• Bioremediation of coloured industrial effluents for a sustainable environment
• Antimicrobial Resistance
• Environmentally important microbial enzymes
• Lignin biodegradation and valorization
• Upcycling of solid waste
• Synthesis of biochar from waste sludge and its surface modification for environmental applications

 Summary of research

• Focuses on the development of microbial processes for the treatment of industrial effluents with particular emphasis on the degradation of complex and difficult pollutants from pulp and paper mills, tanneries and the textile industry.
• Also engaged in investigating and developing innovative methods for converting sewage and industrial sludge into biochar, with the aim of using the resulting biochar for agricultural and environmental applications.
• Screening and evaluation of bacterial strains for ligninolytic enzymes (LiP & Lac) and their basic mechanisms of treatment and changes in effluents toxicity after treatment.
• Development of bacterial consortia with ligninolytic and biofilm-forming bacteria for the treatment of wastewater from pulp and paper mills and tanneries, respectively and demonstration of their efficiency in a pilot-scale bioreactor.
• Characterization and identification of recalcitrant organic pollutants, as well as their metabolites during bacterial degradation and detoxification industrial effluents using GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, and FT-IR analytical techniques.
• Evaluation of phytotoxic, cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of bacterially treated effluents on terrestrial and aquatic test models for understanding the potential environmental impacts of wastewater disposal.
• Publication of results in reputed International Journals in the field of environmental science. Published national and international book chapters and journal articles and edited three international books on his research area.
• Preparing the next generation researcher in our research area by mentoring of 06 Ph.D. and 35 M.Sc./MTech students for their thesis.
• Life member of scientific organizations like American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI), the Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI), and an active reviewer of various national and international reputed journals.
• Received a Raman Research fellowship from CSIR and having the opportunity to work for 3 months with Professor Yong Sik Ok, a highly acclaimed and influential researcher (78,560 citations with an h-index of 145) at Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.