PI | Scientist | Postdocs | Visitors | Graduates | Undergraduates | Alumni
Principal Investigator (PI)
Dr. Shanta Dhar, PhD, FRSC
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Gautier Building Room #317
1011 NW 15th Street
Miami, FL 33136-1019
Email: shantadhar@med.miami.edu
Office: (305) 243-1292
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Shanta was born in West Bengal, India. She received her Ph. D. from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. Her graduate work was in the area of bioinorganic chemistry with the overall goal being to develop copper(II) complexes to effect photocleavage of double stranded DNA at longer wavelengths. In 2006, she came to this side of the globe and joined Johns Hopkins University as a postdoctoral fellow where she worked in the area of bioorganic chemistry with Prof. Marc M. Greenberg developing fluorescent sensors for the detection of various DNA lesions. In 2007, Shanta joined the group of Prof. Stephen J. Lippard at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her postdoctoral studies were focused on nanocarrier-mediated delivery of platinum-based drugs for their potential applications in cancer. Shanta joined the chemistry department at the University of Georgia in August 2010 and in summer 2016 she joined University of Miami, Miller school of medicine, currently she is in the process of motivating young talents towards the exciting field of metal-based nanomedicine for their potential uses in different human diseases.
Scientist
Dr. Bapurao Surnar, PhD
PhD from Indian Institute of Science Eductation and Research, Pune
Office: (305) 243-5830
Bapu is from Hyderabad, India. He did his Bachelors from Kakatiya University and Masters from Osmania University in Telangana. He pursued his PhD in "Synthesis and bio-application of functional polycaprolactones" with Prof. Jayakannan at IISER Pune. He is currently working on development of multi tasking nanodevices for therapeutic applications for prostate cancer, viral diseases and heart diseases. In June 2020, he was promoted to assistant scientist at the Univeristy of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Post-Doctoral Researchers
Dr. Xiao Zhang, PhD
PhD from Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
Office: (305) 243-5830
Xiao is from Dezhou, China. He received his Ph.D. degree in Applied Chemistry from East China University of Science and Technology. In the winter of 2018, he joined the group of Prof. Françisco Raymo at University of Miami as a postdoctoral associate and focused on synthesis of photoactivable BODIPY dyes for bioimaging. He is currently working on development of nanoparticles for therapeutic applications.
Visiting Researchers / Research Professionals / Volunteers
Graduate Students/Researchers
Akil A. Kalathil
University of Miami, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Akil was born and raised in the suburbs surrounding Chicago, Illinois, before moving to India for seven years, and then to McDonough, Georgia for high school. He completed his bachelors degree in chemistry at the University of Georgia, and then worked in the Division of Laboratory Sciences at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for two years. He joins our lab, and the University of Miami as a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology direct admit graduate student.
Shrita Sarkar
University of Miami, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Shrita is from Kolkata, India. She received her MS in Biophysics and Molecular Biology from University of Calcutta. Upon completing MS, she started working at the Department of Biochemistry under Dr. Sanghamitra Sengupta where she studied the analysis of cellular ROS induction due to infection in human host. Before joining the Miller School of Medicine, she worked as a Project Assistant at National Institute of Biomedical Genomics gained experience in neonatal nasopharyngeal microbiome studies for developing improved diagnostic modalities. Her current research interests include studying the effects of mitochondria targeted nanoparticle in glioma stem cells as a novel initiative to treat Glioblastoma.
Subham Guin
University of Miami, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Subham is from Kolkata, India. During his MS in Biotechnology, he received a Summer Research Fellowship from the Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS) for writing a research proposal on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which allowed him to complete his summer internship at the National Institute of Immunology (NII), New Delhi. Before joining our lab at the Leonard Miller School of Medicine, he worked as a Project Trainee under Dr. Anindita Ukil at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Calcutta. The major aim of his project there, was to study how the parasite (Leishmania donovani) sabotages host Reactive Oxygen Species machinery by upregulation of a host protein heme oxygenase-1 for its survival.
Christian Del Castillo
University of Miami, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Christian was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He received my bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Currently a master’s student in the Biochemistry and Molecular biology program at the University of Miami. His research interests include studying the use of nanoparticles for treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, including the effects of nanoparticles on patient derived glioma stem cells.
Undergraduate Researchers
Anuj Sanjay Shah
University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Anuj Shah is from Chandler, Arizona. He is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Miami pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology and Immunology, with plans on attending medical school. Anuj previously worked in laboratories at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona College of Medicine, studying chemoresistance mechanisms in neuroblastoma and osteosarcoma. Currently he also serves as editor-in-chief of Umiami Scientifica magazine.
Rachna Paruchuri
University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Rachna Paruchuri is from Bentonville, Arkansas. She is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Miami majoring in Biochemistry with the hopes of going to medical school. Her research areas of interest include studying how nanotherapeutics work in the field of cancer.
Joel Costaya
University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Joel was born in Havana, Cuba and raised in Miami, Florida. He is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Miami pursing a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. His goal still is to attend medical school and perhaps might be looking towards a PhD in the biomedical sciences as well. His areas of interest include: biotechnologies, neural networking, artificial intelligence, and 3-D printing technologies in order to help those with a reduced neurological function from illnesses such as Alzheimer's Disease and those suffering from stroke.
