Our body is a cozy home to more than 1 trillion microbes playing a positive role in maintaining the health of an individual. These microbes are in abundance in our body, including the oral cavity, gut region, skin, etc. These microbes are diverse in nature with plenty of varieties in different organs. Not only organs they differ in different individuals as well. The genome of these microbes and their ecosystem constitute a microbiome which is influenced by various factors such as diet, environment, host genetics, etc. responsible for microbial diversity. One can also easily presume that the microbial population present in healthy and diseased individuals are also quite distinct as reported in earlier studies. Once this microbiome gets altered, we become prone to vulnerable diseases. Cancer is the outcome of an overexpression of many marker genes. Recent Biotechnological advances in the genome sequencing and metagenomics have already paved the way for a broader understanding of microbial population present which further highlights the distinguishing features of microbiome during healthy and disease states. New emerging field of research in Medical Biotechnology is set to target the microbiome for therapeutic purposes by which personalized medicine can be made for treating various types of Cancer and other chronic diseases. Personalized probiotic and prebiotic supplements, dietary interventions, and microbial transplantation can now be used to reshape the microbiome, presenting a reasonable therapeutic strategy in an era of personalized medicine. Today Biotechnology has made it feasible that why a patient should take those medicines which they do not respond to but to take precisely appropriate medicines according to the microbial flora present unique to each and every individual.

“Almost everybody is enthusiastic about the promise of Biotechnology to cure disease and to relieve suffering”, Leon Kass.

Needless to say that Biotechnology has set significantly high standards to cure ailing individuals bringing newer paradigms to manage health and well-being of an individual. Therefore need of the hour is to look into the diverse career options available with this multidisciplinary branch of Science and Engineering.

The author of the article is presently the Professor and Head, Department of Biotechnology, at Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana-Ambala. The Department provides a strong platform for students to adopt Biotechnology as a potential career option through courses such as B.Tech Biotechnology, M.Tech Biotechnology, B.Sc. Biotechnology and M.Sc. Biotechnology.