Dr Ashwini Agarwal

 Microbiology

Dr (Col) Ashwini Agarwal

Professor

MBBS, MD, PhD, Trained in Advance Mycobacteriology, Commonwealth Professional Fellowship (Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases)

    CURRENT DESIGNATIONS

    • Professor & Head, Department of Microbiology
    • Dean (Examination)
    • Vice-Dean (Research)
    • Head (Integrated Laboratory Services)
    • Officiating Head, Department of Pathology

    All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rajkot (Gujarat) India

    EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

    Degree

    Year

    College/ University

    MBBS

    1994

    AFMC, Pune; University of Pune

    MD (Microbiology)

    2002

    AFMC, Pune; University of Pune

    Advance specialist course (Pathology)

    2002

    AFMC, Pune

    Training in Advance Mycobacteriology

    2009

    SGPGI, Lucknow

    Ph.D. (Mycobacteriology)

    2015

    University of Lucknow

    Commonwealth Professional Fellowship

    (Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Disease)

    2020

    London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust

     

    PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

     

    Prof Dr (Col) Ashwini Agarwal is an alumnus of the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College Pune and was commissioned in Indian Army in the year 1994. During his 25 years stint in the Army Medical Corps, he has served in various leading tertiary care hospitals and teaching institutes of Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) as Graded/Classified Specialist (Pathology & Microbiology), demonstrating transformational leadership acumen in management of laboratory and transfusion services. He was pioneer in introducing many novel diagnostic modalities in Armed Forces. He also performed various administrative duties involving handling of laboratory operations, management of health care and human resource and procurement of equipment & consumables for AFMS hospitals. For the valuable contribution to the organization, distinguished service and devotion to duty he was awarded Chief of Army Staff Commendation in the year 2015.

    Dr Agarwal is a passionate medical teacher and diligent researcher with more than two decades of teaching and research experience. His scholarly works, including numerous research projects, publications and conference presentations, are a testament to his relentless pursuit of medical research. Due to his effective communication with outstanding interpersonal skills, he has earned the respect, admiration and friendship of his students and colleagues alike.

    Dr Ashwini Agarwal joined AIIMS Jodhpur as Additional Professor in Department of Microbiology in Oct 2019 after taking premature retirement from Army.  Additionally, he was entrusted with the responsibility of heading the department. Notably, he played a pivotal role in establishing and ensuring the quality control of COVID-19 laboratories in Rajasthan and Gujarat during the pandemic.

    In January 2022, Dr. Agarwal joined AIIMS Rajkot as Professor in the Department of Microbiology. Currently, he is actively engaged in the establishment of laboratory services at this emerging institute. Under his leadership the institute has already been sanctioned a Viral Research Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), Bisosafety Level-3 laboratory and One Health- Centre of excellence. Many more projects of capacity building are in pipeline. Due to his vast experience and commitment, he has been given additional charge of Dean (Examination), Vice-Dean (Research), Head (Integrated Laboratory services) and officiating Head (Department of Pathology & Transfusion Medicine).

     

    ACADEMIC / DISTINGUISHED HONORS AND AWARDS

     

    YEAR

    AWARD

    2023

    MERITORIOUS AFMRC PROJECT AWARD for project titled “A prospective study of the plasma concentrations of IL-10, IL-4, IP- 10 and IFN-γ cytokines in patients with active tuberculosis and after 02 months of treatment with standard anti tubercular drugs in both HIV+ve and HIV-ve patients- A pilot study.”.

    2022

    AWARD FOR BEST COMPLETED AFMRC PROJECT (2022-23) for project titled “Molecular characterization of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates obtained from patients of pulmonary tuberculosis in Armed Forces.”

    2017

    AWARD FOR BEST COMPLETED AFMRC PROJECT (2015-16) for project titled “Evaluation of the manual Mycobacterial growth indicator tubes for isolation and drug sensitivity testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for implementation in laboratories with low and medium volume”.

