FEMS Journals iPoster Prize: Shamsunnahar Mukta
We send our congratulations to Shamsunnahar Mukta, who won one of the iPoster Prizes at the World Microbe Forum, sponsored by the FEMS Journals.
The World Microbe Forum took place between 20th and 24th of June 2021 as a virtual conference in collaboration with the American Society of Microbiology and several other partner societies. Her winning poster was titled “Biochemical characterization and biodegradation (plastics) assay of bacteria isolated from pit soil of Sylhet region“.
Read our interview with Shamsunnahar about her research below:
What is your current position, and what was your scientific journey to get there?
Right now, I am working as Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Plant and Environmental Biotechnology of Sylhet Agricultural University, Bangladesh. Deep inside, I felt a strong desire to be in the research field from my third year of undergraduate-level which got the ignition at my undergraduate thesis project. Then at my MS, I learned to conduct research in-depth and in a detailed process within and between groups. Lastly, as a faculty member, writing projects and leading a team is itself a wonderful challenge to me.”
Could you describe the research your poster covered?
The poster that I presented at the conference is related to the biodiversity of microbiome and biodegradation rate of plastics by soil microbes. The objective of the research was to isolate microbes, diversity analysis, degradation assay of recalcitrant products especially plastics. We collected samples from pit soil and then isolated bacteria. After completing morphological and biochemical characterization, we started to check the degradation capacity of each isolate. The biodegradation assay and genetic identification (by 16s RNA sequencing) are still going on. We have a plan to go for enzyme assay and also analyze the effect of the microbes on the plant.”
What do you hope to focus your research on in the future?
Right now I want to go for PhD in the sector of host-microbe interaction and Biodegradation. After completion of my PhD and postdoc, I want to pursue my research and teaching in this sector.”
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