About: The Department of Microbiology at AIIMS, Bhopal was established in the year 2013 and since its inception it has been consistently involved in teaching, diagnostics, biomedical research, manpower training and operationalization of critical hospital services.
Considering the enormous burden of infectious diseases in the country, the Department tailors its teaching and research programs in sync with national health priorities. We focus on teaching Microbiology in a clinically oriented manner and aim at orienting students in the application of the subject for achieving better diagnosis and management of infectious diseases. We pursue research questions that can fill existing knowledge gaps through the identification of novel biomarkers; development of new and improved diagnostics tools and foster better understanding of the basic biology and epidemiology of various infective conditions. We participate in nationally coordinated surveillance activities in the areas of TB, Antimicrobial resistance, Dengue, Chikungunya, Influenza, Measles, Rubella, Rickettsial fevers, ICU-based nosocomial infections, etc. We regularly liaise with the state government and other government agencies and provide consultancy services and microbiological expertise in policy formulations, surveillance programs and outbreak investigations. We strive to contribute towards development of human resources by introducing innovative short-term courses, workshops and hands-on training programs in niche areas of diagnostic Microbiology and Molecular Biology.
Highlights: - Regional Virology Laboratory for Central India, a permanent facility established with DHR/ ICMR support, is functioning in the department. A BSL-3 Laboratory has been set up as part of this facility.
- Well-equipped labs are operational in the department which provide diagnostic services in the disciplines of Bacteriology, Mycobacteriology, Anaerobic Bacteriology, Virology, Mycology, Parasitology & Immunology.
- State-of-art diagnostic facilities, like Line Probe Assay, Automated Culture System, Cartridge based NAAT, Liquid TB Culture System, Flow Cytometry, PCR, Nephelometry, etc are available in the department.
- The departmental activities include a strong research component with research projects being awarded by all premier national funding institutes like ICMR, DHR, DST, DBT, BIRAC, UGC, NHM (MP State), etc. The research interests and extramural projects of individual faculty members are listed against their respective profiles. As of 2019, 23 research grants with a cumulative worth of Rs 30.4 crores have been received by the department since its inception.
- We have also been selected as a participating institute in various nationally coordinated multicentric research projects in the areas of TB, Antimicrobial resistance, ICU-based nosocomial infections, Dengue, Influenza, Measles, Rubella, Rickettsial fevers, etc.
- The department has also been able to attract talented basic scientists who have joined us through highly competitive Fellowship programs like Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship & INSPIRE Fellowship.
- Our research output is communicated regularly through reputed peer-reviewed journals, national and international conferences, submission in NCBI database and patent applications.
- Teaching programs are conducted for MBBS, B Sc (Nursing), MD (Microbiology) courses.
- PhD program has also been started in the department since January 2019.
- An innovative short-term Certificate course is also being offered by the department for training in-service nurses in Infection Control. The department is also a part of the teaching faculty for the IGNOU program on “Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear & Explosive Certificate Course.”. Many workshops, CMEs and short-term training programs are regularly conducted by the department.
- The Department is also functioning as a Sentinel Surveillance Center under the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program and has an established DOTS Center under Revised National TB Control Program & an ICTC under National AIDS Control Program. RNTCP accreditation for liquid mycobacterial culture & Line Probe Assay is currently underway in the Molecular Medicine laboratory.
- The department is also engaged in leadership roles in critical hospital services like Central Sterile Supply Department, Hospital Infection Control, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Biomedical Waste Management, Targeted Infection Surveillance Unit, etc.
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