Dr. Ravi Kanth Kamlekar

Dr. Ravi Kanth Kamlekar is currently serving as the Regional Director at IGNOU Regional Centre Chennai (April 2025 onwards), previously he served as Regional Director at IGNOU RC Bijapur (2023-2025). After his schooling and Intermediate studies, he graduated in science from Osmania University (1995) and B.Ed from Kakatiya University (1996). He did his M. Sc. in Organic Chemistry from Sri Krishnadevaraya University & M.Phil in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad (2001) and subsequently did a Ph.D in Chemistry under the supervision of Prof. Musti. J Swamy (University of Hyderabad, Feb 2007). He was awarded JRF (2001) & SRF (2003) by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, India.

After his PhD, he joined Prof. Rhoderick E. Brown’s research group at the Hormel Institute (University of Minnesota, Austin, MN, USA) as a Hormel Fellow (2007-2011). There, his research is focused on elucidating the molecular basis of the decreased transfer activity of Glycolipid transfer proteins containing point mutations in their ligand sites and biophysical studies of sphingolipid binding/transfer proteins. He was part of the research team that discovered new GLTP superfamily members that bind and transfer ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P), i.e. CPTPs [ published in Nature (2013) 500, 463-467 ].

In July 2011, he joined as a Research Scientist at Zydus Research Center, Ahmedabad, India. There he established a Sophisticated and State of Art Molecular Biophysics Lab and developed binding/screening assays for Protein-Small Molecule Interactions, Biosimilars, and Therapeutic proteins. He was a part of the research team of the world’s first adalimumab Biosimilar (Exemptia), a potent TNF-inhibitor and anti-inflammatory drug.

In 2013, he moved to Academic Research and joined as an Assistant. Professor (Sr.) in the Chemistry Dept., School of Advanced Sciences (SAS), VIT Vellore, and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2022.   

Besides Bio-active Membrane Lipid Biophysical Studies, Lipid-Protein Interaction, and Lipid Transfer Proteins, his areas of research interests include Small Molecule Synthesis, Liposome Drug Delivery, and Protein Biochemistry. He has authored/co-authored over 36 research papers, reviews, and book chapters in these areas (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9s-TVlkAAAAJ&hl=en). He has also contributed a textbook (Engineering Chemistry -I Concepts & Applications).