Dr. Biswaroop Chatterjee

Brief Biography:

Completed post-graduate training in medical microbiology from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in 1991. MD dissertation was on rotaviruses, giving me extensive experience with ELISA, as well as nucleic acid extraction, purification, electrophoresis, hybridization, and amplification

Senior Resident at AIIMS in 1992-1993 with simultaneous and independent charge of the mycology and anaerobic bacteriology laboratories

Senior Resident at PGIMER, Chandigarh in 1994-1995 with independent charge of the parasitology laboratory

Teaching experience of nearly seven years for undergraduate medical and nursing students and medical laboratory technology trainees. Currently also teaching postgraduate students (MD and PhD) in microbiology

Co-founded of one of the best medical NGOs in the country, single-handedly setting up its diagnostic laboratory and working there as In-charge of Laboratories for nine years. Also set up the diagnostic laboratory of Sanjiban Hospital, a tertiary-care hospital in West Bengal, and led it for two years

Appointed Member of a Working Group on Communicable Disease Burden by the Planning Commission of the Government of India for the formulation of the 12th Five-year Plan (2012-17)

Currently working in a National Accreditation Bureau for Laboratories (NABL) accredited diagnostic microbiology laboratory at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant, Dehradun

Academic positions:

Professional Qualification

1. 1981-87: MBBS; Medical College, Bengal University of Calcutta
2. 1989-91: MD (Medical Microbiology); All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi

Appointments

Current appointment:

Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant, Doiwala - 248140, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India from May 2013 till present date

Past appointments:

1. Senior Demonstrator in the Department of Microbiology of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India from February 1992 to May 1993
2. Research Officer at Leprosy Field Research Unit, Jhalda - 723202, West Bengal, India from June 1993 to December 1993
3. Senior Resident in the Department of Parasitology of the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India from January 1994 to June 1995
4. Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology, P. S. Medical College, Karamsad - 388325, Gujarat, India from September 1995 to April 1997
5. Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant, Doiwala - 248140, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, India from July 1998 to March 2000
6. Medical Microbiologist cum Laboratory In-charge at Jan Swasthya Sahyog, Ganiyari - 495112, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India from March 2000 to December 2009 (With a one-year teaching sabbatical in Libya - see below)
7. Lecturer in the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al Tahadi University, Sirte, Libya from September 2006 to August 2007 (Returned to Jan Swasthya Sahyog afterwards - see above)
8. Consultant Microbiologist cum Head of Diagnostic Services at Sanjiban Hospital, Fuleswar, West Bengal, India from January 2010 to November 2011
9. Microbiology Specialist cum Infection Control Officer at Khamis Mushayt General Hospital (New), Khamis Mushayt, Aseer Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from December 2011 till April 2013

Awards/Honours

1. 1982: Junior Class Assistant in Physiology
2. 1984: Second Certificate of Honours in Pathology

Work Experience

As Junior Resident in the Department of Microbiology, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, I acquired competence in sample collection, microscopy, isolation and identification of bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, serology, antigen and nucleic-acid based protocols for pathogen detection, hospital infection control and quality assurance.

As Senior Demonstrator in the Department of Microbiology, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, I was simultaneously in charge of the anaerobic bacteriology and medical mycology laboratories, signing out reports along with the respective consultants.

As Senior Resident in the Department of Parasitology, Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Chandigarh, I was in charge of the diagnostic parasitology laboratory doing microscopy and serological tests and signing out reports along with consultants.

As Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, P.S. Medical College, Karamsad – 388 325, Gujarat, I was independently in charge of diagnostic bacteriology services in a teaching hospital.

As Microbiologist in Leprosy Field Research Unit, Jhalda, West Bengal, I was in charge of diagnostic bacteriology services

As Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant – 248 140, Dehra Dun, Uttar Pradesh, I was independently in charge of diagnostic microbiology services in a teaching hospital and was also a member of the hospital infection control and waste management committees.

As Laboratory-in-charge at Jan Swasthya Sahyog (a non-profit organisation started by me along with a group of friends to provide quality healthcare at a low cost to poor tribal patients living in forest and forest-fringe villages) I single-handedly trained staff members with no previous knowledge of microbiology and established a diagnostic laboratory that offers microbiological investigations to a busy out-patient clinic, an active surgical programme, and three outreach clinics. The microbiology laboratory performs microscopy for malaria parasites, parasitic ova and cysts, and acid-fast bacilli; culture and sensitivity testing for aerobic bacteria; isolation of mycobacteria, biochemical identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and resistance testing against the first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs (HRES). Our mycobacteriology facility is the only one in a radius of 500 km that does these tests. We monitored the response to chloroquine treatment for five years and found the rate of early treatment failure (as defined by the WHO) to be as low as 4%. We completed a research project on the microbiological quality of drinking water with funding from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

As Lecturer in the Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al Tahadi University, Sirte, Libya, I worked in the Diagnostic Microbiology Laboratory of Ibn Sina Medical College Hospital. The laboratory offers culture and drug resistance testing for aerobic bacteria and well as microscopic and serological tests.

