Scientist Who Embraced Uncertainty: Swati Bhavsar
Career Story
“Science is a verb and the society is the beneficiary”, I was thankfully introduced to this line before I entered into research and I wished I knew this even before I opted science in my lower classes. Since then, my doctoral and post-doctoral research ventures have been centred around human health or environmental issues.
During masters, my daily expenses came up from the ‘earn-while-learn’ scheme where I kept a record of the medical certificates in the health centre generally issued to the foreigners wanting to perceive the degree from University of Pune, it paid me Rs. 15/hour. I also began with the microbial analysis of water from various departments in University of Pune, Solar based water purifiers and protein foam compounds, a venture supported by IUCAA, Pune. My master’s and doctoral research focussed on the study of Campylobacter isolated from various sites of three major rivers in Pune viz., Mula, Mutha and Pavana; its transmittance via food and the elimination strategies (1). My research findings were published in scientific journals (2), that are now globally cited (3-4) and I very ceremoniously received a gold medal from Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists, Hyderabad, India in 2004 for the best published research paper in India (5).
I further sought opportunities to explore the field of Food Microbiology, Agricultural Microbiology and Nanobiotechnology projects individually funded by Science and Technology Park, University of Pune, Advance farms Logics Pvt. Ltd, Nasik, Board of College University Development, University of Pune and University Grant Commission, Delhi. My research related to the environment was about degradation of metals, keratin, plastic and other xenobiotics effectively using a microbial system (6-7). Meanwhile, my research team prepared soaps with antimicrobial capability using Agnihotri ash and Nirmalya extract for the candidiasis sufferers (8).
After years of social outreach and two decades as an educator,, I realised that popularisation of certain topics in science and inculcating scientific temperament was much needed in Indian society. To learn lucid communication skills, I took the ‘Science Journalism’ course offered by Indian Science Communication Society, Department of Science and Technology, India and qualified with grade A. Every year I wrote educational articles related to equity and accessibility in the proceedings of Management of Higher Educational Administration (9-11) and UN-NGO CECOSOC (12). In the course of science popularisation, I was involved as a resource person in and around Nasik schools and colleges, and also in Anjaneri Sensitisation Drive where I gave environment awareness talk to the tourists especially related to flora-fauna with a word of caution against plastic littering. Blog writing turned into my favourite affair where I wrote about topics ranging from balancing the creative and logical mind to human health (13-16).
“Being lost is the first step to getting found.”
I am associated with educational-awakening-interaction with the Zilla Parishad School kids and in general counselling of their parents. I frequently share the latest technology and educational videos in schools and colleges at Nasik, Wasaligaon, Velapur, Lasalgaon and Nandgaon. I got actively associated with ‘Gharkul Pariwar Sanstha’ Pimpalgaon-Bahula, Nasik from 2013 till date, working on empowerment of the special girls financially, equipment donation, awareness, volunteering, maintenance of the Facebook forum for the family etc. (17). My connection with the society was acknowledged by the Rotary Club of Nasik and they awarded me with ‘Ratna Puraskar’ in 2015 (18).
Spirituality and science cannot be segregated, also, every act of science begins as a philosophy and ends as an art. Art and Science are the branches of the same creativity tree. In my life, SSC (science, spirituality and creativity) was very much going in synchrony. Yoga, meditation, pranayama, dancing, travelling and reading practices kept me steady otherwise. Warli painting is the art of interest and my articles received buyers in and across India under the brand name – “स्वBha”. My home became a mini factory for assembly, production and marketing. I was invited in schools and colleges for Warli painting exhibitions and workshops (19).
“My life is spelled SSS: Science, Society and Spirituality”
Curiosity keeps leading us to new paths. Not all of those paths are easy, but difficulty and challenge is what makes it interesting. Industrial consultancy proved to be a triggering point in my life. Rather than keeping science within the four walls of the laboratory or to produce Ph.D. students baked in a specified mold, I chose to play a role of research consultant to the industries and solve their real time problems, thereby contributing to the economy of the country as a whole. It’s been around 6 years that I have been acting as a research consultant to local, national and multinational industries. I am involved in the microbial assessment of soil, water, food, medicinal formulation, paper, sheet and electronic devices. I study, analyse and suggest to them the best possible solution or the treatment to their problem.
As a “Covid warrior” myself, I will share a few field facts I experienced during the second Coid wave of the pandemic. During the first wave turmoil of Covid pandemic I had been consciously hunting for an opportunity to serve the society but landed up in the optimization of sanitizer for a small-scale industry. It was in the second wave that I actually got this chance to work in Nashik municipal corporation’s Bytco Covid care centre. I worked in a lab, in the middle of a government Covid care centre, which exclusively conducted RT-PCR testing of swab samples. . Under a common roof, Covid Centre patients were not only detected using the PCR tests but also admitted and treated against Coronavirus disease. Our highest sample count went to approx. 1500 on one of the days in mid-April and the reports of which we successfully communicated within 24 hours to the respective centres in Nashik. The peak continued from April to mid May. During this course of analysis in the second wave seven of our teammates out of 28, turned Covid positive but with cumulative support, treatment and love, all of them recovered faster and without hesitation responded to the call of duty in the lab post-recovery. During the covid pandemic, in India alone, there were more than 3 Crore positive cases detected and approximately 4.3 lakhs covid related fatality. Out of these, around 3 lakhs deaths happened in the second covid wave and, approx 35% was from Maharashtra, where Nasik district fell in the category of red zone.
