Prof. (Dr.) Rajat Pal

Head of Department

PhD

Email: rajat.p@snuniv.ac.in

R E S E A R C H   I N T E R E S T

The primary focus of Prof. Pal’s research is studying bioremediation of heavy metal toxicity by microorganisms, and elucidating the molecular mechanisms of heavy metal toxicity (e.g. Antimony) resistance in several plant bodies. Specifically, he studies the genetic makeup and molecular pathways involved in heavy metal resistant bacteria by identifying the responsible genes and the genetic evolution of these genes. Alongside, he is investigating the role of selection pressure on the evolution of the heavy metal resistance in bacteria. The goal of this research is to discover the heavy metal toxicity resistant bacteria mediated protective mechanisms of plants and the evolution of these resistant bacteria.

The Pal lab is also analyzing the formulation and application of novel drug-nanoparticle conjugates, and the efficacy of nanocomposites using animal models. He is looking to identify the mechanisms by which nanocomposites impart protective effects against bacterial and cancer cell growth.

Additionally, Prof. Pal uses bioinformatics tools and computational models to solve molecular structures of nanoparticles and nanocomposite material. Through bioinformatics, he aims to understand the genetic alterations in heavy metal resistant bacteria.

P R O F E S S I O N A L   E X P E R I E N C E

• Prof. Pal has 14 years of teaching and 12 years of research experience.

• He has appointed as Examiner for both UG and PG level examinations at many colleges and University.

• He is member of Indian Science Congress and Indian Mycological Society.

• He has eight international journal research publications and more than thirty national and international conference publications.

• Recipient of Gold Medal from Department of Botany, Calcutta University.

Atreyi Ghosh

Assistant Professor

PhD

Email: atreyi.g@snuniv.ac.in

R E S E A R C H   I N T E R E S T

Dr. Atreyi Ghosh is interested in exploring the phenomenon of bioremediation of inorganic pollutants through microbial consortia present in contaminated habitats. She is engaged to understand the mechanism of uptake and transformation of pollutants especially heavy metals by indigenous population of cyanobacteria and anaerobic bacteria. Her research interests also encompass to design cost-effective bioreactor system to treat real waste water in vivo and in vitro condition. She is keen to analyze the pathways of transformation of the inorganic pollutants to their non-toxic form through those microorganism(s). She has already isolated and reported novel bacterial strains capable of treating multiple inorganic and organic pollutants from real industrial waste water in batch and continuous systems. In SNU her research team is engaged with microbial synthesis of metal nanoparticle and analysing their antifungal effect. Also the team is involved in finding the potential of isolated cyanobacterial strain for heavy metal removal. Her future research plan includes the formulation of phyto-bioremediation system to contaminated  wastewater  and also the process of bioleaching of rare earth materials using isolated bacterial strains.

P R O F E S S I O N A L   E X P E R I E N C E

•   Prof. Ghosh has 6 years of teaching and 10  Years of Research experience.
• She has 4 international journal and several conference publications.

Fatema Calcuttawala

Assistant Professor

PhD

Email: fatema.c@snuniv.ac.in

R E S E A R C H   I N T E R E S T

Soil-dwelling actinomycetes are the most relevant class of microorganisms to expand one’s knowledge on antimicrobial substance production. Most clinically important antibiotics originate from them. However, multidrug resistance is threatening the future continual use of antibiotics. Hence there is a need to develop alternative environmentally friendly processes of nanoparticle synthesis which involves utilization of biological systems as nanofactories thereby promising an environmentally clean, nontoxic and economical process. Dr. Calcuttawala’s research interest is directed at sampling the soil actinomycetes of East Kolkata Wetlands (EKWs) and screening them for antimicrobial substances and nanoparticle production against a wide panel of phytopathogens. The EKWs have been designated as "wetland of international importance" under the Ramsar Convention in 2002. Microbial richness of this region is its hidden asset. Soil samples collected from the wetlands are expected to show the presence of various new strains of Actinomycetes which are not only ecologically important but also have commercial value. Furthermore, the nanoparticles synthesized may exhibit a synergistic effect with the antimicrobial substances produced by them and can serve as effective tools in overcoming the roadblock of controlling those phytopathogens which are difficult to eradicate using the conventional agricultural methods.

P R O F E S S I O N A L   E X P E R I E N C E

• Prof. Calcuttawala has 2 years of teaching and 8 Years of research experience.

• She has 4 international journal and several conference publications.

Prof. (Dr.) Somsubhra Thakur Choudhury

Assistant Professor

PhD

Email: somsubhra.tc@snuniv.ac.in

R E S E A R C H   I N T E R E S T

Prof. Thakur Choudhury is involved in research on two major areas. Drug delivery system deals with the delivery of a therapeutic agent to the specific site in our body. The therapeutic agents or drugs have long been used to improve our health, to fight against the diseases and providing us an extended life. But the majority of the therapeutic agents face some major drawbacks like toxicity, resistance and poor bioavailability. In this respect, the drug delivery technology has opened a new avenue to improve the therapeutic efficacy of the drug.

Prof. Thakur Choudhury’s research interest is to explore the drug delivery field specifically liposomal and nanoparticulated drug delivery. Primarily he wants to develop new formulations of conventional drugs to improve their therapeutic efficacy. In future, the prime objective will be to develop target specific delivery of cytotoxic drugs for critical diseases like cancer.

Diagnosis of a disease is very important for proper and timely medication. In recent years a major thrust in the field of research is to develop an easy as well as efficient diagnostic tool for detection of disease. His objective is to develop easy, field adaptable diagnostic kits with higher sensitivity and specificity for the early detection of different infectious diseases as well as for different neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson.

P R O F E S S I O N A L   E X P E R I E N C E

• Prof. Thakur Choudhury has 2 years of teaching and 8 Years of Research experience.
• He has 10 international journal and several conference publications

Argha Chakraborty

Assistant Professor

PhD

Email: argha.c@snuniv.ac.in

R E S E A R C H   I N T E R E S T

Dr. Argha Chakraborty is investigating the relationship between surface chemistry and topography of biomaterials mainly to understand the anti-infective response mechanisms of fungal cells. His research helps combat fungal infections from biomedical devices and directed towards presenting long term solutions for preventing fungal outbreaks from healthcare settings in highly populated areas.

Dr. Chakraborty has also been involved in the development of innovative vaccine delivery systems that can reduce the chances of blood-borne infections due to needle-stick injuries in immunisation programs. With an international recognition, Dr. Chakraborty is aiming to tackle the problems of fungal infections with the help of scientifically translatable point of care technologies.

Specifically, Dr. Chakraborty is designing approaches to study the interface between cells (both human and microbial) and materials surfaces with the help of plasma based surface modification technologies like plasma polymerisation and Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE). On surfaces, plasma polymerisation can provide a chemical modification with the presence of hydrocarbon based cross linked polymers containing reactive functional groups such as aldehyde, epoxide, alcohol, carboxide, etc., whereas in case of DRIE, a physical modification of surfaces can be achieved. Thus, with the help of these surface modification tools, Dr. Chakraborty is advancing our understandings of biomaterials design and tissue engineering for the development of anti-fungal devices.

P R O F E S S I O N A L   E X P E R I E N C E

• Dr. Chakraborty has 6 years of research and teaching experience both in national and international organisations.