Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India
Professor | Structural & Computational Biologist | AMR Research Leader | Diagnostic and Therapeutic Innovations Enthusiastic, data-driven researcher unraveling the molecular and structural basis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). My group integrates structural, biochemical, biophysical, and computational approaches with NGS-driven big data to design next-generation therapeutics. Our current research focuses on: A) Antimicrobial Resistance: We investigate key resistance-associated enzymes and their catalytic divergence, with emphasis on understanding how new resistance phenotypes emerge. Our ongoing projects include: Mechanistic and structural studies on β-lactamases (both serine and metallo classes), enzymes of the folate biosynthesis pathway, and bacterial two-component systems. Design and development of new-generation β-lactamase inhibitors and antibacterials less prone to resistance, including boronate and DBO-based scaffolds. Screening and molecular characterization of clinical and environmental isolates to identify novel AMR determinants. Re-examining Ayurvedic formulations through modern molecular and biochemical tools for potential antimicrobial leads. Integrating nanotechnology and drug design, bridging biophysics with precision drug delivery in antibacterial therapeutics. Developing theranostic biosensing platforms for rapid detection of resistant pathogens with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity. B)NGS & Omics Data Mining: Leveraging in-silico and AI-driven tools for genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic data analysis, guiding experimental validation and drug target prediction. C) Protein Engineering & Industrial Enzymology: Engineering enzymes for enhanced stability, substrate range, and catalytic efficiency for industrial and therapeutic use. D)Biodegradable Polymers for Biomedical Use: Designing and characterizing novel biodegradable polymeric materials with tailored properties for tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. My long-term vision is to build integrated experimental-computational pipelines that accelerate antibiotic discovery and resistance surveillance while fostering global collaborations at the interface of biology, chemistry, and data science. 🌐 Open to research collaborations, industry partnerships, and knowledge exchange in AMR, structural enzymology, and therapeutic and diagnostic innovation.
Led the Structural, Computational Biology empowered Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research Group at IIT Roorkee, focusing on β-lactamase-mediated resistance mechanisms. Integrated structural biology, biophysics, and computational studies to explore enzyme evolution and drug interactions. Supervised interdisciplinary projects on inhibitor design and AMR detection platforms, enhancing research collaboration. Secured competitive research grants (BRNS, ICMR, DBT, MEiTY) for projects on antimicrobial resistance Mentored Master's, PhD, and Postdoctoral Researchers, fostering a national and international collaborative environment in AMR drug discovery.
Advanced structural and mechanistic understanding of β-lactamases (Class A, B, C, and D) and their inhibition by novel scaffolds. Established a computational-experimental drug discovery pipeline combining crystallography, molecular dynamics, and MM-PBSA/MM-GBSA workflows. Secured competitive research grants (DBT, SERB, BIRAC) for projects on antimicrobial resistance, theranostic biosensors, and enzyme engineering. Published high-impact papers in ACS Infectious Diseases, J. Biol. Chem., and Biochim. Biophys. Acta.
Initiated and developed an independent research program in structural enzymology and antibiotic resistance. Designed and taught courses in biochemistry, structural biology, and computational biology. Guided the first cohort of graduate students in projects on enzyme characterization, inhibitor modelling, and protein stability engineering. Built foundational infrastructure for AMR and protein biophysics research at IIT Roorkee.
I'm working as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist.
Cloning, expression, characterization of APC subunits and trying to solve their structure.
My research work was in Protein Engineering, Structural Biology & Drug Designing (Ph.D. awarded December 10, 2010) Thesis Title: “Structure – Function relationship of Human deoxycytidine Kinase- a step towards target specific anticancer treatment” Advisor: Prof. Arnon Lavie, Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, UIC, Chicago, USA.