Amulya Baral

PhD Student · Metagenomics · Antimicrobial Resistance · One Health

ORCID · Google Scholar

About

PhD student at NMBU applying large-scale metagenomics to analyze antimicrobial resistance genes, their diversity, and genomic context. My focus is the One Health dimension of AMR; how resistance moves across animals, humans, and the environment.

Work

PhD Student · Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Sep 2023 – Present · Ås, Norway

Doctoral project: AntibiotiKu: Antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in Norwegian cattle

  • Assessed data quality of national VetReg prescription database and developed a error correction framework; produced the first complete description of antimicrobial use in Norwegian cattle (2018–2023) using DDDvet metrics
  • Characterized fecal resistomes from 551 cattle (HUNT One Health cohort) via shotgun metagenomics, linking resistance genes to animal metadata and microbiota
  • Secured 50,000 NOK additional grant from NORM for sequencing and sample processing
  • Board member for 2026 and responsible for all communication channels at SoDoC, a non-political interest organization for PhD candidates, postdocs, and temporary researchers at NMBU.
Visiting PhD Scholar · DTU National Food Institute
Mar – Jun 2025 · Copenhagen, Denmark

Research stay at the Rare Microbe Bioinformatics Lab (RamBio, Patrick Munk)

Researcher (Contract) · NMBU
Oct 2023 – 2024

PLASTPATH - metagenomics of plastisphere microbial communities; characterized resistomes on plastic particles across freshwater and wastewater environments (Publication)

Teaching Assistant · Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
Jan – Jun 2023 · Hamar, Norway
  • Bioinformatics & Biostatistics — Master's in Applied Biotechnology
  • ICT & Applied Bioinformatics — Bachelor's in Bioengineering

Education

MSc Biotechnology (Experimental) · Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
2021 – 2023 · Hamar, Norway

Grade: A
Thesis: A metagenomic approach to study factors related to bacterial pathogenicity in HIAS biofilms

BSc Microbiology · Tribhuvan University
2015 – 2019 · Pokhara, Nepal
Thesis: Prevalence of Extended Spectrum β–Lactamase Producing Pathogens in Currency Notes and their MDR patterns

Publications

  • Anna Abramova, Amulya Baral, et al. (2026). "Roadmap for integrated One Health AMR surveillance in Nordic countries". Public Health. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2026.106285
  • Nimrod T. de Wit, Amulya Baral, et al. (2026). "Calibrating for absolute microbiome abundances without spike-ins". Preprint. doi:10.64898/2026.02.26.708180
  • Ingun Lund Witsø, Amulya Baral, et al. (2025). "Plastispheres as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance: Insights from metagenomic analyses across aquatic environments". PLOS One. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0330754

Misc Projects

  • swiftomics.com — No-code pathogen profiling platform (AMR and virulence genes) that runs locally in your browser (no need to send data to a server) using webassembly