I am a Microbiologist, working in different aspects of microbial interactions. During my early school days, I was fascinated with biology and opted for B. Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. in Microbiology from The University of Burdwan. Thereafter I did my Ph.D. from ICAR- National Rice Research Institute (Odisha, India) on Nitrogen fixing endophytic and epiphytic bacteria communities of different cultivated and wild rice genotypes. During my post-doctoral work at the University of California, Davis (California, USA), I have worked in the field of microbial interactions in different wild rice genotypes. Apart from that, I have worked for around two years as an Assistant Professor at RK University (Gujarat) where I have explored microorganism and their interaction with groundnut to combat salinity and metal stress. My research mainly focused on different aspects of plant-microbe interactions through metabolomics, phenotyping, and different molecular biological techniques.

During my doctoral work at ICAR- National Rice Research Institute, I have explored the diversity, colonization pattern of beneficial N2-fixing endophytic and epiphytic microbial communities of wild and cultivated rice genotypes. Among all characterized endophytes- epiphytes, a novel rice root endophytic Azotobacter sp. was found to increase rice yield under field conditions when it was compared with other preexisting rhizospheric Azotobacter. I have also developed a novel Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) based technique for tracking of endophytic bacteria in rice roots demonstrating the endophytic colonization.

Apart from that I have characterized tea pest (Buzura suppressaria, Hyposidra talaca, Hyposidra infixaria) specific Bacillus thuringiensis and identified a novel toxin (immune inhibitor A of Bt) by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The strain has been optimized for large-scale production in 250-litre fermenter and currently being used to control tea loopers in tea-cultivated areas of the Dooars region of West Bengal. I have also demonstrated the microbial biofilm base Phytostabilization process in groundnut ecologies at coastal regions of Gujarat. The system was unique in its kind, demonstrating plant-microbe protocooperation to withstand salinity and metal stress which can be implemented to improve crop production in saline metal-polluted agriculture fields of India. 

    Major contribution

• Characterized rice root endophytic Azotobacter sp. (MCC 3432) and optimized its rice growth-promoting capabilities under laboratory, net house, and field condition (Banik et al., 2016, Planta; Banik et al., 2019, Microbiological Research)

• Developed a novel Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-based technique for tracking of endophytic bacterial rice root colonization (Banik et al., 2016, Biology and Fertility of Soils)

• Characterized a tea pest-specific Bacillus thuringiensis and identified a novel toxin (immune inhibitor A of Bt) by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The strain has been optimized for large scale production in a 250 L fermenter and is currently being used by Goodricke Group Ltd. (Banik et al., 2019, Industrial Crops & Products)

• Developed a microbial bioremediation system for groundnut and identified the active principle by Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and FTIR (Banik et al., 2018, Science of the Total Environment)

• Developed bacteria-algae consortia based protocooperation system for heavy metal remediation from aquaculture (Chandrashekharaiah et al., 2022, Resources, Conservation & Recycling)

• AMI YOUNG SCIENTIST in Agricultural Microbiology by the Association of Microbiologists of India for the year 2019.

• Best Young Researcher National by IRDP AWARDS, (October, 2018), Chennai, India, for Teaching, Research and Publications.