Contact Dr Rachel Samson P
Areas of expertise
- Environment and Health
- Water Science and Engineering
Background
Background
Dr. Rachel Samson P. is a Research Fellow at the Cranfield Water Science Institute, bringing expertise in microbial ecology, riverine microbiomes, and phage-based biotechnologies for sustainable water treatment. A passionate researcher interested in driving innovation at the intersection of microbiology, virology, and environmental sustainability, she focuses on harnessing the untapped potential of bacteriophages to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and safeguard both environmental and public health. Her present work deals with understanding the diversity of somatic coliphages in drinking water and exploring their potential applications for water quality monitoring and treatment, thereby contributing directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): by reducing waterborne pathogens and AMR, improving community health outcomes;
SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation): through development of natural viral indicators and biocontrol strategies that enhance water treatment efficiency;
SDG 14 (Life Below Water): by minimising release of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria and associated contaminants into aquatic ecosystems;
SDG 15 (Life on Land): via eco-friendly interventions that preserve freshwater habitat integrity and microbial biodiversity.
Research Focus (Highlights)
- Microbial Ecology & Riverine Microbiomes: Investigated microbial diversity and resistome dynamics along 2500 Km of the Ganges River
- Phage-Based Biotechnologies: Harnessing bacteriophages to mitigate biofouling and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Key Objective: Leverage bacteriophage diversity and synthetic biology to create sustainable, low-cost interventions that enhance water quality monitoring and treatment, ultimately safeguarding environmental and public health.
Impact & Vision
- Environmental & Public Health
Pioneering eco-friendly, phage-based solutions to reduce AMR in water systems and improve microbial safety.
- Innovation & Outreach
- Translating complex virology and microbiology concepts into accessible narratives using relatable analogies.
- Advocating for sustainable phage applications in water treatment, biofilm control, and real-time pathogen surveillance.
Current Work
Somatic Coliphage Diversity in Drinking Water
- Profiling coliphage populations across treatment stages.
- Assessing phages as natural indicators for water quality monitoring.
Core Techniques & Tools
- Phage Isolation & Quantification-: plaque assays, water/water saturated sediment concentration, and filtration protocols
- Metagenomics & Sequencing: Nanopore sequencing of Environmental samples, and viral concentrates, DNA amplification, Genome assembly and annotation pipelines.
- Biofilm Assays & Microscopy: In vitro biofilm formation/disruption assays; light, inverted, and confocal microscopy to observe phage-bacteria interactions
- Molecular Biology: DNA/RNA extraction (environmental and phage samples); PCR, Sanger sequencing, quantitative RT-PCR for validation.
Education
1. PhD Biological Sciences
– NCIM Resource Centre, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (Jan 2020 – July 2024)
– Thesis: Exploring The Microbiome of River Ganges and Harnessing the Potentials of Novel Phages Under One Health
2. MSc Microbiology
– Savitribai Phule Pune University (Jun 2015 – May 2017)
– Dissertation: Biochemical degradation of p-nitrophenol using bacterial isolates.
3. BSc in Microbiology
– B.P.H.E. Society’s Ahmednagar College (Jun 2012 – May 2015)
Research opportunities
- Microbiology
- Phage Biology
- Environmental Virology
- Multiomics through Nanopore Sequencing
- Microbiome
- River Biofilms
- River Ecology
- One Health
- SDG 3,6,14,15
Current activities
- Leading the investigation of somatic coliphage diversity across drinking water treatment stages using culture-based and multiomics approaches.
- Associate Editor, npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
- Peer Reviewer for Environment International, Environmental Microbiology, Science of the Total Environment
Online Profiles
1. Google Scholar: Rachel Samson. P - Google Scholar
2. Scopus: Samson, Rachel - Author details - Scopus
3. ORCID: Dr Rachel Samson P (0009-0004-8901-2864) - ORCID
Publications
Articles In Journals
- Samson R, Pawar A, Khairnar K & Dharne M. (2025). Characterization of a novel Tequatrovirus phage from pristine stretch of the Ganges River, India, in reducing bacterial load from sewage water. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 13(3)
- Dandekar SS, Thanikkal S, Londhe A, Bhutada P, Saha U, .... (2025). Characterization of novel phages KPAФ1, KP149Ф1, and KP149Ф2 for lytic efficiency against clinical MDR Klebsiella pneumoniae infections. Microbial Pathogenesis, 202
- Mahajan V, Samson R & Dharne M. (2025). Genome mining, probiotic characteristics, and in-silico safety assessment of Limosilactobacillus fermentum AV7 isolated from Avocado fruit pulp. LWT, 216
- 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
- Samson R, Dharne M & Khairnar K. (2024). Bacteriophages: Status quo and emerging trends toward one health approach. Science of The Total Environment, 908
- Rajput V, Pramanik R, Malik V, Yadav R, Samson R, .... (2023). Genomic surveillance reveals early detection and transition of delta to omicron lineages of SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater treatment plants of Pune, India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(56)
- Samson R, Rajput V, Yadav R, Shah M, Dastager S, .... (2023). Spatio-temporal variation of the microbiome and resistome repertoire along an anthropogenically dynamic segment of the Ganges River, India. Science of The Total Environment, 872
- Rajput V, Samson R, Yadav R, Dastager S, Khairnar K, .... (2022). Metagenomic mining of Indian river confluence reveal functional microbial community with lignocelluloytic potential. 3 Biotech, 12(6)
- Singh P, Ujjainiya R, Prakash S, Naushin S, Sardana V, .... (2022). A machine learning-based approach to determine infection status in recipients of BBV152 (Covaxin) whole-virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for serological surveys. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 146
- Samson R & Dharne M. (2022). COVID-19 associated mucormycosis: evolving technologies for early and rapid diagnosis. 3 Biotech, 12(1)
- Gohil K, Samson R, Dastager S & Dharne M. (2021). Probiotics in the prophylaxis of COVID-19: something is better than nothing. 3 Biotech, 11(1)
- Samson R, Rajput V, Shah M, Yadav R, Sarode P, .... (2020). Deciphering taxonomic and functional diversity of fungi as potential bioindicators within confluence stretch of Ganges and Yamuna Rivers, impacted by anthropogenic activities. Chemosphere, 252
- Samson R, Navale GR & Dharne MS. (2020). Biosensors: frontiers in rapid detection of COVID-19. 3 Biotech, 10(9)
- Samson R, Bodade R, Zinjarde S & Kutty R. (2019). A novel Sphingobacterium sp. RB, a rhizosphere isolate degrading para-nitrophenol with substrate specificity towards nitrotoluenes and nitroanilines. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 366(14)
- Samson R, Shah M, Yadav R, Sarode P, Rajput V, .... (2019). Metagenomic insights to understand transient influence of Yamuna River on taxonomic and functional aspects of bacterial and archaeal communities of River Ganges. Science of The Total Environment, 674