Impact of microbes on environment and society

The Department of Microbiology in the School of Science organised a one-day workshop in collaboration with Microbiology Society, UK on the “Impact of Microbes on Environment and Society” at the Adamas University Auditorium. Honourable Vice Chancellor, Prof. Madhusudan Chakraborty, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof. Arun K. Majumdar, Dean of Science, Prof. Sanjib Ghosh and Dean of Biotechnology, Prof. Asok Mukherjee inaugurated the session with encouraging words. The workshop had a series of talks in the morning session and hands-on activity in the afternoon session. In the morning session, Dr. Abhrajyoti Ghosh, Assistant Professor in Biochemistry, Bose Institute, Kolkata engaged the audience with insights of microbial diversity in Sunderban mangrove systems and how they can be harnessed for benefit to the society. Next, Dr. Rupak Bhadra, Chief Scientist, Infectious Diseases and Immunology division, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata talked about molecular basis of diversity and evolution of a human pathogen, Vibrio cholerae, which can help better understanding of the pathogen and assist designing novel strategy to mitigate Cholera, a life threatening diarrheal disease. The third speaker in the workshop, Dr. Rajib Majumder, Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology at Adamas University interacted with the audience about the cutting edge CRISPR-Cas9 technology, which enables precise editing of the genome and currently revolutionizing the field of life science, biotechnology and genetic engineering. The second half of the workshop had hands-on session which started with a presentation by D. Badrinaryanan, Product Executive, Eppendorf India who spoke about proper pipetting techniques as well as types, maintenance and calibration of pipettes. The students had interactive and hands-on activity with manual, electronic and multi-channel pipettes. Overall more than 150 students and faculty members actively participated in the workshop. Dr. Arindam Mitra, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology secured funding from Microbiology Society, UK to organize this workshop with support from faculty members, staff, students and management of Adamas University. Microbiology Society is the largest society devoted to Microbiology in Europe with more than 4000 members from 65 countries. This is the second workshop from Department of Microbiology, School of Science in collaboration with Microbiology Society, UK at Adamas University.