Microbiology Dr Abhishek Padhi Assistant Professor MBBS, MD, PDCC (Transplant and Hepatic Virology, ILBS)

 

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Dr. Abhishek Padhi is an academic microbiologist and infectious disease expert with extensive clinical, diagnostic, and research experience across virology, bacteriology, and infection control. Currently serving as Assistant Professor at AIIMS Rajkot, he has played a pivotal role in establishing the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), initiating the PDCC programs in Infectious Disease and Clinical Virology, and developing a NABL-ready molecular diagnostics platform for emerging viral threats.

He brings a unique blend of clinical bedside experience, high-end molecular diagnostics, and public health vision with a special focus on the Saurashtra and Kachchh region.

 

 

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS :

• MBBS : VSS MEDICAL COLLEGE, BURLA, ODISHA (2014)
• MD (MICROBIOLOGY) : MKCG MEDICAL COLLEGE,BERHAMPUR, ODISHA (2019)
• PDCC (HEPATIC AND TRANSPLANT VIROLOGY) : ILBS, NEW DELHI (2020)
• COMMONWEALTH PROFESSIONAL FELLOWSHIP (CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES) : LONDON NORTH WEST UNIVERSITY HEALTHCARE, NHS TRUST, LONDON (2025)

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE :

• Senior Resident (Academics) : ILBS, NEW DELHI

• Senior Resident : AIIMS, Raipur

 

CURRENT DESIGNATION  :

• Assistant Professor, AIIMS, Rajkot, Gujarat, India
• Co-PI, Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL),AIIMS, Rajkot
• Co- PI, BSL-3 containment facility, AIIMS, Rajkot
• Co- Nodal officer, Regional Centre of Excellence, One Health
• Member Secretary, Hospital Infection Control Committee, AIIMS, Rajkot
• Assistant Dean (Research), AIIMS, Rajkot
• Member Secretary, Institutional Ethics Committee, AIIMS, Rajkot

 

 

 

KEY SKILLS :

1. Specialist in control of  transplant associated infections

2. Diagnosis of bacterial, fungal, viral and mycobacterial infections.

3. Antibiogram and antimicrobial stewardship.

4. Serological Diagnosis of infectious diseases.

5. Diagnosis of infectious pathologies by conventional, automated and molecular methods.

6. COVID-19 work experience in a high throughput Biosafety level-3 lab.

7. Hospital infection control and prevention.

8. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning

 

AWARDS

• Best Paper Award 12^th Annual Conference of IAMM (Odisha Chapter), Berhampur, November 2018
• The APASL Travel Grant Award For Top Abstract
• ICMR Young Scientist Award To Attend The 29^th APASL Meet, Bali, Indonesia
• Runner up in the Broor – Agarwal Best paper in Virology, MICROCON, 2023, Lucknow
• ESCMID Funded Observership (2024)

 

MEBERSHIP IN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

• Member Of The European Society Of Clinical Microbiology And Infectious Diseases (ESCMID)
• Member of The European Society of Clinic Virology (ESCV)
• Member of The American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
• Member Of The ESCMID Fungal Investigation Study Group (EFISG)
• Member of European Society of Clinical Virology (ESCV)
• Life Member Of The Indian Association Of Medical Microbiologists (IAMM)
• Life Member Of  Delhi Chapter of The Indian Association Of Medical Microbiologists (IAMM)
• Founding member of Indian Society of Clinical Virology
• Member of The ESCMID Study Group for Antimicrobial Stewardship (ESGAP)
• Member of The ESCMID Study Group for Clostridioides difficile (ESGCD)
• Member of The ESCMID Study Group for Legionella Infections (ESGLI)
• Member of The ESCMID Study Group for Genomic and Molecular Diagnostics (ESGMD)
• Member of The ESCMID Study Group for Viral Hepatitis (ESGVH)
• Member of  The ESCMID Study Group for Staphylococci and Staphylococcal Diseases (ESGS)
• Member of the ESCMID Study Group for Public Health Microbiology (ESGPHM)

 

AREAS OF INTEREST

• Clinical and Translational Virology
• Molecular Diagnostics and Genomics
• One Health and Emerging Viral Infections
• Infection Prevention & Control
• Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMSP)
• AI Applications in Infectious Disease Diagnostics

 

