and collaborate with global experts on ladybird biology at the University of East Anglia, UK and the University of South Bohemia and Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic