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Dr. Madhav Kumar is a faculty member at SKAN Research Trust with expertise in microbiology, gut microbiome research, bioinformatics, and bacteriophages. He earned his Ph.D. from CSIR–Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR-CSMCRI), India, where his doctoral work focused on biofilm-forming bacteria and their biotechnological applications, including dye degradation, agarose production, and extracellular polymeric substance isolation.

As part of the SKAN–Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) collaboration, Dr. Kumar served as a Visiting Scientist at QIB from February 2024 to March 2025. During this period, he conducted in-depth studies on the gut microbiome of Parkinson’s disease patients and successfully isolated and characterized multiple bacterial strains from clinical samples.

At SKAN Research Trust, his current research focuses on understanding host–microbe interactions and exploring the therapeutic potential of bacteriophages, particularly against sulfur-reducing bacteria associated with Parkinson’s disease and other disorders. With a strong interdisciplinary background in microbiology and computational biology, Dr. Kumar aims to develop targeted, microbiome-based therapeutic strategies and advance translational research in human health.

Research Focus

  1. Gut Microbiome and Human Health
    Investigation of gut microbial composition and function, with a focus on their role in neurological and systemic disorders, particularly Parkinson’s disease.
  2. Bacteriophages and Phage-Based Therapeutics
    Isolation, characterization, and application of bacteriophages as targeted therapeutic agents against pathogenic and disease-associated bacteria.
  3. Sulfur-Reducing Bacteria in Disease
    Study of sulfur-reducing gut bacteria and their contribution to disease pathogenesis, with emphasis on identifying strategies to modulate their activity.
  4. Clinical Microbiology and Bacterial Isolation
    Culture-based isolation and characterization of clinically relevant bacterial strains from patient samples, including anaerobic and fastidious organisms.
  5. Colon Model Studies for Gut Microbiome Modulation
    Use of in vitro colon and gut simulation models to study microbial interactions, community dynamics, and targeted modulation of the gut microbiome under controlled conditions.

Publications

  1. Kumar, M., Agrawal, D., Khoiyangbam, R. S., Chingangbam, S. S., & Chaudhary, D. R. (2026). Seasonal variations in functional gene abundances and potential methane production across different vegetation types in coastal soils of Gujarat, India. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 104757.
  2. Kumar, M.*, Sayavedra, L., Baker, D.J., Shouche, Y.S., and Narbad, A. (2025). Genome sequence of Eubacterium callanderi AM6, isolated from a Parkinson’s disease patient. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 14:e00039-25.
  3. Kumar, R., Kumar, M., Tanna, B., and Bhargava, B. (2025). Molecular diagnostic techniques utilized in viral diseases. In Viral Diseases (Book Chapter).
  4. Kumar, M., and Chaudhary, D.R. (2024). Agarose degrading potential and whole genome sequence analysis of marine bacterium Aliagarivorans sp. strain DM1 isolated from the Arabian Sea. Current Microbiology.
    Kumar, M., Soni, R., Saran, P., and Chaudhary, D.R. (2024). Characterization of extracellular polymeric substances from biofilm-forming marine bacteria from the Arabian Sea, India. Indian Journal of Microbiology.
  5. Chaudhary, D.R., Kumar, M., and Kalla, V. (2023). Sediment microbial community structure and functional gene abundance in coastal hypersaline habitats. Archives of Microbiology, 205, 56.
  6. Kumar, M., Kumari, A., Vaghani, B.P., and Chaudhary, D.R. (2023). Dye degradation by early colonizing marine bacteria from the Arabian Sea, India. Archives of Microbiology, 205, 160.
  7. Kumar, M., Chaudhary, D.R., and Jha, B. (2023). Surface-associated bacterial assemblages on marine anthropogenic litter in the intertidal zone of the Arabian Sea, India. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 193, 115211.
  8. Khandare, S., Teotia, N., Kumar, M., Diyora, P., and Chaudhary, D.R. (2023). Biodegradation and decolorization of trypan blue azo dye by marine bacteria Vibrio sp. JM-17. Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, 5, 102802.
  9. Kumar, M., Kumar, R., Chaudhary, D.R., and Jha, B. (2022). An appraisal of early-stage biofilm-forming bacterial community assemblage and diversity in the Arabian Sea, India. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 180, 113732.

Additional Information

Invited Talk:
  • Invited talk on “From colon to cortex: mapping the microbiome’s role in disease progression”, at Carmel college of Arts, Science & Commerce for women, Department of food technology, Goa. January 2026
Conferences & Workshop:
  • Participated in 6th International conference on Bacteriophage research and antimicrobial resistance at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi (November 12-13, 2025)
  • Participated in 6th International workshop on Bacteriophage research and antimicrobial resistance at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi (November 09-11, 2025)
  • Attended Festival of Genomics & Biodata conference at London ExCeL (January 29-30, 2025)
  • Attended John Innes Centre (JIC)/ The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) annual science meeting at Norwich, UK (October 9-11, 2024)
  • Participated in workshop “Grant writing using AI” at Norwich, UK (July 29-30, 2024)
  • Participated in Indo-US international conference on antimicrobial resistance and human microbiome at THSTI, Faridabad (November 15-16, 2023)
  • Oral presentation in Online International Conference on Research Methodology at Lucknow, UP (October 28-30, 2022)
  • Served as the resource person for the workshop “Next Generation Sequencing”, held at Amrita School of Biotechnology (January 31, 2020)
  • Served as the resource person for the training “next generation sequence – data analysis” held at UniBiosys research labs (October 22, 2019)
  • Poster presentation and participation in XXXII Gujarat science congress (February 4-5, 2018)

Grants

Press Releases

Professional Profiles