    2016

    COAS AWARD for the BEST PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN THE FIELD OF PATHOLOGY AND ALLIED SUBJECTS for the year 2015 paper titled “Prevalence of molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancer: A retrospective study”

    2016

    MERITORIOUS AFMRC PROJECT AWARD for project titled “Evaluation of Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility (MODS) assay as a rapid, sensitive and inexpensive test for detection of Tuberculosis and Multidrug resistant (MDR) Tuberculosis”.

    2015

    CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF COMMENDATION CARD for distinguished service and devotion to duty.

    2008

    BEST   ORIGINAL   ARTICLE   PUBLISHED   IN   MEDICAL   JOURNAL ARMED FORCES INDIA AWARD for the paper titled “Serological evidence of chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in coronary artery diseases”.

     

     

    RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

     

    AFMRC Projects (Armed Forces Funded Medical Research Projects)

     

    1. Principal Worker -

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4077/2010- Evaluation of Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility (MODS) assay as a Rapid, Sensitive and Inexpensive Test for Detection of tuberculosis and Multidrug Resistant (MDR) tuberculosis

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4404/2013- Evaluation of the manual Mycobacterial growth indicator tubes for isolation and drug sensitivity testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for implementation in laboratories with low and medium volume

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4402/2013- Evaluation of Automated Real-Time Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology for rapid and simultaneous detection of tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance in clinical specimens

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4732/2016- Evaluation of a novel sputum processing ReaSLR methodology for improving sensitivity of smear microscopy in Pulmonary Tuberculosis cases.

     

    • AFMRC Project No.5075/2018- Molecular characterization of drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates obtained from patients of pulmonary tuberculosis in armed forces

     

    1. Co-Worker -

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 3928/2009 - Use of a novel sample processing methodology for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its application to detection of drug resistance by molecular methods.

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4296/2014 - Utility of sloppy Molecular Beacons in detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and drug resistance.

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4488/2014 -A study of Hepatitis- A virus seropositivity among children between 1- 5 years of age: implications for universal immunization.

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4733/2016- Use of Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Chain Reaction (ARMS-PCR) for evaluation of the genetic susceptibility for development of tuberculosis among serving soldiers.

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4776/2016- Prevalence of viral & bacterial enteric pathogens in childhood diarrhea using molecular/conventional techniques.

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4813/2016- A study of profile of neonates with suspected sepsis in a tertiary care hospital.

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 4885/2017- A prospective study of the plasma concentrations of IL-10, IL-4,  IP- 10 and IFN-γ cytokines in patients with active tuberculosis and after 02 months of treatment with  standard anti tubercular drugs in both HIV+ve and HIV-ve patients- A pilot study.

     

    • AFMRC Project No. 5046/2018- C - reactive protein, Serum Ferritin, B cell Activating Factor and TNF family proliferation induced ligand (APRIL) as markers for efficacy of Intensive Phase of Anti Tubercular Treatment in Pulmonary Tuberculosis cases.

    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.
    • Establishing a Network of labs for Fungal Diagnosis and Research Facility in India through the VRDL Network- AIIMS Jodhpur.
    • Regional Center for Antimicrobial Resistance surveillance network- AFMC Pune and AIIMS Jodhpur.
    • Capacity Building and Strengthening of Hospital Infection Control to Detect and Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance in India- AFMC Pune and AIIMS Jodhpur.
    • To determine if B cell Activating Factor (BAFF) and TNF family proliferation induced ligand (APRIL) can be used as markers for termination of Intensive Phase of Anti tubercular treatment in pulmonary tuberculosis cases- RNTCP Operational Research Project.

