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I am Avijit Roy, a Senior Scientist in Process Chemistry at Pharmaron UK. My journey in organic chemistry began during my undergraduate years and evolved through my master studies at IIT Kharagpur. After writing my doctoral thesis on fundamental studies on electrophilic silicon species (silylium ion), I spent some time exploring nucleophilic silicon chemistry (silyl boranes) during postdoctoral research. During this time, I also developed some silyl borane chemistry under mechanochemistry. After that, I transitioned into industry where I currently work as a senior scientist in process chemistry. One of my primary roles here is to actively take part in the development and/or scale-up of chemical processes of API. Let's stay connected!
Senior Scientist in Process Chemistry (2023 – present): Pharmaron UK, Hoddesdon, United Kingdom
PostDoc (2022 – 2023): Hokkaido University, Japan (Supervisor: Prof. Hajime Ito)
PhD (2018 – 2022): Technische Universität Berlin, Germany (Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Oestreich)
MSc (2016 – 2018): Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India (Master's Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Modhu Sudan Maji)
BSc (2013 – 2016): Hooghly Mohsin College, University of Burdwan, India
2018: Received EC2/BIG-NSE Scholarship for continuing research work within UniSysCat research cluster
2018: Qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) exam with Junior Research Fellowship-CSIR (Rank 73)
2017: Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) exam in chemistry (Top 2%)
2016: Qualified Joint Admission Test for MSc (Top 1%)
2016: Awarded Rani Katyayani Memorial Prize for highest marks secured in BSc (Rank 4, University of Burdwan)
2013: Received INSPIRE Scholarship for Higher Education by Govt. of India (for 5 years)
Skills can be seen as a combination of knowledge, ability, and proficiency acquired through practice. Therefore, they can change with time. Some skills may become dormant due to infrequent practice, but they can be revived when needed. My transition from academia to industry enabled me to develop new skill sets, many of which are relevant and commonly required in both fields.
Core chemistry laboratory skills are at the heart of an organic chemist. In my current role, I have become proficient in operating instruments such as HPLC, LCMS, GC, NMR, IR, XRPD, and KF titration. Furthermore, my extensive experience with multi-nuclear NMR during my PhD research exemplifies my expertise. I mastered at handling air and moisture-sensitive chemicals such as highly reactive silicon cations during PhD research, and currently have a thorough understanding of inertion at scale.
I have consistently demonstrated the ability to solve moderately complex problems mainly in late-stage reactions with moderate guidance from my Line Manager. This was done by proper planning and execution of experiments, interpretation of results efficiently to address assigned challenges. Newly designed and optimized process was carried through the pilot plant for kilo-scale production.
Scientific works generate a lot of data. My PhD dissertation demonstrates an example my data management skills. In my current industrial role, I consistently maintained high standards of organization and cleanliness while extracting, organizing, and analyzing data. I always ensured compliance with company policies and followed Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines as needed.
In order to successfully design a process, it's essential to leverage the collective efforts of a dedicated team. I have consistently demonstrated strong communication, coordination, and collaboration skills by working closely with cross-functional project teams. This has allowed us to effectively meet project deadlines and deliverables while ensuring that client requirements are fully met.
In my research career, I have documented many scientific articles, including research papers in peer-reviewed journals during my PhD and postdoc. In my current role, I am responsible for drafting reports for manufacturing of my own batch, such as process safety assessment, batch and seed records, and campaign reports. I also frequently present experimental data and answer technical questions in client and internal meetings.
Throughout my career, I have gained expertise in organic synthesis and catalysis, focusing on Brønsted acid and Lewis acid catalysis, as well as Mechanochemistry to certain extent.
I have experience in mentoring undergraduate student for the bachelor thesis, strengthening my ability to support and guide early-career scientists.
I served as a PhD delegate and represented EC2/BIG-NSE batch in various round tables in TU Berlin for 1.5 years. My task was to put forward opinions and feedback in interview rounds conducted by EC2 executive board for the selection of new international doctoral candidates within UniSysCat research cluster.
Beyond a chemist..
I am a synthetic organic chemist by training, but a science enthusiast at heart. I have followed a fairly traditional academic path: BSc to MSc, then a PhD and postdoc, all focused on chemistry. But what shaped me most wasn't the structure, it was staying curious, learning fast, and being open to new scientific domains.
Throughout my career, I have had the chance to live in several countries, always doing my best to absorb the local culture. These experiences, and the people I have met along the way, constantly remind me how much there is to learn in a single lifetime. That realisation fuels both my professional drive and personal curiosity.
This curiosity often spills into unexpected places. From designing chemical processes that yield >99% pure drug molecules, to playing an intense 21-20 table tennis match, to cooking up a great bowl of chilli con carne, to locate apparent motions of Venus and Mercury in the evening sky, I love diving into new challenges. On quieter days, you will find me chasing a perfect landscape shot or listening to The Beatles (still trying to pick a favourite album though).