OJT-MIC 206 On Job Training immerses microbiology students in real-world professional environments, bridging academic learning with industry or research applications through supervised fieldwork. Trainees apply lab skills from prior courses (e.g., P-MIC 105–205) in settings like biotech firms, food testing labs, hospitals, or environmental agencies, focusing on tasks such as microbial quality control, fermentation monitoring, molecular diagnostics, or bioinformatics workflows.
The course emphasizes professional competencies: maintaining lab notebooks/logs, SOP adherence, teamwork on projects (e.g., process validation or contaminant detection), safety protocols, and report writing with data analysis. Placements typically span 4–8 weeks, culminating in a logbook, supervisor evaluation, viva, and presentation on key learnings, such as troubleshooting industrial fermentations or validating aflatoxin assays.
By completion, students gain employability skills, industry networks, and confidence in executing microbiology protocols under time/quality pressures, preparing them for roles in pharma QC, food safety, or R&D.On Job Training
- Teacher: Mr Harshad Kamble
P-MIC 205 Laboratory Course IV (2 Credits, 30 hours; 50 marks) introduces computational biology and structural bioinformatics tools for sequence analysis, protein modeling, and drug discovery workflows critical to modern microbiology research. Students gain proficiency in visualization software like RasMol (graphics/command-line modes), BioEdit for sequence editing, and Chimera for advanced structural manipulation.
Core hands-on modules cover pairwise/multiple sequence alignments to infer evolutionary relationships, 3D model construction with SPARTAN (including energy minimization for structural refinement), and molecular docking simulations for drug design—linking ligand-receptor interactions to therapeutic potential against microbial targets.
By course end, learners can independently perform in silico analyses, from sequence homology to docked complex evaluation, bridging wet-lab microbiology with computational predictions for hypothesis-driven research.
- Teacher: Mr Harshad Kamble
P-MIC 204 Laboratory Course III (4 Credits, 60 hours; 100 marks) develops advanced skills in enzyme kinetics, molecular biology techniques, biomolecule manipulation, and food/dairy quality analysis essential for biotechnological and industrial microbiology applications. Students quantify enzyme specific activity, explore environmental effects (pH, temperature) on catalysis, derive Michaelis-Menten parameters (Km, Vmax) for enzymes like amyloglucosidase or invertase, and assess inhibitor/activator impacts, building foundational competence in enzyme engineering and optimization.
The course covers immobilization strategies (e.g., yeast cells for biocatalysis stability), nucleic acid extractions (DNA/RNA/plasmid from diverse sources), PCR amplification, electrophoretic separations (DNA/proteins), and exposure to high-throughput tools like HPLC/HPTLC, ELISA, flow cytometry, and Western blotting for quantitative analysis. Applied modules include amylase production via fermentation, alongside chemical/microbiological assessments of food and milk samples to evaluate microbial load, spoilage indicators, and compliance with safety standards.
By completion, learners can design enzyme-based processes, execute core molecular workflows, and perform integrated quality analyses linking microbial metabolism to product integrity.
- Teacher: Mr Harshad Kamble
P-MIC 105 Laboratory Course II (2 Credits, 30 hours; 50 marks) advances practical skills in lipid analysis, chromatographic separations of biomolecules, protein purification techniques, and mycotoxin detection relevant to food safety. Students master classical lipid quality parameters through hands-on calculation of saponification value (ester linkage quantification), acid value (free fatty acid content), and iodine number (degree of unsaturation), linking results to industrial applications like oil stability and rancidity assessment.
The course emphasizes separation science with paper/TLC for amino acids and sugars (visualization, Rf values, identification), gel filtration for size-based protein fractionation, and ion-exchange chromatography for charge-based purification, building proficiency in method optimization, troubleshooting, and yield/recovery documentation. A capstone practical introduces aflatoxin detection protocols in food/feed samples, covering extraction, thin-layer screening, and qualitative confirmation, underscoring public health risks from fungal contaminants and regulatory testing standards.
By course end, learners can select and execute appropriate separation strategies for complex mixtures and interpret lipid/ aflatoxin data in quality control contexts.
- Teacher: Mr Harshad Kamble
Laboratory Course I (4 Credits, 60 hours; 100 marks) is a skills-focused practical course that builds core competency in quantitative biochemical analysis, basic biomolecule isolation/characterization, and applied microbiology/bioprocess methods, alongside introductory bioinformatics literacy. Students gain hands-on experience with widely used assays for proteins and carbohydrates—including Lowry, spectrophotometric absorbance-based estimation, dye-binding methods, DNSA for reducing sugars, and enzymatic glucose oxidase–peroxidase estimation—emphasizing calibration curves, accuracy/precision, and data reporting.
The course also trains learners in preparative and analytical handling of key biomolecules (casein, starch, glycogen, lecithin, cholesterol) through extraction, purification, and confirmatory characterization tests, linking structure, solubility, and functional properties. Applied microbiology components introduce fermentative production systems (e.g., gluconic acid and wine) to illustrate upstream–downstream considerations, process monitoring, and basic quality attributes. Antimicrobial bioassay work (bioassay and MIC of streptomycin) develops competence in aseptic technique, standardization of inoculum, interpretation of inhibition/readouts, and antimicrobial susceptibility concepts relevant to clinical and industrial settings. Food quality and safety exposure is provided through detection of common adulterants in food products, reinforcing analytical thinking and regulatory awareness. Finally, students are oriented to biological data resources through an introduction to NCBI and foundational use of protein and nucleic-acid sequence databases, enabling them to retrieve sequences, understand accession records, and connect wet-lab outcomes with sequence-based information.
- Teacher: Mr Harshad Kamble
Taxonomy and Molecular Systematics introduces the principles and practice of classifying microorganisms using an integrated (polyphasic) approach that combines phenotype, chemotaxonomy, and molecular/phylogenetic evidence. The paper emphasizes modern molecular systematics—sequence-based identification and evolutionary inference—to support reliable microbial identification, nomenclature, and description of new taxa.
Students will learn core taxonomy concepts (characterization, classification, nomenclature), species concepts in microbiology, and how phylogenies are built and interpreted using molecular chronometers (commonly rRNA genes) and other markers. The course also covers contemporary tools and workflows such as molecular taxonomy of unculturable microbes, principles of monophyly/paraphyly/polyphyly, chemotaxonomy, and standards for proposing/validly publishing new prokaryotic species, including the role of culture collections and type strains.
On completion, learners should be able to (i) critically choose appropriate markers and methods for microbial identification, (ii) interpret phylogenetic trees in the context of classification, and (iii) apply polyphasic criteria to justify taxonomic decisions in clinical, environmental, and industrial microbiology contexts.
- Teacher: Mr Harshad Kamble
