Dr. Ramesh Velupillaimani presented at the American Scientific Affiliation 2021 meeting and conference: “THE GIFT OF SCIENTIA, THE BODY OF CHRIST, AND THE COMMON GOOD": Scientists and Theologians Working Together, Virtual Annual Meeting, July 29 - August 1, 2021. Attended by Christian Educators, Scientists, and Theologians from all over the world.

Dr. Ramesh’s Presentation titled “Synergistic Antimicrobial Effects of Desert Plant Extracts with Antibiotics and DNA Barcoding of Medicinal plants". His research is focused on the evaluation and characterization of antimicrobial principles from higher plants and algae to address the need for safe and effective antimicrobial agents against drug-resistant microbes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), more people die today of bacterial infections than HIV, and more people will die of bacterial infections than cancer by 2050. One approach to treat infectious diseases is the use of plant extracts individually and /or as an alternative approach with combinations of antibiotics and plant extracts. This combination therapy or synergistic therapy against resistant microorganisms may lead to new ways of treating infectious diseases. His work also focuses on the identification and documentation of medicinal plants using DNA Barcoding technology which has emerged as a promising tool for authentication of useful medicinal plants for herbal drug preparations. Further, DNA Barcoding permits accurate analysis and regulation of plants in the herbal medicine and food industry, including the quality control component and identifying and grouping of medicinal plants based on their unique genetic makeup.