Contact Dr Mithil Mahale
Areas of expertise
- Applied Informatics
- Environment and Health
- Water Science and Engineering
Background
Dr Mithil Mahale is a Research Fellow at the Cranfield Water Science Institute with expertise in environmental microbiology, microbial bioremediation, and water quality monitoring. His research focuses on harnessing the potential of microorganisms to address pressing environmental challenges, including microbial remediation of hazardous pollutants, bacteriophage ecology in water systems, and bio-based wastewater treatment technologies.
His doctoral research at Savitribai Phule Pune University (awarded January 2026) investigated microbial remediation of the 'Toxic Trio'- heavy metals, antibiotics, and other hazardous contaminants, from wastewater under a One Health framework. This work elucidated the genomic and mechanistic underpinnings of pollutant remediation by environmental bacteria, exemplified by the characterisation of Achromobacter sp. M1 published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials (2024).
Mithil brings broad technical expertise spanning microbiology, molecular biology, enzymology, and analytical chemistry, including PCR, RT-qPCR, Sanger and Nanopore sequencing, NGS bioinformatics, HPLC, FTIR, and animal cell culture. He qualified the CSIR-UGC NET-JRF examination (December 2017) and the Maharashtra SET (2017), reflecting strong foundational training in life sciences.
Research opportunities
• Environment and Health
• Water Science and Engineering
• Microbial Bioremediation
• Environmental Microbiology
• Bacteriophage Biology
• Wastewater Treatment
• One Health
• Emerging Pollutants
Current activities
Dr. Mithil is investigating somatic coliphages as viral indicators for water treatment strategies, contributing to the development of robust microbial monitoring frameworks for drinking water safety. This work, funded by UK Water Research Industry (UKWIR) integrates culture-based phage methods with sequencing-enabled approaches to advance understanding of microbial risk and treatment efficacy.
Apart from this, other role includes validation of microplastic generation within wastewater treatment works through attrition. The findings of this project will help in validating the efficacy of pilot-rig in treatment of wastewater and will aid in developing protocols for optimum removal of microplastics from the wastewater.
Additionally, he also deals with scaling up of genetically engineered algal systems for enhanced phosphate removal in wastewater. This work, funded by Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC), Seed Corn Funding, in collaboration with SO-G, focuses on addressing climate change and wastewater treatment through innovative algae-based photobioreactors. The core objective is to evaluate and optimize genetically engineered cyanobacterial strains for efficient phosphorus removal and carbon dioxide (CO₂) sequestration at scale.
Clients
- UK Water Industry Research
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Nandre V, Mahale M, Patil R, Kasote D, Sarnikar S, .... (2025). Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Silicate-Solubilizing Bacterial Strain Staphylococcus ureilyticus MV-1 Associated with Grape Wine. Silicon, 17(1)
- Patil RS, Nandre VS, Mahale M, Kodam K, Mhetre SN, .... (2025). Thermally synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles: applications in wastewater remediation and grapevine bacterial blight management. Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy, 91(4)
- Mahale M, Samson R, Dharne M & Kodam K. (2024). Harnessing the potential of Achromobacter sp. M1 to remediate heavy metals from wastewater: Genomic insights and environmental applications. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 480
- Singh S, Navale GR, Mahale M, Chaudhary VK, Kodam K, .... (2022). Photodissociation of nitric oxide from designed ruthenium nitrosyl complex: Studies on wound healing and antibacterial activity. Nitric Oxide, 129
Books
- Mahale MR & Kodam KM. (2025). The emergence of agrowaste valorization: a revolutionizing sustainability In Sustainable Management of Agro-Food Waste. Elsevier.
- Mahale M, Nalawade V, Kodam K, Mahamuni S & Srivastava L. (2025). Green Fuel Production from Waste: An Approach Toward Environmental Cleanness and Smart Ecosystem Services In Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences (Part F8056). Springer Nature Singapore.
- Sowani H, Mahale M, Nandre VS, Meena SN, Kodam KM, .... (2023). Role of natural compounds in metal removing strategies In New Horizons in Natural Compound Research. Elsevier.