 Coordinating the manufacturing operations of Fugal amylase and lipase bio-processing Managing the construction and commissioning of enzyme production MSME unit at Palayapatti SIDCO (Thanjavur) Key nodal officer for statutory and regulatory approvals of the new enzyme unit Key representative in presenting business proposals to the company’s bankers, mentors and TBI executivesAdditional Role as Principal Investigator in our incubated research projects:  Lead Investigator, BIRAC sponsored Synthetic biology project to enhance nisin production in L. lactis fermentation  Coordination of research collaborations with Europe (Joseph Stefan Institute) and Indian food industries (Mcrennett)  Conceiving patentable R&D projects in food biologics and streamlining the research funding through non-dilutive financing measures.  Executing the patent claims of the company in consultation with subject matter experts Key nodal officer for the regulatory approvals of research (IBSC, PCB etc)

Role as Co-investigator in BIRAC BIG project, SVBiotech (before incorporation of Fermentech GSV), P-DST TBI, Thanjavur (Jan 2014 to Jul 2015):  Conceived the BIG proposal for production of 3-Hydroxypropionic acid in redox engineered Pseudomonas putida  Played key role in data analysis of the molecular biology and fermentation experiments along with the teammates.  Joint recipient of the Lockheed Martin innovation award for the research project  Drafted the patent documents and coordinated for the material transfer agreements with SEVA, Spain.

Metabolic engineering of Lactic acid bacteria for production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol is the objective of fellowship programme. Genome scale modelling, metabolic flux analysis in pseudo steady state, C13 NMR for metabolite qualitative analysis and quantitative PCR were primarily used methods to understand the bottlenecks of 3-HP production.

Scl-PHA pathway engineering in lactic acid bacteria involving cloning and expression of glycerol to 3-HP and poly 3-HP genes was the primary goal. Aldehyde dehydrogenase from E. coli and PHA synthase from Ralstonia species were transcriptionally fused and sub cloned in E. coli. Expression vector called pSIP 411 was used to test the efficiency of cloned genes in 3-HP pathway of Lactobacillus. Spectrophotometric enzyme assays, NAD/NADH ratio estimation and PCR based gene fusions were principle techniques used in the work. HPLC was used for analysing the glycerol metabolism in reverse phase ion-exchange analytical chromatography.

Batch fermentation for 1,3-Propanediol production in Lactic acid bacteria is the primary objective of the fellowship programme. I have worked with 1.5 L Bioengineering lab scale fermenter to optimize the glucose/glycerol ratio, aeration conditions and minimization of by-products of 1,3-propanediol production in Lactobacillus reuteri strains. The whole process was monitored in HPLC for rigorous evaluation of fermentation conditions.

Cloning and Characterization of Cytokine Promoters in THP1 cells