Department of Microbiology

• 1. Antibiotic resistance among bacteria and Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Quality management in Clinical Microbiology laboratories
• Development of newer methods of teaching for undergraduate and postgraduate students

• Webinar on "Vaccines" on account of Louis Pasteur day conducted by Department of Microbiology, AIMS, B G Nagara, Karnataka, on 28 December 2020
• Webinar on COVID-19: Biosafety and Biocontainment issues, 12 September 2020. Topic: Laboratory Biosafety and SARS-CoV-2 
• "Anti-microbial resistance in staphylococcus aureus" in the first annual CME on "Infectious disease in children and adults" held on 23rd of august 2013 at K.S Hegde Medical Academy
• Eureka-12, an annual CME on "Modern approaches towards laboratory science held at Dr. M v Shetty College auditorium, Vidyanagar, Mangalore on 29th march 2012 and delivered a guest lecture on "quality control in laboratories"

• A six-hour required course on "Good Clinical Practice" by NIDA Clinical trial networks on 5 January 2021 
• Basic course in Biomedical research conducted by ICMR/NIE; March -Jun 2020
• Four-day training course on quality management system and internal audit in medical laboratories as per ISO 15189:2012, from 4 February to 7th February 2016

• Susceptibility of clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus to Ceftaroline. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2021; 15(1): DC10-DC13
• Susceptibility of urinary Escherichia coli to Fosfomycin and Nitrofurantoin: re-exploration of old and forgotten oral antibiotics. Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences 2020; 9(12):928-931.
• Salmonella Typhi septicaemia with rhabdomyolysis and Hepatitis. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2019; 13(11): OD03-OD05.
• Mupirocin and vancomycin susceptibility in MRSA colonising anterior nares of patients scheduled for cardiac surgery. Indian Journal of Microbiology Research.2017; 4(1): 83- 86.
• Nasal colonization with MRSA in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. International Journal of Biological and Medical Research 2015; 6(3): 5131- 5134.

• Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of ESKAPE pathogens in Intensive Care Unit of a tertiary care hospital
• Susceptibility of carbapenem resistant Gram-negative bacilli to colistin and Ceftazidime-avibactam in a tertiary care hospital.
• In - vitro susceptibility of urinary Escherichia coli to fosfomycin in a Tertiary care hospital.
• In-vitro susceptibility of clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus to Ceftaroline.
• Evaluation of vancomycin susceptibility among Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in clinical samples.
• Evaluation of prevalence of mupirocin resistance among MRSA isolated from nasal carriers in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
• Speciation and detection of high-level aminoglycoside resistance and VRE among Enterococcus spp from clinical samples.
• Spectrum and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from urine samples in a tertiary care hospital
• Knowledge about Hepatitis B virus infection and vaccination status among students of a Medical college in coastal Karnataka
• Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among patients attending a Tertiary care Hospital in Mangalore, Karnataka

• 1. Teacher for the following undergraduate programs in the subject of Microbiology for MBBS, MD (Microbiology), BDS, BSC-MLT, PBBSC, BSC Nursing, AOTT, BSC MIT.
• Post graduate teacher for MD (Microbiology), MDS, MSC-MLT, Rotational posting of MD (Pharmacology, Pathology, Biochemistry, Community Medicine) and MDS-Oral Pathology.
• Diagnostic work in Clinical Microbiology and Virology services

• 1. NABL ISO 15189:2012 training for microbiology.
• NABL ISO 15189:2012 training for Molecular microbiology (Virology).

