Life would have been much easier if the human eye could visualize, with high enough resolution and fast enough speed, biomolecules performing their tasks – for example, a live view of an RNA base being extruded out of the helical stack upon binding of a drug molecule would directly tell us the binding mode and other biophysical details needed to design the drug effectively and efficiently. Until we attain those powers, we have to rely on spectroscopy to visualize such motions in biomolecules indirectly.

We use (and develop) solution-state high-resolution NMR experiments combined with other biophysical techniques and computational approaches to study the conformational dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) at atomic resolution. These dynamic ensembles (not just static structures) provide better visualization of the detailed biomolecular behavior upon getting a cellular signal.

In addition, we also use NMR spectroscopy to look at the metabolic profiles of various cells, tissues, body fluids, etc., to understand the stress response in an organism.

We are housed in the Main Building at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, Maharashtra, India.

We provide consultancy services to Chemical and Bio-based Industries in the country.