Meet Melbec: Rohith!
For our next Meet Melbec blog post, please welcome our fantastic research scientist, Rohith! In the 5 months Rohith has been a part of our team, he’s contributed so much to our internal research, helping us to develop our methods and strengthen our ability to help our clients.
How did you come to work at Melbec Microbiology?
I was doing my master’s degree in Medical and Molecular Virology at the University of Manchester in 2024, and was actively pursuing a career in a research field. It was then I came across the role of a Technician in Virology at Melbec Microbiology. During the interview I learned that Melbec performs lots of BS EN tests in virology like BS EN 14476, BS EN 16777, alongside BS EN 13697 for bactericidal activity, which matched my final dissertation project.
As I had experience in research and a background in Biotechnology, I was offered the position of Research Scientist to help focus on internal projects within Melbec.
What is your daily focus/role at Melbec Microbiology?
My role includes researching new techniques and establishing new processes for virology testing. I also handle some of the non-standard (bespoke) testing in biocides. At present, I am working on establishing a plaque assay technique for testing different viruses, qPCR analysis for testing products in virology and in biocides, and the testing efficiency of UV disinfection on Enterococcus spp.
What has been your favourite/most exciting project to work on throughout your career?
My favourite project has been the plaque assay technique. It is a challenging one because I need to establish a process according to our lab requirements. Every virus has a different time, mode and way of showing the infection. It is catching them at the best point to visualize and count them. So far, I have successfully established the technique for Vaccinia virus (Ankara strain). The techniques for Vaccinia (Elstree strain), poliovirus and adenovirus are in progress.
What do you love most about working at Melbec Microbiology?
At Melbec Microbiology, it is the team that I love the most. A huge part of the success of my experiments is their support and encouragement. The feedback I get from my managers is very constructive and positive, which keeps me motivated to achieve my results. I really love the team and the environment; I believe that these things play an important role in career progression.
What are you most looking forward to?
I look forward to getting more and more projects completed for Melbec. It will greatly help me in building a good base for my career and launching Melbec’s research capabilities onto the next level. In the future I would also love to see a separate R&D department in Melbec that will be focusing even more on innovations as per industry standards.