     

    PUBLICATIONS

     

    1. Agarwal A., Padhi A., Chaudhary A. et al. Case series on Trichomonas vaginalis infections: impact of proper sample collection and diagnostic stewardship. Access Microbiology 2024;6:000698.v4 doi: 10.1099/acmi.0.000698.v4
    2. Agarwal A, Padhi A, Vala J, Katoch CD. Large language models in academia: Ethical considerations and future prospects. NMOJ 2023;17:105-6.
    3. 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. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13337-023-00841-y
    4. Thosani P, Agarwal A, Karade S, Sen S, Katoch CDS, Jindamwar P, et al. Assessment of resistance to second line anti-tubercular drugs by line probe assay at a tertiary care hospital. Med J DY Patil Vidyapeeth 2023;16:505‑9.
    5. Singhal S, Deokar, K, Bhatia G, Agarwal A, Katoch, CDS. Lessons learned on my journey in an upcoming institute. Cancer Research, Statistics, and Treatment: 2022, 5 (3): 403-404. doi: 10.4103/crst.crst_228_22.
    6. Kaur N,  Tak V, Nag VL, Agarwal A, Bhatia PK, et al. Comparative evaluation of colistin susceptibility testing by Disk Diffusion and Broth Microdilution methods: An experience from a tertiary care hospital. Infect Disord Drug Targets 2022, doi: 10.2174/ 1871526523666221025121801. Online ahead of print
    7. Twishi S, Anjuna R, Alisha A, Sukanya M, Vidhi J, Kumar AS, Amit G, Ankita C, Satyendra K, Deepak K, Srikanth S, Pankaj B, Ashwini A, Sanjeev M. Isolate profiling and geographical distribution of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis cases presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Jodhpur, India. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2023 Jul 19;46:100424. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmmb.2023.100424. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37638772.
    8. Nare T, Gadepalli R, Sharma A, Agarwal A, Jain V, Bhardwaj A, Budania A. P071 Isolate profiling and antifungal susceptibility determination for terbinafine and itraconazole among dermatophytes in a tertiary care hospital of western Rajasthan. Medical Mycology 2022 Sep; 60(Supplement_1):myac072P071. Medical Mycology, Volume 60, Issue Supplement_1, September 2022, myac072P071, https://doi.org/10.1093/mmy/myac072.P071
    9. Jain V, Agarwal A. Shrimali T, et al. Hit or miss: The Dilemma of Specimen Selection for Microbiological Diagnosis of Rhino-Orbital-Cerebral- COVID-Associated Mucormycosis (ROCM-CAM). Infect Disord Drug Targets. 2022 Aug 16. doi: 10.2174/ 1871526522666220816110905. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35975857..
    10. Sharma A, Agarwal A, Katoch CDS, Sen S, Gupta RM. Evaluation of a novel sputum processing ReaSLR methodology for improving sensitivity of smear microscopy in clinical samples. Med J Armed Forces India 2022, 78:277-282.
    11. Kaur N, Agarwal A, Guduru G Rao. Role of 16S Ribosomal RNA in Etiological Diagnosis of Pyogenic Liver Abscess. J Gastrointest Infect 2022;
    12. Soni K, Das A, Agarwal A et al. (2021). Surgical & Medical Management of ROCM (Rhino-Orbito-Cerebral Mucormycosis) Epidemic in COVID-19 era and its Outcomes – a Tertiary Care Center Experience. Journal of Medical Mycology 2022; 32: DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mycmed.2021.101238
    13. Bhatnagar T, Agarwal A, Murhekar MV et al., Effectiveness of BBV152/Covaxin and AZD1222/Covishield Vaccines Against Severe COVID-19 and B.1.617.2/Delta Variant in India, 2021: A Multi-Centric Hospital-Based Case-Control Study. International Journal of Infectious Diseases (2022), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2022.07.033.
    14. Yadav P, Kumar D, Meena D, Bohra G, Jain V, Garg P, Dutt N, Abhishek S, Agarwal A, Garg MK (August 17, 2021) Clinical Features, Radiological Findings, and Treatment Outcomes in Patients with Pulmonary Nocardiosis: A Retrospective Analysis. Cureus 13 (8): e17250. DOI 10.7759/cureus.17250.
    15. Khichar S, Samantaray S, Kumar D, Mobarsa V, Jain V, Sharma V, Soni K, Choudhury B, Goyal A, Shankar Meena D, SrinivasanS, Dutt N, Bhardwaj P, Agarwal A, Kumar Garg M, Misra S. New-onset hyperglycaemia and prolonged systemic corticosteroidstherapy in mild COVID-19 patients as major risk factors for invasive mucormycosis: a preliminary study. Curr Med Mycol. 2021;7(3): 22-28. DOI: 10.18502/CMM.7.3.7254
