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About the department : Post-graduate teaching of Microbiology in our University was started in the year 2001 as a unit in the Department of Botany and Forestry with the help of Higher Education Department, Government of West Bengal. Unit turns into full-fledged department in the year 2004. Infrastructural facility of this department is quite good. At present three permanent, two contractual faculties and good number of guest teachers are covering the said course in four semesters. Neat and clean lecture gallery, seminar room, separate practical class room (AC), instrument room, individual teacher’s room and a big computer room with 24hrs internet facility fulfilled up to date standard of this department. Recently Bioinformatics Infrastructure Facility (BIF) center has been created in this department from the funding of Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi. Three research projects funded by UGC, DRDO are presently running in our department. From the department every year a good number of papers have been published in the journal of national and international repute. Out standing national seminar “Microbes in Food, Pharmaceuticals and Agriculture” at the end of 2006 increased fame of our department. A quite number of students qualified for NET and GATE. Job potential of the passed students are very high. No one remain idle. Our department also started consultancy work with different private sectors. We are very much optimistic about the prosperity of our department. We have included some emerging fields of biology in our revised course curricula. The fields are Nano-technology, Bioinformatics, Intellectual property right etc. Regular up gradation of the syllabus is a regular practice of the department. Syllabus is generally upgraded in every 2 years.
Research areas/ fields of the department:
Mi crobial
enzyme production (Amylase, Tannase
and Xylanase) special reference to optimization, large-scale production,
purification and immobilization.
Gastrointestinal microbial ecology:-
Comparative study of microbial diversity in hypo and hyperbaric
environment.
Plant
antibiotics:-
preparation and application of plant antibiotics.
Endophyte
microbiology:- Isolation of endophytic
microbes from the plants of West Medinipur district and their
application in antimicrobial compound production.
Fungal pigment:-
Production and purification of pigment of fungal origin.
Microbial
Exopolysaccharide:-
Production and purification of exopolysaccharide from endophytic fungi.
Vermitechnology:-
Vermicompost production, role of microbes in composting, application of
compost on different agri-horticultural crops, extension of this
activities in rural areas with the participation of women.
Biofertilizers preparation:-
Large-scale production and application of diazotrophic bacteria.
Seminars/ Workshop and special lectures held: The Department after its inception first organized a National seminar on ‘Microbes in Human Welfare’ on 29. 03.2005. Prof. S. K. Pramanick, Hon’ble, Vice-chancellor, Vidyasagar University inaugurated the seminar. The role of microbes in specific fields like pharmaceuticals and food sectors was discussed by five resource persons.
Sri Hirak Ghosh, Chairman, Biotechnology Council, Govt. of West Bengal
inaugurated the seminar. Prof. Ashok K. Pandey, Head, Dept. of
Biotechnology, RRI, Trivandam and President, Biotech Research Society of
India (BRSI) was present as Guest-in-Chief and delivered the Key note
address. About 25 scientists and researchers out side the West Bengal
and around 200 delegates were participated in this occasion. Five
invited lectures and forty five abstracts were presented in this
interactive seminar, mainly focused on the recent development of the
microbial applications in food processing, drug development and
agriculture sectors in India.
Future Plans:
·
Development of infrastructure and modernization of the laboratory.
·
Introduction of certificate course in Bioinformatics.
·
Resaerch oriented work in different fields of nanobiology · Development of community based research programs related to microbiology.
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