In this tsunami of pandemic, according to my observation, government provided the basic facilities to the common man and non-governmental organizations too fulfilled their duty in the form of food donation, ventilator donation etc. Covid patients in the care centre cooperated with each other serving as mutual moral support.. Unfortunately, a few of them were an exception and they failed to cooperate with the health workers and to follow the cleanliness protocols in the Covid care centre. In the second pandemic wave, the behaviour of virus was relatively very tricky and deceptive, the symptoms were unpredictable and also varied from individual to individual, rendering both diagnosis and prognosis confusing. Meanwhile, our RT-PCR team were serving the mankind with lot of steady efforts. Despite of the higher sample counts, our technicalities and ICMR portal entry went hand in hand, which lead to transparency, accessibility and quick treatment. During this period, as an individual I learnt how to administer and manage the team, workload management, clinical data management, biological waste management, stress management, time management, troubleshoot management and also the real-time application of my subject in the field of human diagnostics that too during global pandemic threat (20). I also became aware about the unpredictability of life around me.
‘Being lost is the first step to getting found’, having realized this, in the journey of life, with my Pandora box of experiences, I have understood that with good food, peaceful sleep, healthy relations, wisdom, spiritual mind, curiosity and a smart saving, one can not only accept challenges but also serve as a guiding light for others. In the future, I look forward to creating opportunities to serve my fellow beings in my little ways and appreciate life as it slowly unfolds.
References:
- https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Sokz5ooAAAAJ&citation_for_view=Sokz5ooAAAAJ:u-x6o8ySG0sC
- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Sokz5ooAAAAJ&hl=en
- International citation for “campylobacteriosis” in Wikipedia of Microbes ‘MicrobeWiki’ edited by Daniel Barich, Ohio, United States. https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Campylobacteriosis
- International citation for ‘Foodborne Campylobacteriosis’ by Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), London, United Kingdom in May 2017. https://www.ifst.org/resources/information-statements/foodborne-campylobacteriosis
- Gold medal for, Paper entitled “Effect of gamma radiation on survival of campylobacters in various food samples” was awarded as the Best Published Paper ‘ 2004 by Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists, L.V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad in the XXIX National Conference of Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists, Microcon 2005 20th 2005 at Sri Ramachandra Medical College & Research Institute (Deemed University), Porur, Chennai. Tamil nadu.
- Bhavsar S P, Joshi S A, Patel A, Radhika S, Joshi R S (2012) Microbial leaching of metals of metals from industrial cast mixture and artificial waste ( ISSN No. 2249-9016 ) . Luminescence: Journal of Research, 30-3
- Khandelwal S, Bhavsar S, Aher P, Wagh P., Matal S., Joshi S. and Kalekar S (2012) Keratin Degradation: ‘A Microbial Venture’ Contribution to Science. Luminescence: Journal of Research. 9-14.
- Bhavsar S P (2020) Antimicrobial Soap using Agnihotri-Ash Luminescence: Journal of Research 2:10-14.
- Khandelwal S R and Bhavsar S P. Blended Learning: A Wholistic Approach in Today’s Education System 28th Annual Conference of Maharashtra Council of Educational Administration and Management (MCEAM) under the theme ‘Towards Transformation: Role of teachers in the New Normal’ (2021)
- Khandelwal S R and Bhavsar S P. Teacher Educator’s Role: A significant focus point in the Indian Education System 25th Annual Conference of Maharashtra Council of Educational Administration and Management (MCEAM) under the theme ‘Management of Higher Education in India’ (2018)
- Khandelwal S R and Bhavsar S P. Quality Education, Equity and Accessibility: A Challenge for the Indian Education System24th Annual Conference of Maharashtra Council of Educational Administration and Management (MCEAM) under the theme ‘Management of Higher Education in India’ (2017)
- Member of the organizing committee for the 19th World Congress of IAEWP on, ‘Theme: Peace Education for Good Governance and Non-Violence’, organized by International Association of Educators for world Peace UN-NGO(ECOSOC) with G.E. Society’s H.P.T. Arts and R.Y.K. Science College and S.M.R.K.B.K. Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Nasik from 24th to 26th Oct. 2016
- https://swatisparadise.blogspot.com/?m=1
- https://swatisparadise.blogspot.com/2022/01/my-hero.html
- https://swatisparadise.blogspot.com/2020/05/ludo-vs-chess.html
- http://epaperlokmat.in/Archive/lokmattimes/epapernew.php?articleid=LOKTIME_NSKF_20191104_2_1&arted=Nashik%20First&width=135px
- https://swatisparadise.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-fence-creeper-and-berries.html
- Awarded by the ‘Ratna Puraskar’ by Rotary Club and Suprem foundation on 20th December 2015 for the contribution to the Society through Education at Birla Memorial Hospital Hall, Nasik Road, Nasik.
- http://www.newsmasala.in/2022/05/blog-post.html
- https://www.deshdoot.com/local-news/nasik/gold-medalist-doctors-checking-corona-swab-in-nashik-bytco-hospital
Edited by: Nivedita Kamath
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