    16. Goyal A, Soni K, Sharma V, Choudhury B, Verma A, Kumar D, Khichar S, Chugh A, Sureka B, Srinivasan S, Bhardwaj P, Kamal M, Agarwal A, Bhatnagar K, Bhatia PK, Garg MK, Misra S. Rapid Response Preparedness for Management of Post-Covid Invasive Rhino-Orbito-Cerebral Fungal Infections: Experience from a Tertiary Care Government Institute in India. Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021 Jul 18:1–3.
    17. Thosani P, Karade S, Agarwal A, Sen S, Katoch CDS, Shergill SP, Gupta RM. Characterization of rpoB Gene mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Indian J Med Microbiol 2021; 39: 592-93.
    18. Sharma A, Agarwal A. Evaluation of the performance of a novel sputum processing ReaSLR methodology for culture of sputum samples in solid and liquid media in comparison with modified Petroff’s method. Indian J of Tuberculosis 2021,  68(2):255-260.
    19. Gill J S, Singh SP, Sharma S, Agarwal A. Gut microbiota profiling in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients: towards personalized medicine. Med J Armed Forces India 2021, 77:22-27.
    20. Rao GG, Agarwal A, Batura D. Testing times in Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A tale of two nations. Med J Armed Forces India 2020, 76(3): 243–249.
    21. Singhal A, Sashindran VK, Agarwal A, Yadav AK, Kayastha S. Utility of B Cell Activating Factor (BAFF) and a Proliferation induced Ligand (APRIL) Cytokines as Markers of Response to Anti- Tubercular Therapy. J Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2020, 14(5): OC01-OC04
    22. Gupta R, Sanjeev RK, Agarwal A, Tomar RPS, Kumar N, Dutt V, Gupta S. A study of hepatitis A virus seropositivity among children aged between 1 and 5 years of age: Implications for universal immunization. Med J Armed Forces India 2019; 75 (3): 335-338.
    23. Agarwal A, Katoch CDS, Kumar M, Dhole TN, Sharma YK. Evaluation of Microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) assay as a rapid, sensitive and inexpensive test for detection of tuberculosis and multidrug resistant tuberculosis. Med J Armed Forces India 2019; 75: 58-64.
    24. Gill J S, Sen S, Agarwal A. Effects of different sample processing protocols on dermatophyte culture yield: A comparative study. Indian J Microbiol Res. 2018;5(4):543-547.
    25. Agarwal A, Kumar N, Kishore K. Evaluation of manual Mycobacterium growth indicator tube for isolation and susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for implementation in low and medium volume laboratories. Med J Armed Forces India. 2018;74: 220-226.
    26. Kumar N, Singhal P, Agarwal A, Khan MA. Cytopathological diagnosis of gallbladder mass and mural thickening based on imaging findings: A prospective study of 51 cases. J Cytol 2015;32:234-7.
    27. Kumar N, Patni P, Agarwal A, Khan MA, Parashar N. Prevalence of molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancer : A retrospective study. Med J Armed Forces India 2015; 71: 254-8.
    28. Kumar N, Agarwal A, Dhole TN, Sharma YK. Rapid identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in clinical isolates by combining presumptive cord formation and MPT64 Antigen Immunochromatographic Assay. Indian J of Tuberculosis 2015; 62: 86-90.
    29. Agarwal A, Dhole TN, Sharma YK. Evaluation of p-nitro benzoic acid (PNB) inhibition test to differentiate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from Non tuberculous mycobacteria using Microscopic Observation of Drug Susceptibility (MODS) methodology. Indian Journal of tuberculosis. Indian J of Tuberculosis 2014; 61: 232-5
    30. Agarwal A. “Miliary Tuberculosis Presenting as Puerperial Fever,” Case Reports in Infectious Diseases, vol. 2011, Article ID 893515, 3 pages, 2011. doi:10.1155/2011/893515.
    31. Agarwal A, Kapila K, Kumar S. WHONET software for the surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility in Armed Forces. Med J Armed Forces India 2009; 65: 264-6.
    32. Agarwal A, Chander Y. Chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and bronchial asthma: Is there a link?. Indian J Med Microbiol 2008; 26:338-41
    33. Agarwal A. Orbital pseudotumor: Diagnosis on fine needle aspiration cytology. J Cytol 2008;25:67-9
    34. Agarwal A, Chander Y, Nagendra A. Serological evidence of chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae

