MICROBIOLOGY: Departmental Achievements

1) Awarded an International project (DOSA-2) in collaboration with Edinburgh Medical School, Delhi IIT, university of Arts London and Assam University in October 2023.

2) Silchar Medical College and Hospital has been selected by National Medical Commission as the Regional centre for National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (NAP-AMR) in North-east India and Prof(Dr.) Debadatta Dhar Chanda has been selected by NMC as the Regional Co-ordinator.

3)  Department of Microbiology has been included by NCDC New Delhi in the WHO-NET surveillance programme for AMR in January 2024

4) Successful on site surveillance visit by NABL and continuation of NABL Accreditation of HIV testing and CD4 testing laboratory in July 2023

5)SRL, Dept of Microbiology, SMCH successfully conducted one day EQAS and Panel distribution workshop for laboratory technicians of ICTC and PPTCT of Barak Valley and Dima Hasao on 29^th January 2024

6) SRL IDSP SMCH successfully conducted 2 days DPHL technician Training for Barak Valley and Dima Hasao on 23^rd and 24^th July 2024.

7) Successful on site assessment and Renewal of NABL Accreditation of HIV testing and CD4 testing laboratory in September 2024

8)UK Research and Innovation Team has documented the activities of SMCH related to successful completion of DOSA project in their short film in December 2024.

9) VRDL Dept of Microbiology, organized National hand-on workshop on Viral Tropical Fevers: Molecular Characterization and diagnostic approaches on 5^th and 6^th February 2025 under the aegis of ICMR-DHR, Govt of India.

10)Guest Lectures were conducted for Post Graduate Trainees by visiting External faculties (Prof Mohua Bose on 15.06.23, Prof Rupali Dey and Prof Manideepa Sengupta on 03.04.24) and  Dr. Om Prakash Kansal (World Bank Consultant for NOHPPCZ) on 04.10.25

11) Department of Microbiology SMCH has been selected as a Spoke centre in eastern India under National Rickettsial Surveillance programme of NCDC and apex Reference lab CMC Vellore 

12) Organized an Interactive session jointly in association with MEU, SMCH on Assessment of Practical Skills(OSPE/OSCE) by Dr. Purnima Barua, Founder Convener NMC Regional Centre Jorhat Medical College and Member of NMC Expert Group for Curriculum revision for MD Microbiology & UG Microbiology

13) Successful scope extension and NABL accreditation(as per ISO 15189:2022)  of 34 parameters of the department covering Microbiology and Infectious Disease Serology, Molecular Diagnostics and Flow Cytometry in February 2026

14)Phase 3 of International DOSA project DOSA Point of Care Diagnostic for urinary tract infections in low and middle-income countries (DOSA 3) has been awarded by PACE foundation UK to Department of Microbiology, SMCH in collaboration with Edinburgh Medical School, Delhi IIT, university of Arts London and Assam University, Silchar in February 2026

Achievements and Publications by Faculties

Scientific Activities by Dr. Debadatta Dhar Chanda (Prof & HOD)

1. Recognized by NMC as a Scientific Contributor for preparing the NAP-AMR module for prescribers.
2. Guest Speaker on “Parasitic Diseases of Central Nervous System in India” in ASSAM MICROCON 2023 (28th-30th Sept 2023), organized by the Department of Microbiology, Dhubri Medical College and Hospital.
3. Invited Guest Speaker in Technical Session 1 (Mission AMR) on “Antimicrobial Stewardship” and served as Chairperson in Scientific Session 2 of the 4th International Conference on Contemporary Antimicrobial Research 2023 (16th-18th November 2023), conducted by the Advanced Level Institutional Biotech Hub, Assam University.

Publications:

A. Monalisha Hazarika et al. (2024) Concentration dependent exposure of vancomycin and teicoplanin induces vanGregulon in Staphylococcus aureus. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, 48, 100563. B. Bhaskar Jyoti Das et al. (2024) Incidence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli ST2437 of clinical origin harboring blaOXA-144 gene: a report from India. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 135. C. Barnamoy Bhattacharjee et al. (2024) Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in HIV-infected cases and its association with CD4 count in Silchar Medical College and Hospital. International Journal of Research in Medical Science. D. Sayani Roy et al. (2024) Molecular characterization of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from patients with gastroenteritis in a tertiary referral hospital of Northeast India. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, 47, 1005. E. Bhaskar Jyoti Das et al. (2023) Emergence of Carbapenem–resistant Enterobacterales co-harboring blaOXA-78 and blaOXA-58 from India. Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, 22, 79. [Impact Factor: 6.781] F. Chandrayee Deshamukhya et al. (2023) Imipenem and Meropenem influence the Las/Rhl quorum-sensing systems in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 76, 1-6. [Impact Factor: 2.813] G. Monalisha Hazarika et al. (2023) Transcriptional Response of vanB Operon in Staphylococcus aureus Against Vancomycin and Teicoplanin Stress. Current Microbiology, 80, 275. [Impact Factor: 2.343] H. Chandrayee Deshmukhya et al. (2023) Optimization of loop-mediated isothermal amplification-based method for detection of macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 157(5), 477-481. [Impact Factor: 5.274]

Scientific Activities by Other Faculty Members

Dr. Atanu Chakravarty (Associate Professor)

1. Chairperson in Scientific Session of ASSAM MICROCON 2023 (28th-30th Sept 2023), organized by Dhubri Medical College and Hospital.
2. Resource Person in 3-day BCME Training (16th-18th November 2023) at Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

Dr. Abidur Islam Mazumder (Assistant Professor)

1. Completed 3-day BCME Training (16th-18th November 2023) at Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

Dr. Bijoyeta Das (Assistant Professor)

1. Certified in Advanced National Workshop for Good Clinical Practice and Good Laboratory Practice, organized by PGIMER Chandigarh and Assam University (Nov 2023).
2. Attended State-level Workshop & WHO-NET Hands-on Training by NCDC on Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (5th-6th January 2024).

Dr. Barnamoy Bhattacharjee (Demonstrator)

1. Certified in Advanced National Workshop for Good Clinical Practice and Good Laboratory Practice (Nov 2023).
2. Participated in a 3-Day Hands-on Workshop on Laboratory Diagnosis of Fungal Infections by ICMR Advanced Mycology Diagnostic and Research Centre, Dibrugarh (Feb 2024).
3. Judge in Poster Presentation at the 4th International Conference on Contemporary Antimicrobial Research 2023.
4. Resource Faculty for BLS, ACLS, ATLS training under the 10 Bed Hub and Spoke ICU project, conducted by Silchar Medical College & Hospital in collaboration with the Medical Education and Research Department, Govt. of Assam.

Publications:

1. Barnamoy Bhattacharjee et al. (2024) Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in HIV-infected cases and its association with CD4 count in Silchar Medical College and Hospital. International Journal of Research in Medical Science.
2. Sayani Roy et al. (2024) Molecular characterization of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from patients with gastroenteritis in a tertiary referral hospital of Northeast India. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, 47, 100535.

Dr. Chhandasree Biswas (Demonstrator)

1. Attended the 4th International Conference on Contemporary Antimicrobial Research 2023.

Activities by Postgraduate Trainees of Microbiology

1. Dr. Kaushik Datta presented an oral paper titled Prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus in genital ulcer patients attending a tertiary care centre in South Assam on 30th Sept 2023 at ASSAM MICROCON 2023.