I am Biji Shibulal, currently working as a Research Fellow in the “SOCORRO” project under the guidance of Prof. Martin Smith and team at the School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton, UK.
My role in the SOCORRO project includes the determination of geochemical/ microbiological/environmental factors in Microbial Induced Corrosion (MIC) and to help in the development of rapid identification strategy using the geochemical compounds identified from corrosion blisters as well as using the dissimilatory sulphur-reducing genes in microbes.
Research is my passion and I have always strived my level best to achieve it. I became interested in research in my early school days when I learned about DNA. I chose “Biotechnology” as the major subject during my Bachelor’s (2000-2003) and Master’s degree (2003-2005) and gained high first class at both levels. After finishing my masters, I joined the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute as a Junior Research Fellow with an aim to further my career at a doctorate level.
My ambition to further my research experience drove me to join Sultan Qaboos University in Oman (2012-2017), as a trainee in the Oil and Gas Research Centre which led to my graduation as a doctoral candidate in “Microbial Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery” with 6 publications in peer- reviewed international journals and worked as a laboratory specialist. From this work I developed an interest in learning Bioinformatics which resulted in joining the University of Aberdeen for MRes Environmental Science (Bioinformatics).
Broadly, my research interests centre on geomicrobiology, the evolution and adaptation of microbes, the interaction between microbial communities, their geochemical environment and the resulting modification of the various environmental substrates and environmental chemistry. More specifically, I am interested in examining the direct and intimate relationship between the activity of the biological community and the geochemical processes.
My PhD research topic was very much related to “SOCORRO” research area, which is also an interdisciplinary research project. All my gained experiences in microbiology, bioinformatics and chemical analysis through the years enable me to contribute to this project. Now that I am doing something I am passionate about, something I love and I feel that I am good at, and above all within the team of great scientists, I am sure “SOCORRO” will end in great success.
Institutional profile: Biji Shibulal — The University of Brighton