Dr. Praveen Kumar PP

Associate Professor and Research Supervisor

Department of Zoology

Government College for Women

Vazhuthacaud

Thycaud-Po

Thiruvananthapuram-695014

Kerala

Mobile: +91-9446265429, 8848262596

Email: praveen@gcwtvm.ac.in, praveenpp04@yahoo.com

 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2584-0703

https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?hl=en&user=tWx9w64AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

_______________________________________________________________________

Education

 

2006-2011……..…PhD Biotechnology, Rajiv Gandhi Center for Biotechnology, University of

Kerala, India

 

2004- 2005……….. M.Phil Zoology, Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, India

 

1999-2001………….M.Sc Zoology, Sree Narayana College, Kannur University, India

 

1996-1999…………B.Sc Zoology, P.R.N.S.S College, Kannur University, India

 

My Research

Antimicrobial Research group in the Department of Zoology is dedicated to investigating and developing innovative strategies to combat bacterial biofilm formation and quorum sensing. Our research encompasses the use of nanoparticles, metal complexes, azo dyes, and antimicrobial peptides to disrupt biofilm integrity and enhance the efficacy of antimicrobial treatments. Additionally, we are keenly interested in understanding antimicrobial resistance, particularly in priority pathogens like Klebsiella and Enterobacter. Our research incorporates comprehensive whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to dissect the genetic basis of AMR, facilitating the development of strategies to combat this global health threat. As we progress, our department is dedicated to fostering collaboration, disseminating research findings, and contributing to the global effort to combat bacterial infections and antimicrobial resistance. My lab is funded by Performance Linked Encouragement for Academic Studies and Endeavour (PLEASE) scheme Higher Education Dept, Govt of Kerala. Currently 6 PhD students are conducting their doctoral research in my lab.

 

 

Teaching Experience (14 years)

2010-2011: Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Government College, Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram

2011-2019: Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram

2019-present: Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram

Award and Honors

 

UGC-Raman Post -Doctoral Fellowship (2013-14) for undergoing research in Pennsylvania State University, USA (No service break)

 

  1. R. Das Best Career Award (2012) for the best overall performance in the PhD programme in terms of the cumulative impact factor from Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology

 

ICAAC Infectious Diseases Fellows Grant, ASM (2009) for attending ASM conference on ‘Interscience conference antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy’. San Francisco, USA

 

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Education scholarship (2008) for attending Keystone conference on ‘Pathogenesis and control of emerging infections and drug resistant organism’. Bangkok, Thailand.

 

Senior Research Fellow award (2008) from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India

 

Junior Research Fellow award (2005) from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India

 

Junior Research Fellow (2005) award in project schemes from Indian Council for Medical Research, Government of India

.

Third rank in M.Sc degree examination, Kannur University, Kerala, India 2001

 

Professional Experience

  1. Major Research Project undertaken

“Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Drug discovery against ESKAPE pathogens” awarded by Dept of higher education, PLEASE scheme, Govt of Kerala (2022-24)

 

  1. Patent

Automatic motorized precision micropipette with selectable volume digital display and voice command recognition – voice pip, Design number: 6350023, Grant date: 07 March 2024

 

  1. Nodal Officer

CURIE (Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence) Programme of the Department of Science and Technology awarded to Government College for Women (2023-25)

 

  1. 4. Department Coordinator

DBT-STAR College scheme for Strengthening of Science Education and Training at Undergraduate Level, awarded to Government College for Women (2023-26)

 

  1. 5. Mentor Student Research Projects

Principal Investigator/Mentor for multiple research projects awarded to students, overseeing project design, implementation, and reporting

 

  • Investigating Drug Resistance, Biofilm Formation, and Novel Strategies to Counter Biofilm in Clinical Enterobacter Isolates” under the ‘ASPIRE scholarship scheme (2023-24) Gopika Babu, Final year M.Sc Biotechnology student at Government Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram
  • The effectiveness of the leaf extract based formulation of Clerodendrum phlomidis and  Aristolochia bracteata  against ergot (Claviceps fusiformis) disease of pearl millet                                 (2022-23)Ashitha Jose SITARE-BIIS (BIRAC)
  • Study of expression of tetracycline resistance genes, tetA and tetB in clinical isolates of E. coli and Shigella by Real Time PCR (2020) Arya KM, (KSCSTE)
  • Detection of effux pump genes, mexA, mexB, mexY from tetracycline resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by PCR(2020) Abhirami PS (KSCSTE)
  • Evaluation of antimicrobial and anti- biofilm activity of silver and gold nanoparticles against clinical and environmental strains of Vibrio cholera (2019) Reshma S (KSCSTE)
  • Studies on multiple drug resistance and biofilm formation in clinical and environmental strains of Vibrio cholera (2019) Ayesha Kasim (KSCSTE)
  • Characterization of virulence and multiple drug resistance in environmental strains of Vibrio cholera (2016) Athira Gireesh (KSCSTE)
  • Isolation and characterization of multiple drug resistance in bacteria isolated from polluted water bodies of Trivandrum city (2015) Salu Mohan (KSCSTE)

PhD supervision

Presently 6 students (Minsa M, Devi Jayakumar, Parvathi V, Aparna Mohan, Pooja P Rajan and Sneha A) are pursuing PhD under my supervision

 

Peer Reviewed Journal Article (44)

 

 

  1. Anusha A S, Rakendu H S, Sneha Asha Xavier TS Praveen Kumar (2025) Biosynthesis of Nickel Nanoparticles Using Enterobacter cloacae: Characterization and Multifaceted Applications. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42977-025-00249-3 Biologia Futura (Impact factor: 1.8)
  2. Sabira, O., Ajaykumar, A. P., Varma, S. R., Jayaraj, K. N., Kotakonda, M., Kumar, P., Vaikkathillam, P., Sivadasan Binitha, V., Alen, A.P., Raghu, A.V. and Zeena, K.V (2025). Nepenthes pitcher fluid for the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles with biofilm inhibition, anticancer and antioxidant properties. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 5349. (Impact factor: 3.8)
  3. Sindhu Yesodharan, Bini Babu Sujatha, Pooja Parvathy Rajan, Sujamol Mathunny Susamma, Athira Chempakam Janardhanan, Selwin Joseyphus Raphael, Praveen Kumar, Mohanan Kochukittan (2025) An insight into bactericidal, fungicidal, larvicidal and molecular docking studies of ruthenium(III) Schiff base complexes. Accepted in Chemical Data Collections.(Cite Score 6.1)
  4. Binitha Sreedharan Daisylet, Selwin Joseyphus Raphael, Praveen Kumar, Aparna Mohan, Arish Dasan (2025). Exploring photocatalytic, antimicrobial, and biofilm inhibition properties of cuminaldehyde derived benzimidazole metal complexes. Journal of Molecular Structure. 141311 (Impact factor: 4.0)
  5. Vaikkathillam, P., Mohan, A., Jayakumar, D., Rajan, P. P., Mini, M., Asha, S., & Kumar, P. (2024). Anti-biofilm effect of Ferulic Acid against Enterobacter hormaechei and Klebsiella pneumoniae: In Vitro and In Silico Investigation. Biofouling. [Accepted for publication] (Impact factor: 2.6)
  6. Vaikkathillam, P., Sajeevan, A., Mohan, S., Solomon, A. P., Rajan, P. P., Manjusree, S., Praveen Kumar & Thomas, S. (2024). Genomic Analysis of Colistin and Carbapenem Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae GC29. Microbial Pathogenesis, 107220. Accepted (Impact factor: 3.3)
  7. Lekshmi, R., Praveen Kumar, P. P., Asha, V. G., & Nayar, A. M. (2024). Population genetics of vector mosquitoes determines endemic zones of dengue fever: A case study on Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in ecologically distinct ecozones of Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala. Accepted in Journal of Chemical Risk

 

