Debnath Rajal

Research Interest: Microbiome, Microbial Ecology Target Area: Terrestrial environments; plant-microbe, insect-microbe Core-competency: Molecular fingerprinting, cloning, Next generation sequencing (Illumina), Inferential statistics, scientific writing. A trained microbiologist having worked on projects funded by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR, Govt. of India, New Delhi), Department of Biotechnology (DBT, Govt of India, New Delhi) at the national laboratory of CSIR. Started with studying microbes in isolation, I carried forward my understanding of microbial behavior collectively in groups employing comtemporary molecular techniques. I specialize in analyzing community data using custom scripts and NGS pipelines (UPARSE, QIIME, MOTHUR, RDPpyro) on cluster computer/server with an edge of using R language packages (http://cran.r-project.org/) to understand underlying patterns using multivariate statistical approaches. Importance of microbial ecology study with advanced sequencing techniques is opening up newer frontiers in Science and understanding concerted role of these microbes in modelling everything from biogeochemical processes to health care is gaining momentum. Currently, looking forward to working as a post doctoral fellow in the microbiome, microbial ecology field with a dynamic team of researchers wherein I can learn further and enhance my understanding by contributing as a team player.