    infection in coronary artery diseases. Med J Armed Forces India 2007; 63: 229-32.

    1. Gokhale S, Malaviya AK, Basu A, Varghese SJ, Agarwal A. Clinicopathological quiz. Med J Armed Forces India 2005; 61: 359.

    PAPERS PRESENTED IN NATIONAL CONFERENCES

     

    Conference

    Venue

    Title of Paper

    MICROCON 2018

    NIMHANS, Bangalore

    Protocol for Mycobacterial culture and drug susceptibility testing using manual MGIT

    AFMRC 2017

    AFMC, Pune

    Evaluation of the manual Mycobacterial growth indicator tubes for isolation and drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for implementation in laboratories with low and medium volume.

    MICROCON 2016

    PGI, Chandigarh

    Frequency of mutations in rifampicin and isoniazid resistant isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis obtained from patients on daily drug regimen

    AFMRC 2016

    AFMC, Pune

    Prevalence of molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancer: A retrospective study

    MICROCON 2015

    JIPMER, Pondicherry

    Evaluation of the manual Mycobacterial growth indicator tubes for isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for implementation in laboratories with low and medium volume

    APCON 2014

    AFMC, Pune

    A study of HER-2/neu expression in Indian patients with Gastric cancer

    MICROCON 2014

    SMS, Jaipur

    Rapid identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in clinical isolates by MPT64 antigen immunochromatographic assay

    MICROCON 2012

    LHMC, New Delhi

    Evaluation of Automated Real-Time Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology for rapid and simultaneous detection of tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance in clinical specimens

    MICROCON 2011

    IMS, BHU, Varanasi

    Performance of Xpert MTB/RIF assay for rapid and simultaneous detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance from pulmonary specimens

    MICROCON 2010

    Swabhumi, Kolkata

    Performance of Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility (MODS) Assay for detection of Multidrug Resistance (MDR) Tuberculosis

    AFMRC 2008

    AFMC, Pune

    Serological evidence of chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in coronary artery diseases

    CYTOCON 2004

    Bhopal

    Orbital pseudotumor- Diagnosis on FNAC: Case Report

    MICROCON 2004

    SGPGI Lucknow

    Increased frequency of Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in patients with bronchial asthma.

    AREA OF INTEREST

    • Infectious Diseases
    • Tuberculosis Diagnostics
    • Antimicrobial and Diagnostic stewardship
    • Hospital Infection Control

     

    MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES

    • Life Member Indian Association of Medical Microbiologists (IAMM)
    • Life Member Indian Association of Pathologists & Microbiologists (IAPM)
    • Life Member Indian Society of Hospital Waste Management

     

    POOL OF REFEREE (MICROBIOLOGY & MYCOBACTERIOLOGY)

    • Medical Journal Armed Forces India
    • Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology
    • Indian Journal of Pathology & Microbiology
    • Indian Journal of Tuberculosis

     

    EXAMINERSHIP

    • Recognised UG & PG teacher/examiner of NMC and AIIMS.
    • Examiner for National Board of Examination for Microbiology.
    • Expert member of Standing Selection Committee for selection of Faculty posts, AIIMS.
    • NMC assessor for assessment of Medical Colleges

     

     

    Linkedin profile link: www.linkedin.com/in/dr-col-ashwini-agarwal-47060417b

     

    ORCID 0000-0003-0283-5223 link: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0283-5223?lang=en