  1. Parvathi Vaikkathillam, Praveen Kumar, Manjusree S, Minsa Mini, Devi Jayakumar, Amjesh Revikumar Whole Genome Sequencing of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter hormaechei isolated from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (India) (2024). (Accepted for Publication in Springer Indian Journal of Microbiology) (Impact factor: 2.1)

 

  1. Fathima Fasna, P. H., Sasi, S., Julie Chandra, C. S., Bindu Sharmila, T. K., Mini, M., Kumar, P., & Ramanathan, H. N. (2024). Green Synthesis of CuO/ZnO Nanocomposites using Ficus Drupacea: In-Vitro Antibacterial and Cytotoxicity Analysis. ChemistrySelect, 9(22), e202401235. https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202401235 (Impact factor: 2.1)

 

  1. Jose A, Asha S, Rani A, Ts X, Kumar P (2024). Pseudomonas otitidis-Mediated Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles: Characterization, Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm potential. Lett Appl Microbiol.. doi: 10.1093/lambio/ovae053. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38845375 (Impact factor: 2.6)

 

  1. Daisylet, B. S., Raphael, S. J., Kumar, P., Rajan, P. P., & Dasan, A. (2024). Exploring the versatility of sulfur-containing heterocyclic metal complexes: Application in medical and prospects of visible-light-driven photocatalysis. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 112603.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2024.112603 (Impact factor: 3.9)

 

  1. Asha, S., Udhayasuriyan, M., Mini, M., Divyalekshmi, S. V., Rajan, P. P., Mohan, A., … & Kumar, P. (2024). Phytomediated Synthesis of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Nanoparticles via Vitex negundo Leaf Extract: Characterization, Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity. NANO. (https://doi.org/10.1142/S1793292024500152) (Impact factor: 1.2)

 

  1. Mohan, A., Rajan, P. P., Kumar, P., Jayakumar, D., Mini, M., Asha, S., & Vaikkathillam, P. (2024). Theophylline as a quorum sensing and biofilm inhibitor in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Chromobacterium violaceum. International Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-024-00487-w (Impact factor: 3.1)

 

  1. Jayakumar, D., Mini, M., Kumar, P., Vaikkathillam, P., Mohan, A., & Khan, S. (2024). Synergistic Effect of Thymol–Ciprofloxacin Combination on Planktonic Cells and Biofilm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Current Microbiology, 81(1), 23. (Impact factor: 2.6)

 

  1. Rani, A., Asha, S., Mini, M., Rajan, P. P., Tomy, M., Jose, A., TS Xavier & Kumar, P. (2024). Exploring the antibacterial and antibiofilm potential of copper oxide nanoparticles biosynthesized using Centratherum punctatum leaf extract. South African Journal of Botany, 164, 1-8. (Impact Factor: 3.0)

 

  1. Manish, K., Sajeeb Khan, A., Praveen Kumar P.P., Nandini N.J and Ayana Gayathri R.V.  (2023). Effect of in situ Action of Serotonin in Transmembrane Ion Transport in Mice Exposed to Restraint Stress. Biological forum-An international Journal  15(3): 839-850 (UGC Care listed)

 

  1. Sajeeb Khan A, Manish K , Praveen Kumar , Jaya Chithra S.K and Ayana Gayathri R.V (2023) Vitamin C Ameliorates the Malformed Tissue Integrity of Kidney and Liver in Swiss Albino Mice (Mus musculus) exposed to Restraint Stress and Dietary Salt 15(4): 951-956 (UGC Care listed)

 

  1. Siddique, S, Nair, A. R, Kumar, R. P, Kumar, P, Chithra, S. K. J. (2023) Evaluation of Antimicrobial Properties of Adiantum Latifolium Lam.: A Source of Triterpenoid Leads Against Pathogenic Bacteria. Applied Biological Research, 25 (4), 417–42343 (UGC Care listed)

 

