Department of Microbiology
Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow
Administration
Head of the Department: Professor Jyotsna Agarwal, MD
Contact email: rmlimsmicrobiology@yahoo.com
Office Tel: 0522-6692000
History
The department started in year 2011, with offering serological services, and gradually expanded to current, state of the art Microbiological Diagnostic, Teaching and Research facilities. The department is located on Third floor, Academic Block, Dr RMLIMS.
Collaboration & Research
Microbiology Department collaborates with National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programe for several infectious diseases including dengue, JE, Chikungunya, Malaria, Filaria , HIV; NTEP,NACO.
Department publishes an annual newsletter with hospital antibiograms which is circulated amongst all clinicians. We are recognized for MD microbiology (10 Seats) by NMC. We are actively involved in MBBS teaching.
Facilities
Bacteriology Lab
Facilities for isolation and identification of pathogenic bacteria and susceptibility testing. Features automated continuous blood culture monitoring, MALDITOF, and Rapid C. difficile toxin testing.
Serology Lab
Latex agglutination (ASO, CRP, RF), TPHA for Syphilis, WIDAL, Leptospirosis, and VIDAS automated Procalcitonin. Anti CCP, Chikungunya, and scrub typhus ELISA available.
Immunology Lab
HIV facility for testing. Complete TORCH profile, Dengue NS1Ag and IgM Ab ELISA are available.
Mycobacteriology Lab
Conventional and Automated Culture (MGIT 320) for pulmonary/extrapulmonary samples. LPA molecular testing for MDR identification and CBNAAT facility. Works in collaboration with NTEP, covering 9-10 designated districts of eastern UP.
Mycology Lab
Routine fungal identification and automated yeast susceptibility. Latex agglutination for Cryptococcus neoformans and mucormycosis diagnosis.
Parasitology Lab
Blood and enteric parasite identification. Rapid antigen tests for Malaria and Microfilaria; ELISA for Cysticercosis and Echinococcus.
Virology & Molecular Diagnostics
Virology: Automated Hepatitis markers (A, B, C, E), JE IgM ELISA, and CMV RT-PCR. BSL-2 facility available.
Molecular: Viral load estimation for Hepatitis B and C using Cobas Techman Real-time PCR system.
Surveillance & Public Health
Hospital Surveillance: Active monitoring of ICUs, OTs, and kitchens. Hand Hygiene staff programs.
ICTC: Offers CD4 testing to ART clinic patients.
Covid Lab: ICMR approved BSL-2 lab since April 2020. Capacity: 14,000 RT-PCR samples per day.
Faculty Details
| Name of faculty | Designation | Section in charge/co-in charge |
|---|---|---|
| Prof. Jyotsna Agarwal | Professor and HOD | Virology/Molecular diagnostics, Hospital infection surveillance, BSL - 3 |
| Prof. Vineeta Mittal | Professor | Mycobacteriology, Immunology |
| Prof. Manodeep Sen | Professor | Bacteriology, Parasitology, Hospital Infection Surveillance |
| Prof. Anupam Das | Professor | Bacteriology, Mycology, ICTC |
| Prof. Jaya Garg | Professor | Serology, Virology, BSL - 3 |
| Dr. Sonakshi Srivastava | Associate Professor | Mycology co-incharge |
| Dr. Richa Sinha | Associate Professor | Mycobacteriology co-incharge |
| Dr. Rimjhim | Assistant Professor | Bacteriology co-incharge, Hospital Infection Surveillance |
| Dr. Shiva Verma | Assistant Professor | Bacteriology co-incharge |
| Dr. Akanksha Gupta | Assistant Professor | Bacteriology co-incharge |
| Dr. Apurva Rautela | Assistant Professor | Immunology co-incharge |
| Dr. Anuragini | Assistant Professor | Virology co-incharge |
| Dr. Mohd. Saquib | Assistant Professor | Parasitology co-incharge, Hospital Infection Surveillance |
| Dr. Tushar Gautam | Assistant Professor | Serology co-incharge |
Courses Offered:
- MBBS: MBBS batch started from year 2017
- MD: 10 MD seats have been approved by the NMC/MCI per year, and first batch of MD(Microbiology)students joined since 2017.
- DMLT: since 2013
- Training/Dissertation for Graduates/Post graduates in Microbiology: MSc (Microbiology) and Biotechnology students from different universities undergo training as well as dissertation in the department.
