Chemical Biology Seminar: Professor Jayanta Haldar, JNCASR
About the Seminar
Outwitting antibiotic resistance : A perpetual battle
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) currently claims around seven hundred thousand lives annually and this is expected to rise to ten million by 2050 if not tackled immediately. India is one of the highest contributors to this staggering statistic. As arsenal of effective antibiotics dwindle, more and more effort are being focused on the development of novel strategies to tackle drug resistant bacteria. This talk involves our efforts towards mitigation of problems created due to antimicrobial resistance and complex infections. The development of synthetic small molecular and macromolecular mimics of antimicrobial peptides targeting bacterial membrane as an alternative class of antibacterial agents will be discussed.1 The novel approaches to overcome acquired, intrinsic and adoptive bacterial resistance towards glycopeptides, via semisynthetic modifications of vancomycin will also be discussed.2-4 With the view of rehabilitation of the shelved out, inactive antibiotics, our lab is working on developing antibiotic adjuvants, i.e. agents which, when used in combination with the obsolete or ineffective antibiotic, will repurpose or reactivate the antibiotic against clinically relevant Gram-negative superbugs.5 Unlike the conventionally used antibiotics, our pre-clinical leads tackle acquired and adaptive forms of phenotypic resistance as well as biofilm with negligible propensity for resistance development. We have also contributed towards the development of multi-functional smart antimicrobial biomaterials, which can address the myriad of problems associated with complicated infections and deep-tissue injuries.6
References: (1) Barman, S.; Dhanda, G.; Naik, P.; Mukherjee, R.; Joseph, J.; Haldar, J.*. Adv. Therap. 2022, 2100234, 1-14. (2) Acharya, Y.; Dhanda, G.; Sarkar, P.; Haldar, J.*, Chem. Comm. 2022, 58, 1881-1897. (3) Sarkar, P.; De, K.; Modi, M.; Dhanda, G.; Priyadarshani, R.; Bandow, J. E.; Haldar, J.*. Chem. Sci. 2023, 14, 2386- 2398. (4) Sarkar, P.; Samaddar, S.; Ammanathan, V.; Yarlagadda, V.; Ghosh, C.; Shukla, M.; Kaul, G.; Manjithaya. R.; Chopra, S.; Haldar, J.*.ACS Chem. Biol, 2020, 15, 884-889. (5) Dhanda, G.; Mukherjee, R.; Basak, D.; Haldar, J.* ACS Infect. Dis. 2022, 8, 1086-1097. (6) Dey, R.; Mukherjee, R.; Haldar, J.*, Adv. Healthc. Mater. 2022, 11, 2200536.
About the Speaker
Dr. Jayanta Haldar is a Professor at the Antimicrobial Research Laboratory in the New Chemistry Unit (NCU) and School of Advanced Materials (SAMat), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, India. He is serving as the Editor-in-Chief of ACS Infectious Diseases from June 2023. He completed his PhD from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 2005 and Postdoctoral Research at the Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. He has received several awards and honours such as the Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) Medal, Ramanujan Fellowship (Govt. of India), Sheik Saqr Career Award Fellowship, 8th National Award for Technology Innovation from Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers (Govt. of India), CDRI Excellence in Drug Research Award in Chemistry, Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) Bronze Medal, etc. He has served as a member of editorial boards of various international journals in the field of infectious diseases and medicinal chemistry, such as RSC Medicinal Chemistry (till July 2023), ACS Infectious Diseases (till July 2023), Biomacromolecules, Microbial Pathogenesis, etc. Prof. Haldar’s research integrates an interdisciplinary Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology-based approach for understanding and countering AMR, development of novel therapeutics and newer strategies for tackling infections caused by pathogenic bacteria, fungi and viruses. His laboratory works towards developing smart biomaterials which aid in preventing the spread of infectious diseases, as well as cure infection and enhance wound healing. His multifaceted research has been published in high-impact international journals and has led to many national and international patents. His research has been highlighted in National Science Museums, and media such as BBC News, ACS Chemical Engineering News, Atlas of Science, Scientific American, The Telegraph, etc.
Independently hosted by Lynette Cegelski