Model Organisms in Biological Research

Prasun Kumar holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, India. He is presently working as an Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology, Sharda University, Greater Noida, India. Earlier, he was working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, and Republic of Korea. He has over seven years of experience in applied microbiological research including about 2 years of experience in industrial R&D. His main areas of research are bioinformatics, medical microbiology, microbial biodiversity, bioenergy, microbial biofilms, quorum sensing, quorum quenching, and genomics. His present research is oriented toward valorizing lignocellulosic biowastes into value-added products such as biopolymer, 2G ethanol, bioenergy, and antibiofilm compounds. To his credit, there are over 35 articles in SCI journals, 7 books, and 18 chapters with international publishers. He has been serving the scientific society by reviewing articles for several SCI journals and delivering guest lectures. Publons awarded him the peer review award in the year 2018. He also serves as the editorial board member of a few international journals.

Dr. Vijay Kothari is a distinguished microbiologist and faculty member at the Institute of Science, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, India, with over two decades of experience in teaching and research. His research interests include Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Validation of Traditional Medicine, and the intriguing field of microbial response to sonic stimulation. Dr. Kothari has authored over 100 publications and edited five books. His contributions to the scientific community have been recognized with numerous accolades, such as the Sentinel of Science Award (2016) by Publons in recognition of his voluminous contribution as a peer-reviewer, the Artificial Intelligence Molecular Screen (AIMS) Award from Atomwise Inc. (2019), and the ASM Future Leaders Mentoring Fellowship (2023-27) by the American Society for Microbiology. A central pillar of his work is the extensive use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a versatile in vivo model to study host-pathogen interactions, and evaluate the efficacy of potential nutraceuticals and adaptogens. By leveraging this nematode model, Dr. Kothari has significantly advanced the understanding of how natural products and sonic stimulation can modulate microbial virulence and host immunity.