Kalpana Kumari

Dr. Kalpana Kumari is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. Her research focuses on the rational design of peptide-based supramolecular materials for applications in theranostics, biomimetic catalysis, environmental remediation, and industrial biotechnology. She is particularly interested in developing self-assembling peptide systems, bionanozymes, and functional biomaterials that integrate principles of chemistry, biology, and materials science to address challenges in healthcare, sustainability, and environmental protection.

Previously, Dr. Kumari was a Prime Minister’s Research Fellow (PMRF) and completed her Ph.D. in Biosciences and Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati under the supervision of Professor Vibin Ramakrishnan. Her doctoral research focused on the design, self-assembly, and functionalization of short peptide-based supramolecular systems as molecular mimetics of functional biomolecules. Her work demonstrated the development of bioinspired peptide catalysts for carbon dioxide sequestration and hydrolytic transformations, peptide hydrogels for dye adsorption and pollutant degradation, and electrically responsive peptide materials with tunable physicochemical properties. These studies established versatile peptide-based platforms with potential applications in sustainable catalysis, environmental remediation, and advanced biomedical materials.