Sabrina Lazo
University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Sabrina Lazo is from Miami, Florida. She is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Miami studying Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She hopes to attend medical school or graduate school. She is exploring what her research areas of interests are.
Jada Lee
University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Jada was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois before moving to Jacksonville, Florida to finish high school. She is currently attending the University of Miami for a bachelor’s in Health sciences, in hopes of attending medical school in the future. Jada has previously worked in Howard Hughes Medical Institution labs, participating in planarian stem cell research. Jada is currently exploring research with biosynthetic nanoparticles and their potential impact in the medical world.
Neal Luthra
University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences
Office: (305) 243-5830
Fax: (305) 243-3955
Neal was born and raised in Merritt Island, FL. He is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Miami and is working towards a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He is hoping to attend medical school and is currently exploring what his research areas of interest are.
Alumni |
Post-Doctoral Researchers (Alumni)
| Dr. Jitendra J. Gangwal | Spring 2011 |
| Dr. Rakesh Pathak | Fall 2012 - Fall 2015 |
| Dr. Anil Kumar | Spring 2015 - Summer 2016 |
| Dr. Uttara Basu | Spring 2016 - Summer 2017 |
| Dr. Bhabatosh Banik | Fall 2014 - Fall 2017 |
| Dr. Sudhakar Godeshala | Summer 2017 - Fall 2017 |
| Dr. Bhargav Guntupalli | Fall 2017 - Spring 2018 |
| Dr. Abhik Mallick | Spring 2018 - Spring 2019 |
| Dr. Mainak Banerjee | Spring 2018 - Summer 2019 |
| Dr. Md.Zahid Kamran | May 2018 - September 2020 |
| Clara Ni | Fall 2010 |
| Amy Parks Taylor | Spring 2011 |
| Molly Atkinson | Spring 2011 |
| Anna Williams | Fall 2010 - Fall 2011 |
| David Benson | Fall 2010 - Spring 2012 |
| Ellen Broering | Fall 2010 - Spring 2012 |
| Syvonne J. Timmons | Summer 2012 |
| DeAngelo J. Mckinley | Summer 2012 |
| David A. Fischler | Fall 2011 - Summer 2012 |
| Yasir Bouchi | Spring 2012 - Fall 2012 |
| Mohit Shiv Agarwal | Spring 2012 - Fall 2012 |
| Molly Weinberg | Spring 2012 - Fall 2012 |
| Andrew Lee Cooper | Fall 2010 - Spring 2013 |
| Sam Kennedy | Spring 2013 |
| Dillon Zaver | Spring 2011 - Summer 2013 |
| Malikah Christie | Spring 2013 - Summer 2013 |
| Boyd Thomas Guttery | Fall 2013 |
| Kristine Martin | Fall 2013 |
| Harris Waqar | Fall 2013 |
| Kasey Darley | Spring 2012 - Spring 2014 |
| Huimin Hu | Fall 2013 - Spring 2014 |
| Chinmaya Sharma | Fall 2013 - Spring 2014 |
| Trent Berding | Summer 2013 - Spring 2014 |
| Afoma Umeano | Summer 2014 |
| Tae Do(Jake)Choi | Summer 2014 |
| Sean Marrache | Fall 2010 - Fall 2014 |
| Joshua Choi | Fall 2011 - Fall 2014 |
| Isha Dabke | Fall 2014 |
| Sam Kennedy | Spring 2013 - Fall 2014 |
| Krupa Merchant | Spring 2013 - Fall 2014 |
| Brittany Feldhaeusser | Spring 2014 - Fall 2014 |
| Krystal Vo | Fall 2014 - Spring 2015 |
| David Montgomery | Fall 2013 - Spring 2015 |
| Akil Kalathil | Spring 2013 - Spring 2015 |
| Megan Kaiser | Summer 2015 |
| Sterling Street | Fall 2014 - Summer 2015 |
| Erin Shumans | Summer - Fall 2015 |
| Timothy Allen Ruiter | Summer 2015 - Spring 2016 |
| Mike Linzey | Fall 2015 - Spring 2016 |
| Nivita Sharma | Fall 2014 - Spring 2016 |
| Noah Newman | Fall 2014 - Summer 2016 |
| Brett Askins | Fall 2014 - Summer 2016 |
| Lily Francis | Fall 2014 - Summer 2016 |
| Dr. Renaud Sicard | Summer 2016 - Fall 2016 |
| Ru Wen | Summer 2014 - Spring 2017 |
| Afoma Umeano | Fall 2015 - Spring 2017 |
| Geoff Tahgon | November 2016 - January 2017 |
| Patricio Pichling | Summer 2017 |
| Brandon Vitolo | Summer 2017 |
| Sita Ramaswamy | January 2017 - October 2017 |
| Kathryn Suzanne Smith | November 2016 - December 2017 |
| Brian Murillo | November 2016 - December 2017 |
| Kenneth Ko | Spring 2019 |
| Keana M. Johnson | Fall 2019 - Summer 2020 |
| Courtney Ortiz Miller | Fall 2019 - Summer 2020 |
| Sarah Paul | Fall 2019 - Summer 2020 |
| Alexander Kenyon Richardson | Spring 2019 - Summer 2020 |