Our Team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Poonam Choudhary
Education
- Ph.D. (Algal biorefinery), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (2017)
- M.Tech (Biotechnology), National Institute of Technology Durgapur (2012)
Professional Experience
- Research Scientist, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)
- Scientist-C, BRIC–National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI), Mohali
Dr. Poonam Choudhary leads the Biomanufacturing Process Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. Her research is centered on engineering biological resources into scalable products through integrated biomanufacturing. Over the past decade, she has contributed to the development of microalgal bioprocesses for carbon utilization, wastewater valorization, biomass production, and recovery of high-value biomolecules. Building on this foundation, her current research expands these engineering principles to develop manufacturing platforms for sustainable biomaterials, bioactive proteins and circular resource technologies. Research in the Biomanufacturing Process Lab is organized around the complete biomanufacturing pipeline from biological feedstocks to finished products. The laboratory integrates upstream cultivation, bioprocess engineering, downstream recovery, product engineering, and process scale-up to develop end-to-end manufacturing platforms across biomaterials, algal biotechnology, and water-resource systems. The overarching goal is to engineer processes that are efficient, scalable, and readily adaptable for industrial implementation. The laboratory actively collaborates with academic institutions, industry, clinicians, and research laboratories to accelerate technology development and product realization. By combining engineering innovation with application-driven research, Dr. Choudhary aims to establish indigenous biomanufacturing platforms that strengthen India's capabilities in sustainable manufacturing, healthcare technologies, and environmental resource management.
PhD Candidates
Microalgae cultivation and harvesting; Cyanobacteria scale-up in photobioreactor; Extraction, purification, characterization, bioactivity analysis and techno-economic assessment of cyanobacterial proteins for biomanufacturing
Madhu Yadav
madhu_y@bt.iitr.ac.inExtraction and purification of algal proteins and its hydrogel based application.
Hritick Gyan Verma
hritick_gv@bt.iitr.ac.inMy work bridges Molecular Biology and Biomaterials Science, focusing on how animal derived proteins can be harnessed and repurposed for biomedical innovation.
Himashu Kumar
himanshu_k@bt.iitr.ac.inEngineering Microalgae for Enhanced Recombinant Protein Production.
Amit Dobhal
amit_d@bt.iitr.ac.inWorking on the valorisation of liquid anaerobic digestate, aquaculture wastewater, and biogenic CO2 for sustainable Spirulina cultivation.
Nikhil Narmeta
nikhil.bt@sric.iitr.ac.inCollagen extraction & biomaterials.
M.Tech Students
Sandipan Nag
sandipan_n@bt.iitr.ac.inCollagen production and scale-up.
Interns
Purification and Comparison of Extracted vs. Re-Extracted Porcine Type 1 Collagen
Extraction and Characterization of Animal-Derived Proteins; Characterization of Hydrogels for Tissue Regenerative Therapies.
Microalgal Biomass Processing and Protein Isolation..
Protein extraction and purification
Assisting with animal derived proteins research and downstream operations.
Alumni
Anitha Augustine(Intern)
anithaaugustine768@gmail.comInvolved in the extraction, purification, and characterization of collagen 1 from biological sources, performed various analytical techniques, including protein quantification and solubility studies.
Evaluating mechanical cell lysis techniques for protein extraction from Spirulina Biomass.
Focused on developing and optimizing an effective combination of methods for enhancing the protein recovery from the dried biomass of Spirulina Platensis.
Developing downstream process for the protein recovery from Spirulina biomass focused on developing and optimizing an effective combination of methods for enhancing the protein recovery from the dried biomass of Spirulina Platensis
Formulation & Characterization of Gelatin-Genipin-Xylitol based Hydrogel Augmented with Green-Synthesized Gold Nanoparticles from _Chlorella pyrenoidosa_ using Biomanufacturing Approach.
Development and Characterization of Sodium alginate-Xanthan gum-Collagen Hydrogel Bioinks for Cell-Laden 3D Bioprinted Skin Constructs.
Engineering Assessment of Spirulina platensis Growth Strategies for Biomass Optimization.
Designing of Photobioreactor for Direct Air Carbon Capture(DAC)