A Career in Microbiology in India: Explore Scope & Challenges

Dr Jasmine Isar, senior research scientist, Industrial Biotechnology Division, Reliance Life Sciences (an initiative of the Reliance Group) is a young microbiologist who talks about her work and more in Navi Mumbai in an interview with Rahat Bano. She also highlights on ways of aiming towards achieveing a successful career in microbiology in India.

Tell us something about your work as a research scientist.
As a ‘research scientist’ at Reliance Life Sciences, I am part of the Industrial Biotechnology Group and am engaged in research activities in industrial biotechnology. Our team works on production of different bio-molecules, which are of commercial significance. These are either high volume-low value products or low volume-high value products. We carry out different microbiological studies and perform experiments to get the maximum yields or titres (measure of concentration) of the product of our interest. In other words, we aim to harness the potential of microbes or tame the tiny entities to obtain different bio-molecules with the maximum degree of success.

What’s the scope in this field?
A career in Microbiology in India can be a productive one since microbiology is a vast discipline of science. It has many areas of specialisation and is a booming sector with a lot of opportunities. A microbiologist can fit into any field ranging from biopharmaceuticals and medicines, to food and beverages, to textiles and leather, to the environment and crop health. Besides this, one can pursue higher studies such as a PhD programme or post-doctoral studies. 

What are the career options for trained microbiologists (MScs and PhDs in microbiology)?
Many microbiologists work in universities, where they teach and carry out research. However, a career in Microbiology in India is not only limited to that. Some are also employed in private research institutions, foundations, health care centres and hospitals, others are in government agencies like Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Department of Science and Technology and Department of Biotechnology.

What are the challenges before microbiologists in India?
In India it could be lack of infrastructural support, inadequate funds and financial backing for running different projects, unavailability of some of the known microbial strains in India, patenting and infringing issues. Also, efforts should be made to make microbiology more applied and inter-disciplinary.

At Reliance Life Sciences, the state-of-the-art infrastructure, talent and support systems give research activities the much-needed boost.

What are the upside and downside of being a microbiologist in the country?

Several government bodies have instituted fast-track projects for young scientists. Women scientists can apply for project grants in the women’s category. It is seen that a lot of women from the sciences background are opting for a career in microbiology in India.

Various awards and laurels have been introduced to recognise the excellent work being done by eminent scientists and young students.

Many national and international scientific conferences are being held throughout the year across the country. One can easily participate in these and take the opportunity to interact with Nobel laureates and eminent scientists of our country as those from abroad.

Two key things are a must in a microbiologist’s kitty - patience and perseverance.