Arun Kumar PradhanSiksha 'O' Anusandhan University, India
Biography
I study on microbial products and their applications on medical field as well as bioremediation. I have isolated biosurfactants from Bacillus tequilensis CH and Lysinibacillus fusiformis S9. These biosurfactants are applied to inhibit the biofilm formation of pathogenic bacteria. I have also tested the anticancer property of these biosurfactant on HEK 293 cell line. The effect of these surfactants on detoxification of Cd is also studied. Besides that I have studied larvicidal effect of microbial products on mosquito larvae. Now I am focusing on effect of gallic acids on pathogenic bacteria.
My interest in biotechnology and microbiology began as a teenager when I was graduate. I did my graduation degree in biotechnology at Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India and my masters in biotechnology at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, India.
Just after my masters I have cleared National Eligibility Test (NET) and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). Through NET Junior Research Fellowship, I joined in PhD.
I completed my PhD in biological sciences at AcSIR, New Delhi, India. My PhD thesis title was ?Isolation and characterization of microbial biosurfactants & their biotechnological applications?. Dr. Nilotpala Pradhan, Sr. Scientist, IMMT, Bhubanewar was my PhD supervisor. She is one of renowned person in microbiology in India.
I published seven research articles and one book chapter in the journal International Journal of Current Biotechnology, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Letters, Bioprocess and Biosystem Engineering, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology and Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy. I have presented posters at (i) International conference (53rd AMI conference) (ii) Research scholar day in CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar and (iii) Golden jubilee poster competition in CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar (awarded 1st prize).
Research Interest
My research is focused on the use of metagenomics to shed light on the ecology of microbial communities. Primarily, I am interested in topics such as antibiotic resistance, pathogen ecology, ecosystem perturbations and recovery and molecular taxonomy.
Areas of specific interest
? Metagenomics
? Antibiotic resistance
? Pathogen ecology
? Molecular taxonomy
? Perturbed ecosystems
Elucidation of mechanism of antimicrobial agents against human pathogens:
Antimicrobials have drawn a huge attention since time immemorial. The need and importance of antimicrobial agents can be understood from ancient texts of Ayurveda. The use of such agents to cure fatal diseases such as tuberculosis, gastroenteritis, hepatitis and curing AIDS has become challenge now days due to the emergence of multi-drug resistance strains. Understanding the metabolic processes of secondary metabolites in plants and their mode of action would fetch new horizons to develop stronger antimicrobial agents against such pathogenic organisms.