  1. Rajan, P. P, Kumar, P, Mini, M, Jayakumar, D, Vaikkathillam, P, Asha, S, Mohan, A, S, Manjusree (2023). Antibiofilm Potential of Gallic Acid against Klebsiella Pneumoniae and Enterobacter Hormaechei : In-Vitro and in-Silico Analysis. Biofouling, 1–14. (Impact Factor: 2.6)

 

  1. Minsa Mini, Devi Jayakumar, Praveen Kumar (2023) In-silico and In-vitro assessment of the Antibiofilm Potential of Azo dye, Carmoisine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa  Journal of Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics , 1–11 (Impact Factor: 5.2)

 

  1. Devi Jayakumar, Praveen Kumar, Minsa Mini, Sajeeb Khan (2023) Current Status of COVID-19-Associated Secondary Bacterial and Fungal Infection: A Mini Review Acta Microbiologica Bulgarica 39(2) 93-101 (Scopus indexed)

 

  1. Lubaina, A. S., Raveendran, R., Nair, R. R., & Kumar, P. (2023). In vivo anti-inflammatory potential, minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration of ferulic acid, isolated from pineapple waste. Applied Biological Research 25(1) 36-43 (UGC Care listed)

 

  1. Rajan, P. P., Sreekantan, A. P., Mini, M., Khan, S., & Kumar, P. (2022). Multi-Drug Resistant Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (India). Applied Biological Research. 24 (4):440-447 (UGC Care listed)
  2. AP Sreekantan, PP Rajan, M Mini, P Kumar (2022) Multidrug Efflux Pumps in Bacteria and Efflux Pump Inhibitors Postępy Mikrobiologii-Advancements of Microbiology, 61:105-114 (Impact Factor: 1.06)

 

  1. M Mini, AP Sreekantan, AK Manikandan, AG Mohanan, S Khan, P Kumar (2022) Efflux-mediated ciprofloxacin and cefixime resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Environmental and Experimental Biology 20, 113–117(UGC Care listed)

 

  1. Praveen Kumar, Mariam Mammen, Aswathy Madhusoodhanan, Archana G Mohanan, Pradeep Kumar R, Anilkumar A K, Sheeba M S, Mathew Steephan (2022) Drug repurposing: A potentially emerging discipline. Indian J of Pharmaceutical Education and Research. 2022;56 (2s):s121-s136. (Impact Factor: 0.84)
  2. Aswathy Madhusoodhanan, Minsa M, Archana G Mohanan and Praveen Kumar (2022) Bacterial biofilm eradication and combating strategies Asia Pacific Journal of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology 30(1): 22-36 (Scopus indexed)
  3. Lubaina A S, Renjith P R, Praveen Kumar (2022) Evaluation of anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity of ferulic acid-An isolated phenolic compound from pineapple peel International Journal of Botany Studies7(2): 341-345

 

  1. Mariam Mammen, Archana G Mohanan, Praveen Kumar (2020) Computational and experimental validation of Methotrexate as Staphylococcal -DHFR inhibitor (current Trends in Biotechnology and Pharmacy 14:396–402. (Scopus indexed)

 

  1. Praveen Kumar, Archana G Mohanan, Anil Kumar AK (2020) Homology Modelling, Phylogenetic Analysis and Molecular Docking of Glutamine Aminotransferase, gatD from Clostridium botulinum Indo Global Journal of Pharmaceutical Science, 10(4): 46-57 (UGC Care listed)

 

  1. Kumar Praveen and Mohanan Archana G. (2020) Structure-based virtual screening and molecular docking for the identification of potential biofilm inhibitors, Research Journal of Biotechnology15 (4) 107-115. (Scopus indexed)

 

  1. Lubaina, A. & Renjith, P. & Kumar Praveen. (2019) Antibacterial potential of different extracts of pineapple peel against gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains. Asian Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 5, 66-7

 

  1. Pradeep Kumar, A. John, P. Kumar, K.V. Dinesh Babu, D.A. Evans (2018) Larvicidal efficacy of Adiantobischrysene from Adiantumlatifolium against Oryctes rhinoceros through disrupting metamorphosis and impeding microbial mediated digestion, Pest Manag. Sci., , 74, 1821–1828 Impact Factor 3.4

