Drug design

Dr. Guruprasad Kalthur,

Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Clinical Embryology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education

https://manipal.edu/kmc-manipal/department-faculty/faculty-list/guruprasad-kalthur.html

Project: Structure based design and evaluation of inhibitors against phosphodiesterases for enhancing sperm motility and early embryo development, and to reduce gamete and embryo toxicity

Publications:

1. Satish M, Kumari S, Nitin K, Ninjoor YK, Babu A, Adiga SK, Kalthur G#, Rajakumara E#.  Computational, biochemical and ex vivo evaluation of xanthine derivatives against phosphodiesterases to enhance the sperm motility. J Biomol Struct Dyn. Jun 13:1-11 (2022).

2. Satish M, Kumari S, Deeksha W, Abhishek S, Nitin K, Adiga SK, Hegde P, Dasappa JP, Kalthur G#, Rajakumara E#. Structure-based redesigning of pentoxifylline analogs against selective phosphodiesterases to modulate sperm functional competence for assisted reproductive technologies, Nature Scientific Reports 11(1):12293 (2021). https://youtu.be/grUr-9_X7cw. Print or online media: Link to doc file ‘mPTX-IVF- News-Coverage’

3. Designing of pentoxifylline derivatives against phosphodiesterases to enhance the sperm competence for assisted reproductive technologies (Under preparation).

Grant: CRG, SERB, DST; 2021-24

 

Prof. G. Satyanarayana, Chemistry Department, IIT Hyderabad

https://sites.google.com/iith.ac.in/gsresearchgroug/home?authuser=1

Publications:

1. Designing of pentoxifylline derivatives against phosphodiesterases to enhance the sperm competence for assisted reproductive technologies (Under preparation).

Grant: CRG, SERB, DST; 2021-24

Students: a joint PhD student

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Filed patent:

Application No: 202341028076

Title: Synthesis and evaluation of inhibitor against phosphodiesterases PDE4A, PDE4D, and PDE10

Inventors (all from IITH): Dr. Rajakumara Eerappa, Prof. G. Satyanarayana, Mr. Raj Virendra Gupta, Mr. M. Ramachandra Reddy

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Prof. Sumohana Channappayya

Electrical Engineering Department, IIT Hyderabad

https://people.iith.ac.in/lfovia/index.html

Project: Technology and data driven (DL/ML) approaches to understand protein-protein network of host-pathogen interactions, developing DL/ML algorithms, and enzyme & antibody engineering, and peptide & small molecules-based lead compound discoveries.

 

Epigenetics, DNA repair and characterization of cancer drug targets

Dr. Gunjan Mehta

Laboratory of Chromosome Dynamics and Genes Regulation, Biotechnology Department, IITH

https://www.mehtalab-iith.com/

Project: Mechanistic understanding of functioning of CHD1 remodelers using biochemical, structural and Single-Molecule Imaging approaches, and identify the small molecule inhibitors

Publications:

1. Mehta, G#., Sanyal, K., Abhishek, S., Rajakumara E & Ghosh, S. K#. Minichromosome maintenance proteins in eukaryotic chromosome segregation. BioEssays 44, 2100218 (2022).

Grant:  Extramural research grant, Under Basic research in Modern Biology, DBT-Government of India

Students: a joint PhD student

 

Dr. Athi N. Naganathan

Biotechnology Department, IIT Madras

https://biotech.iitm.ac.in/faculty/athi-n.-naganathan/

Project: Mechanistic and structural studies on the allosteric regulation of phospho-mimetic variants of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases 1 activities by DNA break, PAR and PARP inhibitors, and design of PARPi(s)

Grant:  STARS-MoE, Recommended for funding

 

Phase separation in protein aggregation, thermodynamics of hydrogels formation, and designing of PAR based biomedical constructs

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Dr. Purusharth Rajyaguru

Biochemistry Department, IISc

https://biochem.iisc.ac.in/purusharth-i-rajyaguru.php

Topic: Mitigation of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) aggregates using peptides, and mechanistic understanding of PARP1 and PARP2 activities by RNA G-quadruplex.

 

Dr. Jyotsnendu Giri, BME, IITH

https://people.iith.ac.in/jgiri/

Topics: Nanofibres, nanoparticles and hydrogel design for biomedical applications

Publications:

1. Deeksha W, Abhishek S, Giri J, Rajakumara E#. Regulation of PARP1 and its apoptotic variant activity by single-stranded DNA (Accepted by FEBS J.).

2. Rajakumara E#, Saniya D, Bajaj P, Rajeshwari R, Giri J, Davari MD. Hijacking Chemical Reactions of P450 Enzymes for Altered Chemical Reactions and Asymmetric Synthesis. Int. J. Mol. Sci.  24(1), 214 (2022).

3. Singh R, Roopmani P, Chauhan M, Basu, S. M., Deeksha, W., Kazem, MD, Hazra S, Rajakumara E & Giri J#. Silver sulfadiazine loaded core-shell airbrushed nanofibers for burn wound healing application. Int. J. Pharm. 613, 121358 (2022).

Grant: 1. CRG, SERB-DST 2. DBT 3. Submitted a call for Letter of Intent (LoI) on ‘Cancer Disease Biology’, DBT, for funding. 

Students: a joint ID PhD student with PMRF fellowship

 

Enzyme engineering and characterization for chiral synthesis of API

Dr. Priyanka Bajaj

Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology NIPER Hyderabad

Publications:

1. Rajakumara E#, Saniya D, Bajaj P, Rajeshwari R, Giri J, Davari MD. Hijacking Chemical Reactions of P450 Enzymes for Altered Chemical Reactions and Asymmetric Synthesis. Int. J. Mol. Sci.  24(1), 214 (2022).

2. Rajakumara E#, Abhishek S, Nitin K, Saniya D, Bajaj P, Schwaneberg U. & Davari MD#. Structure and Cooperativity in Substrate–Enzyme Interactions: Perspectives on Enzyme Engineering and Inhibitor Design. ACS Chem. Biol. (2022) doi:10.1021/acschembio.1c00500.

3. Aromatic nitration and the dire need for the development of an efficient green enzyme based catalytic process (Under preparation)

Students: A joint PhD student