Academic Activities
a)Symposium/workshop/CME/Public health lectures Organized
| Month | Event | Date | Chief guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | CME | 7th April 2025 | CME was organized on the theme, “Updates in clinical and diagnostic Virology” with eminent virologist Prof Amita Jain as the keynote speaker. 12th Annual Newsletter of Department of Microbiology was released |
| May | CME on World Hand hygiene day | 05/05/2025 | CME and Rangoli competition along with release of Hand hygiene manual was done on World Hand Hygiene Day. It was graced by Prof. (Dr.) C.M Singh (Director Dr.RMLIMS, Lucknow) and Sr Juin Dutta Ghosh (Senior quality nursing officer, SGPGI). 7th Annual Agar art competition was conducted in Microbiology department. First Position: Dr. Poonam – “Microbes on mars” |
| June | RAMMBO QUIZ | 14/06/2025 | 4th Annual Inter college Intra state MBBS Microbiology and Infectious Disease Quiz (23 colleges participated) was conducted. Winner: MLNMC Prayagraj |
| September | CME on World Sepsis Day | 09/09/2025 | Prof. Banani Poddar (HOD & Professor, Dept of Critical care Medicine, SGPGI, Lucknow) was invited as the. Key note speaker for the topic “Multifaceted aspects of Sepsis in ICU” |
| October | Guest Lecture | 16/10/2025 | Dr. Prerna Kapoor (Nodal officer & Senior physician, General hospital, SGPGIMS, Lucknow) took an interactive session on “Resilience, the New Super Power: The art of Bouncing back and powering up” |
| November | World Antibiotic Awareness week | 20/11/2025 | An inter- departmental P.G. Quiz was conducted for the Post Graduate Residents of Dr. RMLIMS, Lucknow on the eve of World Antibiotic Awareness week. |
| CME | 21/11/2025 | A CME was conducted. Guest speakers were Dr. Rungmei S.K. Marak (Professor & Head, Dept of Microbiology, SGPGI, Lucknow) Col. Nandita Hazra (Head, Dept. of Lab sciences & Molecular diagnostics, Command hospital, Lucknow) |
| Month | Event | Date | Chief guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | CME | 27th March 2024 | 11th Newsletter was released. CME on “Neglected Tropical Diseases” was organised by the Department of Microbiology with Dr. S.C. Parija delivered keynote address on “Role of AI in Diagnostic Parasitology: Focus on Neglected Tropical Diseases”, and Director Prof. C.M. Singh was the Chief Guest. |
| March | Agar art competition | - | 6th Annual Agar art competition held in Microbiology department. First Position: Dr. Sushant (JR3) – “Paradise” featured on the cover page. |
| May | Hand Hygiene Day | - | WHO Hand hygiene Day was celebrated where MBBS students participated in Nukkad Natak . |
| September | World Sepsis Day | 12th September 2024 | Role of Procalcitonin was discussed by Dr Jaya Garg |
| October | Quiz | 19th October 2024 | 4th Annual Inter-College Intra-State MBBS Quiz “RAMMBO-Q” for MBBS batch. First prize- KGMU, Lucknow. |
| November | WAAW | 19th Nov 2024 | CME was organised where Dr. Itisha Gupta Consultant Microbiologist/Lead primary infection control, Birmingham, UK delivered keynote address and Dr. Jaya Garg delivered a talk. Poster competition for students was conducted on the theme “Healthy beginnings, hopeful future” |
| Month | Event | Date | Details / Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | CME | 17th February 2023 | 10th Newsletter was released. CME was organised on “Race against extinction: save antibiotics” and Dr. Subhash Todi, acclaimed Intensivist was the keynote speaker. |
| Agar art competition | - | 5th Annual Agar art competition held in Microbiology department. First Position: Dr. Sushant (JR2) – “Landscape” featured on the cover page. | |
| April | Annual Resident Development Program | April 2023 | Modules covered for 1st year residents: Specimen collection and Transport, Hand Hygiene, Biomedical Waste Management. |
| September | Sepsis day | 13th September 2023 | Live telecast of Webinar was held on the World Sepsis Day. |
| October | Quiz | - | 3rd Annual Inter-College Intra-State MBBS Quiz “RAMMBO-Q” for MBBS batch where RMLIMS bagged the first prize. |
