Pradeepkumar received his Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry in 2004 from Uppsala University under Prof. Jyoti Chattopadhyaya. Subsequently, he spent three years as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Scott K. Silverman at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 2007, he joined the Department of Chemistry at IIT Bombay, where he is currently a Professor. He was also a Max Planck India Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysical Chemistry, GÖttingen, from 2008-2012 and an ASEM-DUO visiting professor at the University of Wurzberg (2022).
POST DOCS
Abhishek completed his Ph.D. thesis on the topic "Computational investigation on lysine methyl transferase G9a and identification of potential epigenitic inhibitors" from NIT Durgapur. He joined as a postdoctoral fellow in the NACB lab in September 2024. He is currently working on molecular modeling studies of protein-RNA complexes.
Dr. Kalinganayak. S.H. completed his Ph.D. thesis on the topic "Copper-Catalyzed Aerobic [3+2] Annulation: A versatile Route to Pyrazoles and Pyrazole Hybrids" from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka Surathkal. He joined as an Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow (IPDF) in the NACB lab in March 2025. He is currently working on the Discovery of Antimalarials based on Nucleoside Conjugates.
Dr.Gauri Thapa completed her Ph.D on the topic "In-silico studies on structure, dynamics and function of biomolecules: anti-HIV-1 protein SAMHD1 and CaM" from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. She joined as a research assistant in the NACB Lab in July 2025. She is currently working on molecular modeling and dynamic studies of protein-nucleic acid complexes.
Ph.D. STUDENTS
Leena from Maharashtra joined the NACB lab in July 2019 as a Ph.D. student. She completed her M.Sc. from Savitribai Phule Pune University in 2018. Her research is mainly focused on antimicrobial resistance. She is also working on the in-silico screening of small molecule ligands inhibiting DNA methyl transferases.
Poonam from Faridabad joined the NACB lab in December 2019 as a Ph.D. student (UGC fellow). She completed her M.Sc. from Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Sonipat, in 2017. Her research mainly focuses on synthesizing N2-dG adducts and their studies with human TLS polymerases. She is also working on the synthesis of t-RNA mimics.
Dilnawaj, from Uttar Pradesh, joined the NACB lab in December 2021 as a Ph.D. student. He completed his MSc from the University of Delhi in 2018. His research mainly focuses on synthesizing small molecule G-quadruplex binding ligands and their biophysical, biochemical, and in-vivo studies.
Priyasha, from West Bengal, joined the NACB lab in July 2022 as a Ph.D. student. She completed his MSc from the IIT Dhanbad in 2021. Her research mainly focuses on the molecular modeling and dynamics studies of protein-nucleic acid complexes.
Siddhesh, from Maharashtra, joined the NACB lab in July 2023 as a Ph.D. student. He completed his MSc from the ICT Mumbai in 2022. His research mainly focuses on the synthesis of nucleoside modifications.
Dhananjay, from Uttar Pradesh, joined the NACB lab in July 2023 as a joint Ph.D. student under the supervision of Prof. Ruchi Anand and Prof. Pradeep Kumar P.I.. He completed his Master of Science in Chemistry from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. His research mainly focuses on nucleoside modifications related to antibiotic resistance.
Ganga, from Rajasthan, joined the NACB lab in December 2023 as a Ph.D. student. She completed her MSc from S.S Jain Subhodh PG College, Jaipur, in 2023. Her research mainly focuses on identifying DNA enzymes that catalyze various biochemical reactions.
Ankana, from West Bengal, joined the NACB lab in July 2024 as a Ph.D. student. She completed his MSc from the IIT Dhanbad in 2021. Her research mainly focuses on the synthesis of nucleoside modifications.
Sidharth, from Kerala, joined the NACB lab in January 2025 as a Ph.D. student. He completed his MSc from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University Coimbatore in 2021. His research mainly focuses on the molecular modelling and dynamics studies of protein-nucleic acid complexes.
Alina, from Sikkim, joined NACB lab in January 2025 as a PhD student. She completed her MSc from Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology in 2021. Her research mainly focuses on synthesizing small molecule G-quadruplex binding ligands and their biophysical, biochemical, and in-vivo studies.
Shweta, from Uttar Pradesh, joined NACB lab in July 2025 as a PhD student. She completed her MSc from Banaras Hindu University in 2024.
B.S- M.S PROJECT STUDENTS
Souvik, BSc-MSc student from IIT Bombay, joined the NACB lab in July 2025 as a M.S. project student. His research project is on modified nucleosides.
Aarti, BSc-MSc student from IIT Bombay, joined the NACB lab in July 2025 as an M.S. project student. Her research project is on G4 targeting ligands.
Kopal, BSc-MSc student from the National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar joined the NACB lab in August 2025 as an M.Sc. dissertation project student. Her research project is on discovering Small-Molecule Aptamers.