People

I pursued my education in pharmaceutical chemistry, earning both B.Pharm and M.Pharm degrees from Nitte University. Post my education, I transitioned into academia as an Assistant Professor for 2 years and then worked as a Research Assistant at Tunghai University, Taiwan, under Prof. Ding Yah Yang where I focused on bioorganic material synthesis. With a passion for drug discovery and molecular modelling, I am committed to advancing myself in pharmaceutical science.

Research interest: Drug discovery, Molecular modelling, Organic synthesis, Bioorganic material synthesis, Spectroscopical analysis.

Publication: Sathyanarayana, B. K.; Manjappa, K. B.; Yang, D. Y. Org. Biomol. Chem., 2023, 5964-5969. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/D3OB00917C)

 PhD Current Project: Computational Modelling & Simulations of Liquid Crystals

Enthusiastic and self-motivated BS-MS graduate from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, specializing in Biology with a comprehensive foundation in Structural Biology and Biochemistry. Completed a rigorous 5-year Integrated BS-MS course, culminating in a thesis related to Natural Product Biosynthesis. I actively expand my expertise through continuous reading and research, allowing me to contribute meaningfully to advancing biological inquiry.

Research interests: Structural Biology, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Molecular Modelling, Marine Biotechnology.

Current PhD Project: Three-Dimensional Modelling of Crustacean Receptors with their Cognate Ligands.

Prathiksha has obtained her Master’s degree in the field of Bioinformatics, where she completed her final semester project work under the guidance of Prof. Neha Gandhi in the field of structural biology. Her academic journey has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of computational biology, data analysis, and programming, skills crucial for her current research focus. Her primary area of interest lies in in silico drug discovery, a field that leverages computational power to accelerate the development of novel therapeutics. Her research aims to contribute significantly to the development of novel therapeutic agents. She is particularly interested in applying these computational techniques to address challenging diseases.

Research Interest: Drug Discovery, Computational Biology, MD simulations, Bioinformatics, Molecular Modeling, Structural Biology

I am a fresher at MIT Manipal pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Computing. My involvement with Prof. Neha Gandhi  started off with me showcasing one of my Projects at the Startup expo. I have a keen interest in the field of Machine learning and AI and love to explore anything even remotely connected to it. Here at MIT, I am also a part of the prestigious Student Project, Project Manas, where we work on Robotics and Self Driving Cars.

 Research Interest: De-noising Radiography Images, Detecting Counterfeit Drugs, Drug Discovery.

McKenna is a computational chemist focused on drug discovery utilising molecular modelling and machine learning. She obtained a dual degree of Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) and Bachelor of Infomation Technology at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Realising that she could combine these two seemingly different disciplines, she conducted her final year research project, with Prof. Gandhi, on analysing molecular docking tools for protein-ligand interactions in cancer. After working as a research assistant and seeing this work get published, sparking a keen interest in the area, she pursued and obtained her MPhil by publication in mid-2023 (QUT) under Prof. Gandhi. Here she researched the potential interactions of a synthetic ribosomal antibiotic class, using molecular modelling (structure-based) and machine learning (ligand-based) techniques. Currently, she is pursing PhD options to continue her passion of combining chemistry and information technology, specifically in biological targets.

Research interests: Drug discovery, molecular modelling, machine learning, data analysis, computational chemistry, computational biology

Lauren is a computational chemist with a background in analytical chemistry. She obtained a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Before joining Prof. Gandhi's group as an MPhil student in March of 2022 she was an analytical scientist at Scientest Analytical. Her MPhil focused on molecular modelling and x-ray crystallography approaches to identify potential chaperones for the treatment of Sanfilippo syndrome type A and B. She is currently in the final stages of her MPhil project.

Research Interests: Drug Discovery, Sanfilippo Syndrome,  Molecular Modelling, Computational Chemistry, Computational Biology and Crystallography. 

Dr. Dulari is an applied statistician with expertise spanning various domains, including biostatistics, bioinformatics, machine learning, and health informatics. She earned her PhD in Bioinformatics from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), focusing on omics data analyses of hormone-dependent cancers, and her research was recognised with a nomination for the QUT Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award in 2024. In December 2022, Dr Dulari was honoured with the QUT HDR High Achiever Award for her exceptional contributions to research, leadership, and networking during her PhD tenure. Before her doctoral studies, she demonstrated outstanding academic and research performance, receiving the University Award of Academic Excellence in 2016 from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Currently, Dr Dulari is a Research Fellow in Biostatistics at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, where she applies her expertise to advance population health research. Additionally, she works as a Biostatistics Consultant at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, contributing her statistical insights to cardiovascular and diabetes research initiatives. Her dedication and contributions drive advancements in public health and medical research.

Research Interests: Biostatistics, Health Informatics, Epidemiology, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Machine Learning, Bayesian Statistics

Dr. Schuurs is a computational chemist with a broad background in chemistry, biotechnology and bioinformatics. He obtained his Bachelor of Biotechnology from the University of Queensland (UQ), where he majored in Nanotechnology. With a desire to obtain more applied skills in the informatics space, he completed a Master of Bioinformatics at UQ. During this time he completed a summer project with the Bernhardt group modelling compound interactions with materials. This was his first foray into molecular modelling. Zach was recently been awarded his PhD by publication at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) under Prof. Gandhi. Zach investigated the molecular recognition of anionic binding proteins, using computational methods to develop hypotheses of molecular recognition and then tested those results with biochemical analyses. He is currently on sabbatical on an apple farm in Tanzania helping with beverage product development and IT consultancy, while exploring options for his next step into the cheminformatics and computational chemistry space.

Research interests: drug discovery, FBDD, CADD, molecular modelling, statistical analyses, MD simulations, DNA binding proteins, antibiotic resistance, computational biology, bioinformatics

Dr Tabassum is a chemical biologist with over six years of combined experience in industrial and academic research in drug discovery field. She has completed Master of Pharmacy (Medicinal Chemistry) degree from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra (India). She also holds post-graduate diploma in Intellectual Property Law from the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. Before joining her PhD at the Queensland University of Technology (Translational Research Institute) in 2020 with Dr Gandhi, she was a Peptide Research Scientist at Dr Reddy's Laboratories (Integrated Product Development Organization, Hyderabad) and Novartis Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. (Hyderabad). Her PhD focussed on utilizing multidisciplinary approaches for the development of peptide and small molecule modulators of novel protein-protein interactions involved in DNA damage repair and cell cycle pathways with strategic focus on cancer therapy. Currently, she is associated with the National Biologics Facility at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland.

Research Interests: Drug Discovery, Cancer Research, Peptide Chemistry and Biology, Biologics Discovery, Protein Engineering, Molecular Modelling, Targeted Protein Degradation.