• Comparison of PAS staining with KOH mount and mycological cultures with histopathological examination using periodic acid Schiff staining of the nail clippings in the diagnosis of onychomycosis. Indian journal dermatolol venereal leperol, May-June 2008, Vol 74, issue 3, Dr Vimal Kumar Karnaker, Dr Krishna Prasad M S.
• Himanshu Gupta, Aruna Bhat, Krishnaprasad D, Krishnaprasad MS, Vimal Kumar K"An innovative method pof incorporating antifungal agents into tissue conditioners: An in vitro study"25(2), 63-66; 2011
• Asha Pai K .B, Rekha Rai, Sanjeev H, Vimal Kumar Karnaker, Krishna Prasad MS "Nitrofurantoin: An Alternative Therapy for Uncomplicated Cystitis in the Era of Antimicrobial Resistance." The Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 2011 October, Vol-5(5): 964-966.
• "Seroprevalence of leptospirosis among patients with acute febrile illness - A prospective study". Ganesh H.R, Krishna Prasad M.S, Vimal Kumar Karnaker and Veena Shetty A. Biomedicine; July Sept-2013; Vol. 33(3) Page: 341-345
• Patterns of Tobacco Consumption among oral squamous cell carcinoma cases attending a tertiary care dental hospital in coastal Karnataka of India - Original Research Article; Shankaran V Sreelatha, Sukanya Shetty, Vimal Kumar Karnaker, Chitta R Chowdhury; World Journal Dentistry; (2019), 10(5);350-353.

• Completed Guideship for 2 PHD student Thesis.
• Completed Guideship for 6 MD Thesis. Completed
• Co-guideship of 2 MS general surgery PG.
• Completed Co-guideship for 2 MD Pharmacology
• PG. Completed Guideship for 2 MSC MLT Students.
• Ongoing Guideship of 1 MD (Microbiology) Student-Topic: Analysis of bacterial etiology and outcome in cases of ventilator associated pneumonia in a tertiary care hospital: A cross sectional study

• Member of Indian Association of Parasitology.
• Member of Indian Association of Medical Microbiology
• Member of Hospital Infection control committee of KSHEMA
• Member of the hospital Pharmacotherapeutic (Antibiotic Policy) of KSHEMA
• Past External Board member of BOS Yenopoya Microbiology Department
• Past member of Institutional Ethical Research Committee
• Past BOS member of ABSMIDS

• Community and hospital acquired antibiotic resistance infections
• Food borne pathogens
• Infectious diseases related to oral health
• Prevalence and Characterization of HPV, EBV and HSV among Head and Neck cancer patients.
• Molecular biology
• Stem cell derived exosomes, gingival human fibroblasts and irradiation studies Recognised PhD Guide by Nitte (DU).

• Received Certificate of Recognition from Wake Forest University, USA on 7th January 2020, for Outstanding Mentoring of Wake forest School of Medicine Medical Students for the period 2015 to 2019.
• Received the IDWeek, 2015 Guerrant International Travel Grant award from Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) for poster paper presentation at San Diego, USA.
• Received International Travel Grant award for oral paper presentation at NDSU, USA,16th to 19th July 2017.
• Received grant award for Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Workshop on Collaborative Science at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 1 to 2, 2014 sponsored by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
• Invited to attend an international educational workshop held from August 16- August 22, 2013, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Educational Institute is funded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the Academy of Sciences, Malaysia.
• Received training on "Mesenchymal stem cells: Isolation and characterization" at St. Mary's hospital, Seoul, South Korea. (Funding support Prince Trust, UK and SKRF foundation)

• Preeja PP, Kumar SH, Shetty V. Prevalence and Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Community-and Hospital-Associated Infections: A Tertiary Care Center Study. Antibiotics. 2021 Feb;10(2):197.
• Ritchie O, Shetty V, Prabhu S, Shetty AK. Confidence in Antibiotic Prescribing Intentions among Senior Medical Students in India. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2020 Dec 2;103(6):2561-7.
• Shetty S, Prabhu S, Shetty V, Shetty AK. Knowledge, attitudes and factors associated with acceptability of human papillomavirus vaccination among undergraduate medical, dental and nursing students in South India. Human vaccines &immunotherapeutics. 2019 Feb 18:1-0
• Chaithra K, Shetty VA, Rai RR, Sharma RR, Shetty AK. Fatal Sepsis and Septic Shock Secondary to Aeromonas hydrophila Pneumonia: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature. Clinical Pulmonary Medicine. 2019 Jul 1;26(4):114-7.
• Kanishan C, Shetty AV, Kb AP, Sharma RR, Shetty AK. Bacterial etiology and risk factors of Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) among adult patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2020 Dec 1; 101:140