Extramural/ Collaborative Projects

• Setting up of Nation-wide network of Laboratories for managing epidemics and natural calamities- AIIMS Rajkot
• Upgradation of Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) to BSL-3 Lab under the scheme entitled “Prime Minister Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM)- AIIMS Rajkot.
• Establishing of New Regional Coordinator under National One Health Programme for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses (NOHP-PCZ)- AIIMS Rajkot.
• Prevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C in pregnant women and adolescent girls in Gujarat

 

PUBLICATIONS

1. Padhi, A., Gupta, E., Agarwal, A., Kumar, S., Saxena, S.K. (2025). Laboratory Diagnosis of Japanese Encephalitis. In: Saxena, S.K. (eds) Japanese Encephalitis. Medical Virology: From Pathogenesis to Disease Control. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5433-5_9
2. Padhi, A., Bhise, M., Chaudhary, A., Vyas, R., Talwar, V., Agarwal, A., & Katoch, C. (2025). Establishing robust infection control at a new hospital: the AIIMS Rajkot experience. International Journal of Infection Control, 21. https://doi.org/10.3396/ijic.v21.23790
3. Bhatt, P., Padhi, A., Agarwal, A. et al. Global environmental and socioeconomic drivers influencing contemporary viral disease emergence and transmission. Discov. Viruses 1, 4 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44370-024-00004-7
4. Padhi, A., Agarwal, A., Mishra, P. et al. Re-emerging Chandipura vesiculovirus: A cause of concern for global health. VirusDis. 35, 385–399 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13337-024-00896-5
5. To handle zoonoses better, Indigenous people must be included in policy making

A Padhi, A Agarwal - Nature India, 2024

6. The impact of climate change on viral transmission: Viral persistence and reactivation, P Bhatt, A Padhi, A Agarwal, CDS Katoch, Journal of Medical Virology 96 (7), e29813
7. Progress and Challenges in Achieving Tuberculosis Elimination in India by 2025: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Accepted for publication in Plos One
8. Agarwal A, Padhi A, Chaudhary A, Bhise M, Chauhan K, Sharma M, Krishan RR, Dubey P. Case series on Trichomonas vaginalis infections: impact of proper sample collection and diagnostic stewardship. Access Microbiol. 2024 Jan 31;6(1):000698.v4. doi: 10.1099/acmi.0.000698.v4. PMID: 38361657; PMCID: PMC10866041.
9. Padhi, A., Agarwal, A., Saxena, S.K. et al. Transforming clinical virology with AI, machine learning and deep learning: a comprehensive review and outlook. VirusDis. 34, 345–355 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13337-023-00841-y
10. Agarwal, Ashwini; Padhi, Abhishek; Vala, Jaydevsinh; Katoch, C. D. S.. Large Language Models in Academia: Ethical Considerations and Future Prospects. NMO Journal 17(2):p 105-106, July–Dec 2023. | DOI: 10.4103/JNMO.JNMO_16_23
11. Samal J, Prabhakar T, Prasad M, Rani N, Tarai B, Agarwal R, Padhi A, Tomar A, Maiwall R, Bhattacharyya D, Sharma MK, Gupta E. Prevalence and Predictors for Respiratory Viral Infections among Liver Disease Patients. Euroasian J Hepatogastroenterol. 2023 Jul-Dec;13(2):108-114. doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10018-1400. PMID: 38222946; PMCID: PMC10785143.

 

12. Gaikwad UN, Bose O, Padhi A, Jindal A, Nagpure K, Bhargava A, et al. A retrospective observational insight into COVID-19 exposures resulting from personal protective equipment (PPE) breaches. PloS one. 2022;17(5):e0268582.

 

 

13. Padhi A, Gupta E, Singh G, Parveen S, Islam A, Tarai B. Circulation of DENV-3 Genotype 3 during 2017 to 2018 in Delhi: A Single-Center Hospital-Based Study. Journal of Laboratory Physicians. 2022;14(01):021–6.

 

 

14. Rastogi A, Padhi A, Gupta E. Mapping the footprints of COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of family medicine and primary care. 2021;10:2467–76.

 

 

15. Agarwal R, Gupta E, Dubey S, Padhi A, Khodare A, Kumar G, et al. Pooled nasopharyngeal swab collection in a single vial for the diagnosis of SARS CoV-2 infection: An effective cost saving method. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2021;39(2):231–4.