At Sanjiban Hospital, I had to oversee the functioning of the entire diagnostic laboratory, apart from working as consultant microbiologist.

At Khamis Mushayt General Hospital in Saudi Arabia, I was responsible for diagnostic bacteriology, mycology and serology, as well as hospital infection control.

Management Experience

The post of Associate Professor at the Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences that I held for a year and a half from July 1998 till March 2000, involved the provision of diagnostic microbiology services and participation in the hospital infection control and hospital waste management committees for a 500-bed teaching hospital.

The position of Laboratory-in-charge in Jan Swasthya Sahyog, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh entailed the supervision of diagnostic services for a hospital with an active surgical programme, a busy outpatient clinic attended by 200 patients a day, three outreach clinics and a significant amount of surveillance work The laboratory staff included five technicians, two laboratory assistants, three laboratory attendants, one supervisor of sterile supplies, one hospital waste manager and me. My main responsibility lay in the supervision of diagnostic work, the ongoing training of laboratory staff, standardisation of new test protocols, quality assurance and planning.

The position of Head, Diagnostic Services at Sanjiban Hospital, Fuleswar, West Bengal entailed handling administrative issues cutting across a range of specialities including the diagnostic laboratory and imaging facilities providing x-ray, ultrasonography and CT scans.

The position of Microbiology Specialist cum Infection Control Officer at Khamis Mushayt General Hospital, Saudi Arabia, involved the provision of diagnostic microbiology services, as well as liaising with doctors, nurses, technicians, cleaners, launderers and CSSD workers to implement the infection control policies of the Saudi Ministry of Health.

Research interests:

Anaerobic bacteriology, mycobacteriology, mycology, virology, parasitology and serology.

Any other information:

Publications

1. Temporal Variation in the Distribution of Rotavirus Electropherotypes in Delhi, India
Broor S, Husain M, Chatterjee B, Chakraborty A, Seth P. Journal of Diarrhoeal Diseases Research 1993; 11(1):14-8.
2. Antigen  Recognition  by  lymphocytes. Chatterjee B. In : Chatterjee BR, ed.  Leprosy – Etiobiology of Manifestations, Treatment and Control. Calcutta: Leprosy Field Research Unit, 1993:581-2.
3. Cryptococcosis at AIIMS Banerjee U, Gupta K, Chatterjee B, Sethi S. National Medical Journal of India 1994; 7(1): 51-2.
4. Direct Detection and Characterization of Rotavirus by Dot-blot Hybridization and Correlation with ‘Long’ and ‘Short’ electropherotypes Broor S,  Husain M,  Chatterjee B,  Chakraborty A,  Seth P. Clinical and Diagnostic Virology 1995; 3: 29-38.
5. Plague Chatterjee B &  Mahajan RC. Current Medical Journal 1995; 1(3): 43-7.
6. Diversity of Rotavirus Strains Infecting Pediatric Patients in Delhi, India Chatterjee B,  Husain M,  Kavita,  Seth P,  Broor S. Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 1996; 42(8): 207-10.
7. Empyema Thoracis with Candida tropicalis: a case for proactive microbiology Chatterjee B,  Arya M,  Gupta P,  Sahoo S,  Chakrabarti A. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology 2000; 18(4): 189-90.
8. Clinical Spectrum and Microbial Etiology of Reproductive Tract Infections in Rural Women in the Hills of North India Gupta V, Chatterjee B, Devender P, Dhasmana R, Jain G, Arya M, Gupta P. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of India 2002; 52 (1): 130-4.
9. Mastoid abscess caused by Nocardia in a child with visceral leishmaniasis Gupta P, Varshney S, Chatterjee B, Saxena RK. Tropical Doctor 2005; 35(1): 45-6.
10. Profit ceiling on drugs compatible with profit and development. Chatterjee B. British Medical Journal November 2006; http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/333/7577/1036-c#149739
11. Chikungunya fever, falciparum malaria, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis… are we listening to the warning signs for public health in India? Bhargava A, Chatterjee B
Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2007; 4(1): 18-23

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