Emerging Science of Hydrophobins: A Novel Bio-Surfactant

Debasis Mitra recognized among the Top 2% Scientists in the World (2025) and a distinguished fellow of the SASS and IOASD Society in India, serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Dr. Mitra serves as Founder President of PMMITA Society ( ), a registered entity under the Government of West Bengal (West Bengal Act XXVI of 1961), dedicated to advancing microbiological research and innovation globally. With a robust nine years of research experience, he earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Raiganj University, India, in conjunction with the ICAR- NRRI, India. His prior experience also includes tenure at ICAR-NRRI, India, under a project funded by DBT, Govt. of India. Dr. Mitra holds an M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), India, and a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Vidyasagar University, India. He is an esteemed alumnus researcher of the ICAR-IIHR, India. Dr. Mitra further expanded his academic horizons through a virtual doctoral internship at the Agroenvironmental and Health Biotechnology Laboratory, Universidad de Santander, Colombia. In his pursuit of continuous learning, Dr. Mitra has acquired online course certificates in "Microbiology and Forensic Science" from Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan; "Climate Change" from Macquarie University, Australia; and "Agriculture and the World We Live In" from Massey University, New Zealand, all completed in 2018. Dr. Mitra's practical innovations include the development of "Cocopeat with rice husk and sawdust compost as a nursery medium for growing vegetable seedlings" at ICAR- Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, India, and his collaborative involvement in developing "Microbial consortium (MC) for pest and disease management in rice-horticulture based cropping system in Sikkim" and "Bio-fertilizer consortium (BC) for nutrient management in rice-horticulture based cropping system in Sikkim" at ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, India. His scholarly endeavors are reflected in numerous publications, as well as contributions to books (publishers: Springer Nature, Elsevier, Apple Academic Press, Scrivener Publishing, Scholar's Press, LAP, IGI Global Scientific Publishing, Bentham Science, Cambridge Scholars and CABI), book chapters, newsletters, research technical bulletins, extended summaries, technologies, e-publications, and popular articles in leading magazines and journals. Dr. Mitra has been appointed to various editorial roles, including editor, academic editor, associate editor, review editor, and editorial board member for over 30 reputable national and international journals. Additionally, he has contributed as a Special Issue lead editor, guest editor, guest editor assistant, and topic coordinator, and has provided reviews for over 80 journals.

Marika Pellegrini is currently working at Agricultural Microbiology Researcher (RTD-b) at the University of L'Aquila and Head of Agro-Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (Environmental Sciences Section, Dept. MeSVA, L'Aquila, Italy) since 2023. She graduated in Biology at the University of L'Aquila (Italy, 2014). She attended the PhD in Food Sciences at the University of Teramo, performing 6 months of research experience at the IPOA laboratory of the University of Miguel Hernández de Elche (Spain). She received her PhD with honours and the Doctor Europaeus certification in 2018. Her main research projects are on the selection, characterization, and exploitation of beneficial bacteria for sustainable productions (agriculture, biopolymers, and bioremediation) and molecular characterization of environmental biomes. She published 54 scientific articles in several indexed international journals, in which she appears as the first author or as the corresponding author. She is the coordinator of several national scientific projects and supervises the laboratory activities of research fellows and residents. She has participated in several projects dealing with the geomicrobiological characterization of mineral deposits and the application of microbial-based formulates to produce or recover biominerals. Her main activities concern the isolation, characterization, and application of useful strains for biotechnological applications and sustainable agriculture. She is currently involved in several national and international projects.