| Month | Event | Date | Details / Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | CME | 12th February 2022 | 9th issue Newsletter was released. CME was organised on “COVID-19: Story so far & what lies ahead” with Keynote speaker Dr. Priya Abraham from NIV Pune. An intercollege debate competition was held (hybrid mode) on “Omicron a Ray of Hope”. |
| Agar art competition | - | 4th Annual Agar art competition held in Microbiology department. First Position: Lab Technician Shalini (Human Heart). | |
| September | Annual Resident Development Program | 9th September 2022 | Modules covered for 1st year residents: Specimen collection and Transport, Hand Hygiene, Biomedical Waste Management. |
| Sepsis Day | 13th September 2022 | The Enigma of Sepsis: How much of it has been solved was discussed in Webinar. | |
| October | Quiz | 1st October, 2022 | 2nd Annual Inter-College Intra-State MBBS Quiz “RAMMBO-Q” for MBBS batch. First Prize- Dr. RMLIMS, Lucknow. |
| Oct 2022 – Mar 2023 | Academic session | - | National Level Series of monthly online academic session PG Masterclasses for Microbiology Post Graduate students where eminent speakers and experts shared their knowledge. |
| Month | Event | Date | Details / Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | CME | 13th February 2021 | 8th issue Newsletter was released. CME was organised on “An insight into SARS CoV-2 Mutations and its impact on vaccination” with Keynote speaker Dr. Gagandeep Kang. |
| Agar art competition | - | 3rd Annual Agar art competition held for First-year Junior Residents. First Position: Dr. Himanshi Srivastav - Covid warrior fighting Corona virus featured on the cover page. | |
| September | Annual Resident Development Program | September 2021 | Modules covered for 1st year residents: Specimen collection and Transport, Hand Hygiene, Biomedical Waste Management. |
| October | CME | 30th Oct 2021 | A session on “Recent advances in Management of Tuberculosis” was conducted. |
| November | WAAW | 23rd November 2021 | Chief guest: Prof. Soniya Nityanand, Director, DR. RMLIMS. Webinar with Guest speaker Dr. Meher Rizvi (Sultan Qaboos University) on “Antimicrobial Stewardship in low- and middle-income countries”. Mobillography competition winner: Dr. Harshita Yadav. |
| Month | Event | Date | Chief guest/speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Resident development programme | 11th January 2020 | Sample collection for Microbiology investigations” module conducted by Department of Microbiology |
| February | Academic session | 15th Feb 2020 | Standard precaution and biomedical waste management was discussed |
| March | CME | 14th March, 2020 | “Tuberculosis Update” under NTEP |
| CME | 21st March 2020. | Department of Microbiology conducted CME on “Unravelling the mystery of Covid-19” on 21st March 2020. | |
| Agar art competition | - | 2nd Annual Agar art competition held in Microbiology department for the First-year Junior Residents. First Position: Dr. Nikhil Raj- Robert Koch | |
| May | 7th issue Newsletter release | 4th May 2020 | 7th issue of Microbiology Newsletter was released with Prof. A.K. Tripathi, Director, DR. RMLIMS. |
| September | Seminar | 19th September, 2020 | Biomedical Ethics |
| November | WAAW | 19th Nov 2020 | Dr. S.S. Nath, Dept of Anaesthesiology & Critical Care and Dr. Anupam Das and Prof. Manodeep Sen, Dept of Microbiology, as speakers. Web based Symposium on “United to Preserve Antimicrobials” |
| Month | Event | Date | Chief guest/speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | CME | 2nd March 2019 | 6th Newsletter Release. CME on “Beyond Antibiotics” with Prof Pallab Ray as the keynote speaker. |
| Agar art competition | - | 1st Agar art competition held in Microbiology department for the First-year Junior Residents. First Position: Dr. Pranshu Pandey- Louis Pasteur featured on the cover page | |
| May | Hand Hygiene Day | 5th May 2020 | Hand Hygiene Day was celebrated with Prof. A.K. Tripathi as the Chief Guest. Slogan writing competition was organized for the students. Release of Hand Hygiene Policy |
| May | Orientation Program | 23rd May, 2019 | Orientation Program for M.D. Students |
| August | Quiz | 21st August, 2019 | 1st MBBS Quiz “RAMMBO-Q” for MBBS batch of Dr. RMLIMS, Lucknow. First Prize- |