• Value addition of the dental gels and irrigants commonly used among dental patients by exposing to electron beam, funded by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, (BRNS).
• Application of Irradiation for preventing post-harvest losses in fish and fishery products funded by DAE and BRNS.
• Attenuation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence by dietary phytochemicals from vegetables as quorum sensing inhibitors funded by DBT, Govt. of India.
• Lecture Series on Molecular Genetics funded by Karnataka Science and Technology Academy, (KSTA).
• Association of urinary tract infection and blood glucose level in Type 2 diabetes mellitus by ICMR STS; Reference ID: 2014-04693.
• Association of white discharge and psycho social risk factors in women of reproductive age in South Canara - A community based study, funded by ICMR.
• Prevalence and Epidemiology of extended-spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producing Gram-negative bacteria from tertiary care hospitals: A 3-year prospective study from Mangalore, funded by Wake Forest School of Medicine, USA.
• The Effects of Urinary Tract Infection on antioxidant status among pregnant women". ICMR (Reference ID: 2015-O3456).

• Characteristics of Bacterial Enteric Pathogens Isolated From Environmental And Stool Samples Of Patients With Diarrhea.
• Sequencing And Molecular Characterization of NDM carrying isolates from Hospital Effluents.
• Bacteriological profile and clinical outcomes of community acquired pneumonia in adults admitted to Justice K. S. Hegde Charitable Hospital, Deralakatte, Mangalore, India.
• Detection of prevalence of Human Papilloma Virus strains in cervical biopsies by PCR method in South Canara district and North Kerala region
• Evaluation of the Antimycotic activity of grape fruit plant extract on Candida species - An in vitro study
• Biological and molecular characterization of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells as a source for cartilage regeneration
• Characterization and multilineage differentiation of stem cells derived from human dermal skin
• Biological characterization of fresh and cryopreserved dental pulp stem cells derived from third molar teeth: a comparative study

• To evaluate the salivary level of beta defensins and Streptococcus mutans among patients using anti-caries agents during radiation.
• In vitro evaluation of buccal fat pad as a prospective source of multipotent stem cells for applications in oral and maxillofacial surgery
• Biocompatibility properties of mineral trioxide aggregate on human dental pulp stem cells - An in vitro study.

• . Project Title: "Prevalence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization among children in India". Katie Trumbull (2008-2009). Funding: NIH Short-Term Medical Student Training Grant for Summer Research
• Project Title: "The Preparedness of Physicians to Respond to an Avian influenza Outbreak in India" Ed Hadley (2009-2010). Funding: Lawson Fund
• Project Title: "Knowledge and Attitudes towards Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Among Academic and Community Physicians in Mangalore, India". Chelsea Cannon (2013-2014) Funding: Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and Benjamin H. Kean Travel Fellowship
• Project Title: "Antimicrobial resistance knowledge, attitudes, and practice of health care providers in South India". Olivia Menden(2017-2018)Funding: NIH Medical Student Summer Research Program
• Project Title: "Antimicrobial use for pediatric respiratory infections: parent's knowledge, attitudes, and practices on antibiotic use and physician antibiotic practice patterns in South India". Philippe Ayers(2018-2019)Funding: NIH Medical Student Summer Research Program.
• Project Title: "Physician preparedness for management of emergencies in primary care offices in India". Shi Xun (Dave) Fang(2018-2019)Funding source: NIH Medical Student Summer Research Program.
• Project Title: "Nipah Virus knowledge, attitudes, and risk perception among health care providers". Lauren Himes(2019-2020).Funding: NIH Medical Student Summer Research Program.
• Project Title: "Knowledge, attitudes, and HPV vaccine intention among women: a cross-sectional study". Pooja Shah(2019-2020)Funding: Gold Foundation student summer Fellowship

• Member Secretary, IBSC Nitte (DU)
• Chairperson, Institutional Research Cell Committee (IRCC),KSHEMA
• Member, Research Committee, Nitte,(DU)
• Subject Expert, Scientific Committee, Nitte (DU)
• Member, Safety Committee, Nitte (DU)
• PhD guided: 06, as a Co-Guide:05
• Research Coordinator, Nitte University Centre for Stem Cell Research & Regenerative Medicine (NUCSReM)
• Member, Board of studies for Biosciences Postgraduate Department Mangalore University
• Member, Board of examiners for postgraduate bioinformatics studies, Mangalore University. Aloysius College, Mangalore University
• Life member of Indian Association of Biomedical Scientists
• Life member of Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI)
• Life member of Gastrointestinal Society of India
• Book Chapters: 2
• Total number of publications:115 in International and National peer reviewed journals, H-index:17

