My MIC-ROmantic love story with Microbes –
by T. N. Kumaresan (TNK)
Dear all, I am T. N. Kumaresan, a Microbiologist from AMRWATCH Project. To give a brief introduction on my career side, I am currently working as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) at the Department of Microbiology, Pondicherry University.
The main role of my duties in the project is to collect samples, develop research methodologies for screening Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and evaluating AMR emergence in the environment by culture-based and metagenomic approaches. Apart from these laboratory works; I am a YouTuber, but I prefer mentioning myself as a Science Communicator. I own a YouTube channel called “ThiNK BIOLOGY ThiNK VISION” with more than 1 million Viewers and 25,000+ Subscribers as far now. I deliver complicated biological topics in an engaging and entertaining way so that students get benefited and develop an interest in biology. The main motto of the channel is to ignite the love for science in young minds.
My love for microbiology started in childhood. When a ray of light fell on my eyes crossing the diaphragm, condenser, and lenses. Yeah! you got it right; it was the first time when I held a microscope and delve into the microscopic world. Till that time, I thought only babies are the little cutest creatures. But after that, I was so curious to know many more little and much cuter creatures called micro-organisms. I feel more romantic toward these cute little microbes than anyone else. We inoculate them in a new environment, we feed them with nutrients, we incubate them with appropriate pH, Temperature and with lots of love and care. After all this, they say Hi by popping out as a colony on the medium. Though we outpour this much love, the person who we love the most will be the person who hurt us the most! The same happens here also, some microbes develop resistance against antibiotics and cause some deadly infections and emerge as a global threat. But it is ok, no relationship is perfect! Everything is fair in Love and War, to that phrase, we can add Microbes too.
So as the moral of the story is, not only scientists and researchers can battle this infinity war against superbugs. It is the responsibility of every human to use antimicrobials and antibiotics with caution.
Finally, I like to thank every member of this astonishing AMRWATCH team. I am so grateful to Prof. Joseph Selvin, who gave me a wonderful opportunity to explore this research world. I am so contented to meet great scientists like Prof. Nick Voulvoulis and Prof. Shiranee Sriskandan. The time, I spent with lovable UK teammates Dr. Anna Freeman, Dr. Theodoros Giakoumis, and Dr. Ana Vieira will always hold a special place in my memories. And last but not least, I like to express my sincere thanks to my colleagues, my friends, my mentors Prof. Latha Ragunathan, Dr. Prathivi Raj, Mr. Vishnu Prasad, Mr. Vishnu Chandran, Mr. Gokul Patharaj, Ms. Seethalakshmi, Ms. Anushara Prabhakaran, Ms. Anisha. I have acquired a lot of knowledge from them and they have been a great support in my journey throughout this project.
Besides being a microbiologist, I am a writer, photographer, content creator, video editor, and a cinephile. I like to conclude this blog with one of my poems.
Who needs a “LOVE LIFE” when you have a “LAB LIFE…
In a world full of Corruption and Pollution, I am here in the Lab free from Contamination
Love makes us each other’s slave; Better I shall prepare germ-free media in an autoclave
Love hunts everyone like a predator, I shall stay safe inside an incubator
People use to say love is magical, promptly it is nothing much reactions of chemicals
Like a King wearing his Cape, I wear my Lab coat
The mighty lab coat hugging me, mask kissing my lips
Micropipettes holding my hands, Feeling high with the fragrance of ethanol
My love does not belong to any cultures, rather I create my own cultures
With a pure sterile heart, Making more and more love toward microbes
Who needs a “LOVE LIFE” when you have a “LAB LIFE”!
A Life by T. N. K
Thank you so much for your time and patience. you can also catch me on:
- Instagram: thinkbiology_think_vision – https://www.instagram.com/thinkbiology_think_vision/
- YouTube: ThiNK BIOLOGY ThiNK VISION -https://www.youtube.com/@ThiNKBiologyThiNKVISION