| September | World Sepsis Day | 13th September 2019 | Live Telecast of Webinar on World Sepsis Day |
| Month | Event | Date | Chief guest/speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | Resident Development Program | February 2018 | First Foundation Course Module on topics: · Specimen Collection · Hand Hygiene |
| March | CME | 17th March 2018 | 5th Newsletter Release. CME on “Fungal Sepsis” by Prof. Arunaloke Chakrabarti |
| Agar art competition | - | - | |
| May | Hand Hygiene Day | 5th May, 2018 | Poster competition was organized for the nursing students. Release of Institute’s Hand Hygiene Policy |
| September | World Sepsis Day | 13th September 2018 | Live Telecast of Webinar on World Sepsis Day |
| September | CME | 22nd September 2018 | Topic- Catheter Related Blood Stream Infections by Dr. Afzal Azim from SGPGI, Lucknow. “Do’s and Don’ts for Healthcare associated Infections” were made in collaboration with the Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care and were put up in all ICUs. |
| Month | Event | Date | Chief guest/speaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| November | CME | November 2017 | CME on World Antimicrobial Awareness Week |
PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVES & WORKSHOPS
World Health Day & World TB Day 2016
Celebrated on 7th April 2016 at Mini auditorium, Gomtinagar. The event focused on the theme "Diabetes and Tuberculosis" and included the UPMICROCON 2016 organization.
World Hepatitis Day (Annual)
Organized annually on 28th July in collaboration with Gastromedicine. Includes patient awareness, screening, and free vaccination. Release of the book on Hepatitis B awareness by Dr. Prashant Verma.
Antimicrobial Stewardship Workshop
5th October 2013: Targeted infectious disease physicians, microbiologists, and administrators. Focused on the rational use of antibiotics by doctors.
Symposium: Vector Borne Disease
5th April 2014: Organized on World Health Day. Inauguration of the First Departmental Newsletter by the Director and MS.
Teaching of Technician, Nurses & Paramedical staff
Bench side teaching for trainee/technicians occurs regularly. Nurses are routinely taught basic microbiology and optimized techniques for blood collection in vacutainers. Infection control instructions are discussed periodically with the Medical Superintendent and Chief Nursing Officer.
AWARDS & HONOURS OF FACULTY
- Co-opted member SERB Programme Advisory Committee (Biomedical Science).
- First runner up: 3rd FLO Women Awards of Uttar Pradesh (2017-2018).
- Voted "Best Teacher" by outgoing MBBS students at KGMU (2014, 2015, 2016).
- Associate Editor for Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health (Elsevier).
- Best Poster Awards (Bacteriology, Infection Control, Mycology) at UP-UK MICROCON 2019.
- Dr Manorma Agarwal Diamond Jubilee Silver Award (2012).
- Kanak Lata Medal of IMA UP State (2012-2013).
- President’s Appreciation Awards (2011-2012, 2016-2017, 2017-2018).
- Chikitsasewabhushan Samman-2019 (National Medical Organisation).
- First Prize: Innovation in Medical Technology (PPE prevention of respiratory infections) 2019.
- Magna cum laude Award: International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Singapore (2016).
- Best oral paper in virology at MICROCON 2008 (AFMC, Pune).
- Multiple Best Poster Awards in Mycology, Bacteriology, and Infection Control (2008-2019).
- Certificate of Appreciation from Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh (2015).
- Won Dr Sriniwas Best Poster Award (2002) for Metallo Beta Lactamases screening.
- Won Best Poster at Tropacon 2 (AIIMS 2008).
- Ambassador of Lucknow City Half Marathon - 2019.
- Awards for Wildlife Photography and Mobiwalk (2018-2019).
INVITED GUEST LECTURES / ORATIONS
Prof. Jyotsna Agarwal
• Importance of Pk-Pd of Antibiotics: 15th UP UK MICROCON (2019).
• Newer Vaccines in diseases: Health Conclave, IISF-2018.
• Microbiota in Disease: IAMM Symposium on MICROBIOME, MICROCON 2016 (PGIMER Chandigarh).
• Bad Bugs No Drugs: Annual CME of Vivekanand Polyclinic (2018).
• P122revention of Urinary Tract Infection: Lucknow Obstetrics & Gynecology Society (2017).