Dr. Ranjita Biswas

Associate Professor

Department of Biotechnology

About Dr. Ranjita Biswas

Research Areas
My lab specializes in Biorefinery and Biofuels research. Various research approaches like metabolic engineering, CRISPR-cas genome editing and bioprocess technology are being applied to design biofuel-producing strains which can produce biofuels with high titre, yield and productivity (can be licensed to the industries). The lab also works on algal biomass production to be utilized for biofuels generation. Another area of research is the production of postbiotic nutraceutical molecules from food industry wastes. The lab envisages to convert locally available bioresources to commercially viable commodity bioproducts and ultimately add to the bioeconomy.

Significant Research Contributions
Discovered a new strain of Thermoanaerobacterium sp RBIIT which produces n-butanol without the ABE route and large amount of butyrate. (An US patent for the process is underway.)
Metabolically engineered Clostridium thermocellum, a Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP) strain, and reported the highest conversion of lignocellulosic biomass such as switchgrass and poplar wood to bioethanol.
Redesigned Bacillus subtilis pathway to shift production of 2,3-butanediol from stationary phase to early log phase.
Wheat straw hydrolysate was utilized to produce one of the highest reported xylanase activity from an ascomycete, Melanocarpus albomyces for application in Pulp and Paper Industry.
Ongoing Research
Advance biofuels, CRISPR-cas tool development for Thermoanaerobacterium sp RBIIT, postbiotic nutraceuticals production, Macroalgae production.

Ongoing Sponsored Projects

Utilize a CRISPR-cas tools for redirecting metabolic flux in Thermoanaerobacterium sp RBIIT for biobutanol production.
Mission Innovations Indo-US Project, DBT, New Delhi
(International Collaboration- The Thayer School of Engineering, Hanover, NH, USA)
Rs 140 lakhs
Mar 2020-23

Academic Profile
Associate Professor (2018 onwards), Department of Biotechnology, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal, Haringhata, Nadia.
Ramalingaswami Fellow (Scientist D) (2014-2018), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
Post-doctoral Research Associate (2011-2014), BioEnergy Science Centre, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
Post-doctoral Researcher (2008-2011), Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan.
Visiting Researcher (2006-2007), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
PhD Student (2002-2008), Dept. of Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi.

Awards
Awarded Bioenergy-Awards for Cutting Edge Research (B-ACER) by DBT and Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum, 2018.
Awarded Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship, DBT, Government of India, 2014.
Awarded Keystone Symposia Travel Fellowships for Postdocs to give a talk at Keystone Symposia on Biofuels, Singapore, March 1-6, 2011.
Awarded Junior Research Fellowship by Indian Council of Medical Research, Govt. of India, 2002.

Publications-
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