• Teacher for the following undergraduate programs in subject Microbiology: MBBS, BSc. Respiratory therapy, B.Sc. Nursing, P.B.B.Sc. Nursing, Bsc MIT, BSc AOTT, BSc MLT
• Teacher for the following postgraduate programs in subject Microbiology: MD, MSc MLT
• Actively involved in clinical microbiology and virology laboratory services

• Was a resource person in the 'Train of Trainer Program on hospital infection control protocols at AB Shetty Memorial Institute of Dental Sciences on 28th & 29th of October 2020
• Underwent training in 'Internal Counsellor Programme on NABH standards conducted by Quality Council of India' in September 2014.
• Completed Basic course in Medical Education Technology in March 2015.
• Underwent 'Master Training Program on NABH Safe-I standards' in April 2015
• Delivered an invited talk on 'biomedical waste management at Nitte Gulabi Shetty Memorial Institute of Pharmaceutical sciences in 2016
• Underwent training in 'Quality Management Systems and Internal Audit in Medical laboratories as per ISO 15189:2012 (NABL)'; in August 2016
• Completed a 6 months certificate Program in Hospital Infection Control at Sankara Nethralaya from July 2016 to December 2016
• Trained in Basic TOG and Programmatic Management of Drug-resistant Tuberculosis in December 2018 and subsequently conducted many training programs in our hospital
• Completed Basic Course in Biomedical Research March to June 2020; with a consolidated score of 86%

• Parveen A, Bhat P. Evaluation of tigecycline and minocycline susceptibility among clinical isolates of carbapenem resistant acinetobacter species. J Evolution Med Dent Sci 2021 May;10(19):1408-1412
• Aroor R, Narasimhadevara N, Bhat P, Bhat V, Saldanha M, Goutham MK. Biofilm‑producing Organisms and their Antibiotic Sensitivity in Chronic Otitis Media - Mucosal Disease. Indian Journal of Otology. 2020 Jun;26(2):75-9
• Rai R, Bhat P. Hospital Antibiogram : A Tool for safe Antimicrobial Therapy. Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences. 2020 Jan;9(3)
• Khelgi A, Bhat P, Karnaker VK, Pai A. Salmonella Typhi Septicaemia with Rhabdomyolysis and Hepatitis. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2019 Nov;13(11):3-5
• Harison SJ, Bhat UP, Rai R. Melioidosis: An Unusual Presentation as Mycotic Pseudoaneurysm of Left Superficial Femoral Artery. Journal of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2018;8(4):162-4.

• WHO Unity study titled " risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection among health care workers in India-A case control study'' in 2020-2021 Mentored student projects
• A cross-sectional study of knowledge, attitude and practice of blood culture in a tertiary hospital among health care providers in 2018
• Evaluation of Tigecycline and Minocycline susceptibility among clinical isolates of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter species. (bagged the 2nd place in the academic year 2019-2020)

• Member of Standing Technical Advisory committee at Central University of Kerala in the year 2014. The committee is entrusted to give ethical clearance to research proposal
• Subcommittee member of NAAC criterion 6. Actively involved in documentation as per the qualitative and quantitative metrics for the Institute.
• Member of the hospital infection control committee since March 2015 till Feb 2017
• Worked as Infection control officer at Justice KS Hegde Charitable Hospital from March 2015 to February 28, 2017. Played an active role in development of the infection control manual, implementation of infection control practices, conducted various training sessions for the health care workers
• Active participation in the NABH SAFE I certification to our hospital
• Working as a member of the hospital pharmaco-therapeutic (antibiotic policy) committee from 2015 till date. Actively involved in the development and implementation of the antibiotic policy at Justice KS Hegde Charitable Hospital.

• Hospital infection Control
• Antimicrobial Stewardship - detection of drug resistant strains, decreasing the Antimicrobial Resistance and judicial use of antibiotics
• Molecular research and diagnosis - improving the diagnostic strategies to have an impact on patient care.

