Microbiology Touches Our Lives In Diverse Ways: Kamini Walia

A master's in microbiology from Panjab University, Kamini Walia has a doctorate from Postgraduate Institute, Chandigarh. Joining ICMR in 1999, she changed gears to also pursue a master's in public health from John Hopkins. Drawing from her expertise in microbiology and understanding the needs in public health space, she works to ensure that whatever research is being done in specialisation areas of sciences, its benefits then reach the community level. In an interview with BW Education, Walia cautions aspiring scientists about the rigour and meticulousness that will be expected of them. Excerpts:  

Tell us about your academic and professional journey.

I am actually a trained microbiologist. I did my BSc and MSc in microbiology from Panjab University. And then I went on to do My PhD which is again focused on microbiology from the Postgraduate Institute, Chandigarh, Department of Experimental Medicine and Biotechnology. After short-term consultancy on a project, I joined ICMR as a research officer in 1999. ICMR headquarters is a very different place to be in. You are managing science and funding research programmes, which are of high importance and priority for the country. I trained as a microbiologist, but then subsequently I went on and did a master's in public health and that actually completely changed my perception of what needs to be done in public health space.

It has been a long and very enriching journey for me as a professional to be to have worked in ICMR and other public health agencies. I have worked with Path (Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health), a not-for-profit organisation working on advancing health technologies. I was the director of Research and Development for two years there.

What does the area of microbiology entail?

We are surrounded by micro-organisms all the time and in fact, human bodies are full of micro-organisms which constitute the microbiome which is really in discussion these days. It could be a virus, it could be bacteria, it could be parasites. These may, or may not be responsible for infections that we carry. Most microbiology is focused on the clinical aspect because a large number of diseases, infectious diseases are a huge burden, but there are other aspects of microbiology as well. There is an important aspect of food microbiology. The cheese we eat. There are so are food microbiologists who work in this space. Then there is a whole field of industrial microbiology. So, microbiology is a very diverse and very broad area. And it actually touches our lives in many ways. So that’s something that really caught my interest when I started studying microbiology.

And post-Covid, there is heightened interest in viruses. It’s not that the viral outbreaks were not happening earlier; we have had many bacterial and viral outbreaks in the past, but then they were very localised. The pandemic has led to heightened interest in microbiology and there is more appreciation of microbiologist, lab testing and their contribution to making the vaccines.

Is there a market demand for for microbiologists?

Definitely, and we do have institutions producing microbiologists. There are students who come out every year who have done microbiology or biotechnology. There are courses which are teaching biochemistry as well. But I think we need more pathways for microbiologists. After MSc microbiology, where does that student go? That’s a challenge because, for a lot of companies who are actually working in diagnostics or vaccines, their R&D is not in India but in their global offices. This is why we see a lot of students leaving India after doing an MSC in microbiology, biochemistry or biotechnology. That is something we need to work around. 

I did hard-core microbiology for five years. I studied immunology, molecular biology, bacteriology, parasitology, etc but now I see a lot of these cocktail courses coming up. What we've observed is that these courses try to teach everything at once, but then the students learn nothing. So that’s something that always concerns me. They are Jack of all trades, but they’re not routed and they don’t have a foundation in one particular subject.

What would your advice be? Having more specialised courses, adding on, or changing the way these courses are taught? 

We should not attempt to dilute the core strength of the courses in a bid to add more. This will only dilute the core information that we want to convey to the students. A student only also has that many hours to study and the university or a college also has that many hours for teaching. So how much can you really add to it? 

We should also keep biotechnology and other such disciplines for the postgraduation level rather than having them at the undergraduate level. 

In addition to pursuing the degree course, students will be required to build their skill sets. There’s a paradigm shift in the way we function now. New technologies are being added and we have to upscale our skills for that. I have added so much to my skill set in the last 20 years as I have worked in ICMR. Not only I did do masters in public health from Hopkins, but I have done many online and short courses. 

In what ways do these two areas of microbiology and public health converge? How does the understanding of the former help you in your work in the latter?

Whatever research is happening, there is a need for a pathway for that research to move forward and for communities and the general public to benefit from those innovations. So, my science background helps me understand the need. And then when I look at the community and the public health needs, I’m able to connect with that. 

A lot of diseases are caused by these microbes. So, when you understand malaria or HIV, you understand what is going to work or what is the diagnostic requirement. For example, we are already working with one of the companies to develop a good diagnostic test for typhoid. Patients were being treated without an understanding of what kind of typhoid that. So, I’m able to understand the need as a microbiologist and also identify what are the potential solutions and what we should be doing. So that’s what I enjoy about my work, and that’s what keeps me motivated and going.

What kind of aptitude is needed to be successful at research levels and sciences, including Biosciences?

I think the same thing that we need anywhere else. I mean, sciences are no different from arts. But yes, science is more evidence-based.

You have to be meticulous and organised because doing PhD for about five years you will be doing a lot of experiments and testing a lot of hypotheses and if you are not organised and if you are not designing experiments and not following up on the results, you probably you will have more problems than if you are organised. 

The second attribute is, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking because you are pursuing something novel. You have to have the ability to go back to the literature, to know what people have done, what has succeeded, what has not succeeded, and what could be the potential solution for your problem. And you need endless patience because you are testing multiple hypotheses. It is broken down into small steps and every step is crucial for you to reach there at the end of four or five years.

And yes, the ability to understand the problem, the ability to analyse, and also follow it up relentlessly with a lot of patience.

What is the scope of this area of study? 

Like any other field, I think microbiology is also changing. After what we have seen in the last two years, I think the next 10 years we will be seeing a lot of focus on health, on issues like how are viruses travelling from animals, and antimicrobial resistance - the area where I particularly work in and where the levels are increasing every year in India as well as globally. These discussions are not new, but sometimes there was no funding and at other times no political will. But now we know what is the price that you pay in terms of the health of the people and in terms of economic or social turbulence when you ignore a health problem. And I think I assume that relevant stakeholders will not be willing to repeat those mistakes. 

There’s plenty of scope to improve what we have been doing with new technologies coming in. I am expecting a complete transformation of how we deal with health and health-related situations in history. 

Vasudha Mukherjee

BW Reporters The author works with BW Education