 

 

16. Padhi A, Gupta E, Singh G, Agarwal R, Sharma M and Sarin S. Evaluation of the Point of Care Molecular Diagnostic Genedrive HCV ID Kit for the detection of HCV RNA in clinical samples. Epidemiology & Infection. 2020;

 

 

17. Padhi A, Kumar S, Gupta E, Saxena SK. Laboratory diagnosis of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. In: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Springer, Singapore; 2020. p. 95–107.

 

 

18. Khodare A, Padhi A, Gupta E, Agarwal R, Dubey S, Sarin SK. Optimal size of sample pooling for RNA pool testing: An avant-garde for scaling up severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 testing. Indian journal of medical microbiology. 2020;38(1):18–23.

 

 

19. Gupta E, Padhi A, Khodare A, Agarwal R, Ramachandran K, Mehta V, et al. Pooled RNA sample reverse transcriptase real time PCR assay for SARS CoV-2 infection: A reliable, faster and economical method. PLoS One. 2020;15(7):e0236859.

 

20. Prevalence of Urinary Tract Infection in Pregnant Women in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Odisha" IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS), vol. 17, no. 5, 2018, pp 47-50.

 

21. Satish Kumar et al. Peripheral venous catheter related blood stream infection in intensive care unit. International Journal of Advances in Medicine, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 3, p. 668-673, may 2018. ISSN 2349-3933.

 

 

22. Paty BP, Hotta S, Padhi A, Padhi S, Parida B. Bacteriological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of non-lactational breast abscess. Journal of The Academy of Clinical Microbiologists. 2019 Jul;21(2):70.

 

 

23. Gupta E, Samal J, Padhi A, Agarwal K, Ramachandran K, Agarwal R, et al. A Pressing Need for Diagnosis of Non-Influenza Respiratory Viral Infections in Patients with Underlying Liver Disease: A Single-Center Laboratory-Based Retrospective Study Available from: https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=4034111

 

 

24. Sumanta S, Sanghamitra P, Banojini P, Abhishek P, Biswajit B. MYCOLOGICAL PROFILE AND ANTIFUNGAL SENSITIVITY OF INFECTIVE KERATITIS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF SOUTHERN ODISHA. International Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Research. 2018 Jan 24;23–8.

 

 

25. Padhi A, Paty BP, Patro S, Parida B. Bacterial Load on Cellphones of Healthcare Givers and Patient Attendants in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Odisha- A Cross Sectional Study. IntJCurrMicrobiolAppSci. 2019 Mar;8(03):632–9

 

26. Padhi S, Narasimham MV, Padhi A. Decreasing trend of seroprevalence of HIV among pregnant women in Southern Odisha.” IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS), vol. 17, no. 10, 2018, pp 54-56.

 

 

27. Burman L, Padhi S, Parida B, Padhi A. Study of Bacterial Vaginosis in Women of Reproductive Age Group In Southern Odisha.” IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS), vol. 17, no. 1, 2018, pp. 21-25.

 

28. Paty B, Padhi A, Parida B, Padhi S, Das P, Priyadarshini P. Mycological Profile Of Pulmonary TB-HIV Co-Infected Patients With A Relationship To CD4 Count Levels In A Tertiary Care Hospital of Southern Odisha, India. IJMSIR. Volume – 2, Issue –6, November – December - 2017, Page No. : 46-50

 

29. Mohanty I, Sahu S, Padhi A, Parida B. Bacteriological Study of Different Water Sources during Outbreaks of Diarrhoea in Ganjam District, Odisha. IJMSIR. Volume – 2, Issue –6, November – December - 2017, Page No. : 143- 147.

 

BOOK CHAPTERS

 

1. Laboratory Diagnosis of Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Infection, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Springer Nature
2. Laboratory Diagnosis of Japanese Encephalitis. Medical Virology: From Pathogenesis to Disease Control.
3. Frontiers in Vaccine Technology: mRNA Vaccines, IAPSM'S Textbook Of Vaccinology
4. Viral Hemmorhagic Fever, Textbook of Medical Virology
5. Anti viral drugs, Textbook of Medical Virology

 

 

BEYOND THE LAB

 

Outside of his professional role, Dr. Abhishek Padhi is a passionate endurance athlete. He is an aspiring triathlete, having completed the Deccan Cliffhanger ultra-cycling race and regularly participates in half-marathons, triathlons and open-water swimming events.

Dr. Padhi also has a keen interest in exploring local cultures, documenting public health narratives, and enjoys spending time reflecting on the intersection between health, environment, and resilience.