Subhashree Pagal

For my Master’s thesis, I isolated bacteriophages from environmental samples using Acinetobacter pittii as the host. The objective of my work is to train these phages to expand their host range and enable infection of non-host, multidrug-resistant bacteria, particularly members of the ESKAPE group, as a potential alternative when conventional antibiotic treatments fail.

• Optimizing microbial fed-batch fermentations for HMO production in laboratory-scale bioreactors • Setting up a PI-control-loop and adapting necessary programming routines. • Analyzing process data to determine optimal controller settings and presenting results to the team • Conducting literature research • Supporting the team in daily laboratory routines

During my internship, I investigated the effects of a growth-inhibiting co-substrate on E. coli growth using a BioLector system and scaled the study to 2-liter bioreactor cultures to assess the inhibition in a fed-batch system. Product induced by the co-substrate was quantified using HPLC, while cell growth was monitored using both IncyteArc and spectrophotometry.