• "Evaluation of Helicobacter pylori antigen detection from stool samples for diagnosis in acid peptic disease patients". (Published in Saudi Journal of Pathology and Microbiology (Jan 2019 edition) - which is indexed in many databases including Indexcopernicus and in process in SCOPUS, SCI.)
• During the National conference in PGI, Chandigarh (NOV 2016) I participated in the Nanotechnology workshop at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Chandigarh
• Attended 3 national conferences and 3 state conferences

• Trained in "Quality Management Systems and Medical Laboratory as per ISO 15189:2012"
• Trained in "QuantStudio5 Real-Time PCR System"
•  Consultant Microbiologist

• 1st South Asian Melioidosis Congress, 2015, KMC, Manipal. (International conference).
• 20th Annual Conference of IAMM (KC) With theme "vaccine updates", KC Microcontroller, BMCRI Bangalore, 2016 (State conference)
• At 40th Annual Conference of Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists, at PGIMER Chandigarh, 2016. (National conference)

• Teaching Under graduates of courses like MBBS, BDS, PB Bsc.Nursing, BSc Medical Technology, BSc. Respiratory Therapy, BSc Physiotherapy.
• Mycology, Parasitology and Leptospirosis

• Paper /Poster presentation -03 oral /01poster
• Practical examiner for B.Sc MLT students by Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore.-2006 to date
• Guided thesis work of M.Sc (MLT) students
• Co.guided M.Sc(Microbiology) student from Kuvempu University,2011.
• Guided a student project by II Year MBBS, KSHEMA
• Paper setter/examiner for Sikkim Manipal University
• Paper setter/examiner for Nitte Deemed to be University for BSc.MLT, BSc Nursing, BPT courses.
• Participated in Curriculum preparation for BPT courses
• Conducted State level NITTE MICRO QUIZ 2018, 2019 as a Quiz Master
• Faculty Development Programme from Coursera - 03 courses completed.
• As Resource person to reputed colleges for workshops and CMEs.

• Ganesh H.R, Krishna Prasad M.S, Vimal Kumar Karnaker and Veena Shetty A. "Seroprevalence of leptospirosis among patients with acute febrile illness - A prospective study". Biomedicine; July Sept-2013; Vol. 33(3) Page: 341-345
• H.R. Ganesh, Vimal Kumar Karnaker and Veena A. Shetty; "A Leptospirosis Workup by Evaluation of Efficiency of Two Rapid Immunodiagnostic Tests in Comparison with Microscopic Agglutination Test - Original Research Article" International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences; ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 1 (Year: 2017) pp. 563-568.
• Ramanath GH, Karnaker VK. Serological evaluation of clinically suspected leptospirosis cases in a tertiary care hospital. J. Evolution Med. Dent. Sci. 2020;9(05):275-279, DOI: 10.14260/JEMDS2020/62
• Ganesh HR, Vimal Kumar Karnaker, Sanjeev H, Rekha Rai Asha Pai K.B, Krishna Prasad M.S "A plausible community induced Salmonella enteric serotype Paratyphi B infection causing infantile meningitis: A case report". NUJHS, Vol.2, No 4,Dec 2012:63 - 64
• Sweetha Nayak, Rekha Rai, Vimal K. Kumar, H. Sanjeev, Asha K. B. Pai, H. R. Ganesh. Distribution of microorganisms in neonatal sepsis and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in a tertiary care hospital. Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences / Jul-Dec 2014 / Vol 2 | Issue 2 page no. 136-139.

Completed projects:

• 1. A bacteriological study of diabetic wound infections-
• A study of bacterial and fungal population in a hospital environment
• Bacteriological profile of urinary isolates of pregnant women visiting antenatal clinic
• A retrospective study of biochemical and haematological profile of dengue cases in a tertiary care centre
• Evaluation of seroprevalence and early diagnosis of leptospirosis in and around Mangalore by various diagnostic techniques.

• A good resource person, Quiz Master.
• Attended NCC camps during PU College days.
• Donated blood as a NCC cadet
• Donated plasma during the hour of need in 2020 and 2021.