Dr. Shamik Roy
Shamik is a microbial ecologist by training, with interests in biogeochemistry and climate change. He did his BSc and MSc in Microbiology from the University of Calcutta (India). In 2015, he joined Dr Sumanta Bagchi’s Ecosystems Lab at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore for my PhD. In 2021, and defended his PhD dissertation on the influence of soil microorganisms in the biogeochemistry of the grazing ecosystem. After that, he worked as a senior analyst at a pharmaceutical consulting firm, DataZymes Inc.
He has now joined our lab to elucidate the drivers of the spread of antimicrobial resistance in the soil environment and its consequence for nutrient cycles. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health concern currently predicted to cause 300 million deaths and up to £64 trillion loss to the economy by 2050. The rapid rise in the use and abuse of antimicrobial antibiotics will make all ecosystems vulnerable to the spread of AMR, which in turn will increase the usage of antibiotics. To impede this already escalating vicious chain of events we need to understand in soil “who” is doing it and “how” are they doing it. Our objective is to address the “who” and “how” questions of AMR using microbiology, biochemistry, and genetic techniques.