Dr. Swapan Banerjee has worked in diverse settings, including academia, clinical and government organizations in several countries (India, USA, and Canada) before settling in Ottawa, Canada, since 1991. He started his career as a lecturer in biophysics (Calcutta University, India), and moved on to accept post-doctoral research assignments in North America, in various areas, such as, (i) ‘site-specific mutagenesis and bypass of UV-induced photo-lesions in E. coli and yeast’ (1985-90, USA), (ii) ‘mechanisms of DNA replication in a broad-host-range (IncN group) plasmid’ conferring antibiotic resistance to bacteria (1991-95) and, (iii) ‘cell-cycle perturbation of pancreatic (cancer) cell lines induced by ionizing radiation’, for the development of therapeutic interventions (1995-97). In 2002, he transitioned to his current position as a food safety scientist in Health Canada.
He is a peer reviewer for several international journals within his area of expertise, and serves on the editorial board of some of them, including AOAC’s. He is presently on the roster of the ‘WHO/FAO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment’ (JEMRA), and on a scientific committee (SC9) of the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). He is affiliated with the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID), and AOAC INTERNATIONAL.
