Harinath Chakrapani's Biography

Harinath Chakrapani, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research

Harinath Chakrapani completed his undergraduate and post-graduate studies in Chemistry from Loyola College (1994-97) and Indian Institute of Technology Madras (1997-99), respectively. In the fall of 1999, he moved to Duke University, USA to pursue his doctoral studies, which he completed under the supervision of Prof. Eric J. Toone in Dec. 2005. His post-doctoral research work was carried out at Wake Forest University, where he worked with Prof. S. Bruce King and the National Cancer Institute, under the mentorship of Dr. Larry K. Keefer. He joined IISER Pune in July 2009 and is currently Assistant Professor. He has co-authored over 25 publications and his current research interests include the use of organic sources of biological reactive species as experimental therapeutics. His recent work has been on the use of thiol-activated sources of the reactive sulfur species sulfur dioxide as potential Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth inhibitors. His group is also working on bioreductive modes of activation of prodrugs of nitric oxide with potential to target hypoxic tumours and on controlled generation of reactive oxygen species as a strategy for development of novel therapeutic agents. He has been selected for the Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award, 2011 instituted by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India to identify and nurture outstanding young scientists with innovative ideas for pursuing research in frontier areas of biotechnology.