 

  1. Praveen Kumar and Aswathi ML (2014) Identification of mobile phone-associated bacteria. Kerala Journal of Orthopedics 27:1

 

  1. Praveen Kumar & Sabu Thomas S (2011) Presence of qnrVC3 gene cassette in SXT and class 1 integrons of Vibrio cholerae. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 37: 280-281 Impact Factor 9

 

  1. Praveen Kumar & Sabu Thomas (2011) Classical ctxB gene in Vibrio choleraeO1 and O56 serogroups from Kerala, South India. J Med Microbiol. 60: 559-60 Impact Factor3

 

  1. Praveen Kumar, Thulaseedharan A, Chowdhury G, Ramamurthy T, Sabu Thomas (2011) Characterization of novel alleles of toxin co-regulated pilus A gene (tcpA) from environmental isolates of Vibrio cholerae. Curr Microbiol. 62:758-63. Impact Factor6

 

  1. Augustine N, Praveen Kumar, Sabu Thomas (2010) Inhibition of Vibrio cholera biofilm by AiiA enzyme produced from Bacillus spp. Arch Microbiol. 192: 1019-22. Impact Factor6

 

  1. Praveen Kumar, Wilson PA, Bhai R, Sabu Thomas (2010) Characterization of an SXT variant Vibrio choleraeO1 Ogawa isolated from a patient in Trivandrum, India. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 303:132-6 Impact Factor0

 

  1. Praveen Kumar, Peter WA, Thomas S. (2010) Rapid detection of virulence-associated genes in environmental strains of Vibrio choleraeby multiplex PCR. CurrMicrobiol. 60: 199-202. Impact Factor6

 

  1. Jagadeeshan S, Praveen Kumar, Abraham WP, Sabu Thomas ( 2009) Multi resistantVibrio choleraenon-O1/non-O139 from waters in South India: resistance patterns and virulence-associated gene profiles. J Basic Microbiol. 49: 538-44. Impact Factor3

 

  1. Praveen Kumar & Sabu Thomas (2009) Presence of dfr6 gene cassette in superintegron of non-O1/non-O139 strain of Vibrio cholerae. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 53: 4959-60. Impact Factor 9

 

  1. Praveen Kumar, Peter WA, Sabu Thomas (2008) Detection of virulence genes in Vibrio choleraeisolated from aquatic environment in Kerala, Southern India. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 151: 256-62 Impact Factor8

 

  1. Wilson Peter A, Rojan P. John, Praveen Kumar, Sabu Thomas (2009) Tannin Acyl Hydrolase Production by Citrobacter isolated from Tannin rich Environment, using Tamarindus indica seed powder. J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. 13: 95 – 97

 

 

Book Chapters (3)

 

  1. Sabu Thomas, S Jagadeeshan, P Kumar, Sathish Mundayoor and Yung Tse, 2010. Drinking Water Associated Pathology. Hand Book of Environmental and Waste Management, Volume 1 -Air and Water Pollution Control. (Eds. Yung-Tse Hung, Lawrence K. Wang, Nazih K. Shammas, USA). World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd, Singapore.

 

  1. Jagadeeshan S, Kumar, WP Abraham and Sabu Thomas, 2009. The emerging multiple antibiotic resistance pattern in the environmental isolates of Vibrio cholera isolated from S. Kerala. Antimicrobial Resistance: from Emerging Threat to Reality (Eds. Rubina Lawrence, Anil K Gulati, Gerrard Abraham). Narosa Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi; pp.241-245. 10

 

  1. Sabu Thomas, Praveen PP, Wilson P.A, Bibin T and Singh D.V, 2007. Molecular monitoring of Vibrio cholerae in the aquatic environments of Kerala. Environment & Human Health, Rajiv Gandhi Chair Pub.2 (Eds.Dr.P.Natarajan,Dr.C.S.Paulose, Dr.I.S. Bright Singh and Ms.PillaiRaji K), pp. 67-77.