M.Sc. in Microbiology

In the twentieth century, microbiology contributed immensely in the fields of medicine, genetics, agriculture, food technology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. However, the twenty first century is poised to become the century of life science and microbiology and trained microbiologists are destined a central role in transforming human civilization itself. There is a wide variety of fields in microbiology, and many have a great impact on society. These include the more applied disciplines such as medical, public health, industrial, food, and dairy microbiology. Microbial ecology, physiology, biochemistry, and genetics are examples of basic microbiological research fields.

All over the world, microbiologists are now involved in activities as different as the study of gene structure, the control of disease, and the industrial processes based on the phenomenal ability of microorganisms to decompose and synthesize complex organic molecules. Microbiology is one of the most rewarding of professions because it gives its practitioners the opportunity to be in contact with all the other natural sciences and thus to contribute in many different ways to the betterment of human life.

1. Understanding the human microbiome: Our bodies are teeming with trillions of microbes, and research is unravelling their roles in health and disease. This opens doors to developing personalized medicine, probiotics, and targeted therapies for various conditions.

2. Combating antimicrobial resistance: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a serious global threat. Microbiologists are exploring alternative strategies like phage therapy, antimicrobial peptides, and immuno-modulation to combat these superbugs.

3. Unravelling the secrets of the microbial world: New technologies like metagenomics and single-cell analysis are allowing us to explore the vast and largely unknown microbial diversity in various environments, from our oceans to the human gut. This holds immense potential for discovering novel enzymes, antibiotics, and other valuable biomolecules.

4. Engineering microbes for good: Microbes can be genetically modified to produce bio-fuels, clean up pollution, and even synthesize complex molecules. This field, known as synthetic biology, has the potential to revolutionize various industries and address global challenges.

5. Exploring the origins of life: Microbes offer clues about the early evolution of life on Earth. Studying extremophiles living in harsh environments can shed light on the potential for life on extreme environments and places including other planets.

The job potential in Microbiology in India is promising and ever-evolving landscape, similar to the global outlook. Here is a breakdown:

Diverse sectors: One can find opportunities in healthcare (diagnostics, infectious disease control), pharmaceuticals (drug development, quality control), food and beverage (safety, spoilage prevention), agriculture (crop improvement, biofertilizers), environment (waste management, bioremediation), and food and public health safety.

Emerging Fields: The twenty first century marked the beginning of the age of Life Science and new and emerging fields of Microbiology such as vaccine development, targeted therapeutics and drug development against new pathogens have opened an entire horizon for Microbiologists. With government and private investment support to start up initiatives, students can not only seek to become employees, but become employers.

The Department is exploring various diverse and relevant domains tackling some of the biggest scientific challenges of the twenty first century including infectious disease management, plastic bioremediation, wastewater treatment, bio-energy production, climate change mitigation, bio-fertilizer production and several others. Students pursuing degree from the Department will not only get a front row seat, but will also actively participate in the active research work currently going on in the Department through internal internship programs, research projects and other initiatives. The Department has already delivered five PhD candidates in the University, and is training many more.

The Department is also actively working on integrating Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with modern biology to develop cures to emergent diseases, antibiotic resistance, bio-energy production and much more.

The Department has also launched its flagship “Leuwenhoek Laboratory” dedicated for cutting edge research in Microbiology, particularly in the domain of infectious disease management by amalgamating modern Microbiology with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

The Department, in collaboration with School of Health Science, The Neotia University, has launched an interschool dedicated General Microbiology laboratory, in addition to the existing Microbial Ecology Lab, and Microbiology laboratory. This laboratory houses several modern instruments including PCR.

The Department of Biotechnology, last year has launched a novel Green Biotechnology Laboratory for Algal Biotechnology. The Department of Biotechnology houses an advanced Bioinformatics Laboratory equipped with high performance computers capable of High through put analysis in Biotechnology and Microbiology.

The undergraduate and post graduate students have developed a number of industrially viable products which are currently under various stages of development and maturation. Some of the key bio-products include:

• Biodegradable sanitary napkin product
• DNA extraction kit
• Integrated gel apparatus
• App for the blood cell analysis
• Bio-plastic production
• Ornaments from algal biomass
• Paper from onion peel and many more

• Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh.
• Emami limited, Guwahati, Assam.
• Center for Microbiology and Biotechnology (CMBT), research & training Institute,Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• Indo-American Hybrid Seeds (India) Pvt. Ltd. Bengaluru
• Serum Institute of India, Pune
• Suraksha Diagnostic Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata, West Bengal, and more.
• Presidency University
• University of Kalyani
• IIT Kanpur
• Medica super speciality hospital

However, the students can also approach private sectors such as pharmaceuticals, hospitals, etc. to get hired. With a degree in microbiology, a student can get opportunities in various fields like healthcare organizations, forensic science laboratories, environmental organizations, higher education institutions, the food and drink sector, publicly funded research organizations, pharmaceuticals, and many other industries. In medicine and healthcare, the work is usually associated with the prevention & and treatment of illnesses linked with microbes. Various universities &  Institutions employ microbiologists as teachers & researchers. A few years back, the state government of West Bengal also made the opening to include Microbiology as one of the courses for the School Service Commission. Hence, lots of students from the Microbiology background recently joined Schools in the capacity of a teacher.