The Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University came into existence from 8th January, 1975 after its bifurcation from the amalgamated Department of Pathology and Bacteriology of the erstwhile Assam Veterinary College vide memo no AAU/R-193 (B)/74-75/10891-941 dated 8th January, 1975. It started functioning under the bold guidance of Late (Dr) J N Goswami, the first officiating Head of the new Department. In the initial stage, the Department suffered from lack of infrastructure and qualified manpower which was bolstered under the I. D. A. project of AAU. With the appointment of Dr B R Boro as the founder HOD and Late (Dr) A Chakraborty, PhD in VPH as another faculty member, the Department of Microbiology continued its journey to its present status.
In the following years a separate building was constructed and a number of laboratory instruments were procured. Many faculty members pursued higher studies in different leading Universities of Indiaand obtained their MVSc and PhD degrees.In order to develop qualified manpower with specialization in Veterinary Microbiology, the department following introduction of M.V.Sc. degree program in the year 1984, started Ph.D. programme in 1988.The Department has so far produced 139 numbers of Post graduates in Veterinary Microbiology in addition to the regular UG teaching and extension activities. The department presently has 10 faculty members, out of which 2 are associated with the AICRP on FMD. So far, the Department has completed more than 35and presently has20 ongoing Research projects funded by ICAR, DBT, Govt. of India and DST, ASTEC, Govt. of Assam etc. With the University grant, ICAR development grants and grants under different research projects, the Department procured many sophisticated instruments and established separate Bacteriology, Mycology, Immunology, Virology as well as Molecular Biology and Diagnostic laboratories. Now the Department is not only known in the North Eastern Region but also all over India as one of the well-developed and advanced Department engaged in teaching and research in microbiology. The department,with the support received from DBT, hascreateda state-of-the-art laboratory (Advanced Animal Disease Diagnosis and Management Consortium- ADMaC) which hasall modern facilities to develop cutting edge technology. Thus, the Department now is recognized for its notable contributions in development of diagnostic tools and vaccine candidates to cater to the urgent need of the North Eastern Region of India. With the dedicated efforts of all the faculty members, supporting staff and students, itis hoped that the glorious journey of the Department will continue.