Vijay Kothari earned his Bachelors’ and Masters’ in Microbiology from Gujarat University. He obtained his Ph.D. in the area of Bioactive Natural Products from Nirma University. Currently, since the year 2007, he is affiliated as a faculty with Institute of Science, Nirma University, Ahmedabad. Before joining Nirma University, Vijay has been associated in various capacities with prestigious institutes like ATIRA and CEPT. He has published more than 60 papers/ articles/ book chapters/ books, in addition to 12 conference presentations to his credit. He has been conferred Bharat Shiksha Ratan Award, by Global Society for Health & Educational Growth, New Delhi in September 2015; and Aufau International Award: Best Teacher (Microbiology) by Chemical Science Review and Letters, in June, 2016. His research has received financial support from Nirma Education & Research Foundation (NERF), as well as GUJCOST. He is a member of 14 different national/international professional bodies. He is on the editorial board/reviewer panel of several international journals. Dr. Kothari has acted as resource person during more than a dozen scientific events, within and outside Gujarat. His research interest includes Anti-virulence natural products, Biological effects and applications of microwaves, Cell-sound interaction, etc. Till now, Dr. Kothari has guided 49 M.Sc. students for their Masters’ dissertation, out of which 84% has been able to publish their findings in indexed journals. His biggest credit as a teacher is the successful implementation of the publication oriented dissertation model at the M.Sc. level, and thereby converting students into authors. Currently four students are working for their Ph.D. under the guidance of Dr. Vijay Kothari, in addition to 9 M.Sc. students. Besides being an effective teacher and active researcher, he is also contributing heavily towards the administrative aspect of the institute by contributing as member secretary of the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC), anti-ragging coordinator, member of IQAC, and Board of Studies, Examination coordinator, etc.

Bioactive natural products, Plant antimicrobials, Biological effects and applications of microwaves, Bioacoustics, Biofilms, Halophiles, Strain improvement