UGC — Senior Research Fellow

Arijit
Das Adhikary

PhD Candidate · Structural Biochemistry Group
Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay

arijit.chem [at] iitb.ac.in  ·  Office @ 4140

Arijit Das Adhikary
IIT Bombay · 2022 – Present
PhD
Structural Biochemistry
1
Paper · Science Advances
Visiting Fellow, Würzburg
Best Award · IIT Bombay

Understanding Antibiotic Resistance at the Molecular Level

Understanding pathogenic bacterial physiology and biochemistry often suffers from a lack of evolutionary knowledge, making them potentially risky for mankind. Hence, continuous monitoring of bacterial systems is a necessity.

My research goal is to understand the mechanisms that aid bacteria in regulating their gene expression by using structural and biochemical methods. These mechanistic insights can augment our knowledge for effective, explainable, and equitable outcomes in combating antibiotic resistance.

I am advised by Prof. Ruchi Anand from the Structural Biochemistry Group at the Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay.

Selected Works

Science Advances · 2025
Mechanistic insights into 50S precursor recognition and targeting by erythromycin resistance methyltransferase.
Sombuddha Sengupta, Rajat Mukherjee, Michael Pilsl, Siddharam Bagale, Arijit Das Adhikary, Aditi N. Borkar, Pushpangadan Indira Pradeepkumar, Christoph Engel, Arindam Chowdhury, Prem S. Kaushal, Ruchi Anand*
Read Paper →

Research Positions

2026 · Exchange Fellow
DAAD–DST PPP Fellow
University of Würzburg, Germany
Hosted in the group of Prof. Dr. Claudia Höbartner. Selected for the DAAD–DST People-to-People bilateral exchange programme.
2024 · Visiting Fellow
Visiting Research Fellow
University of Würzburg, Germany
Group of Prof. Dr. Claudia Höbartner. Determining RNA structure through chemical probing methods.
2021 · Research Intern
Research Intern
CSIR – Indian Institute of Chemical Biology
Group of Dr. Jayati Sengupta. Cryo-EM: Sample optimization and 3D structure reconstruction.

Academic Background

2022 – Present
PhD · Structural Biochemistry
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Research area: Understanding mechanisms of gene regulation in bacteria.
Advisor: Prof. Ruchi Anand · Structural Biochemistry Group
2017 – 2019
MSc · Botany
University of Calcutta
Courses: Cell Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Biotechnology, Plant Physiology, Taxonomy & Systematics, Mycology, Phycology, Paleobotany.

Dissertation: "Isolation, Characterization and Phylogeny Analysis of Endophytic Bacteria from the Leaves of Ocimum gratissimum."
Advisor: Prof. Binay Chaubey · Functional Genomics Laboratory
2014 – 2017
BSc · Botany
Sarsuna College, Calcutta University
Botany (Honours) with Chemistry and Zoology.

Academic Milestones

2026
Jan
Selected for DAAD–DST Project-based Personnel Exchange Programme
🌍 Fellowship
2025
Sep
Best Poster Presentation Award at In-House Symposium, Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay  [View]
🏆 Award
Sep
Best Short Video Pitch Award at In-House Symposium, Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay  [View]
🏆 Award
Sep
Best Teaching Assistant Award, Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay  [View]
🏆 Award
Aug
Successfully defended Third Annual Progress Seminar
✅ Milestone
2024
Oct
Joined as Visiting Research Fellow at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU)
🌍 Fellowship
Sep
Successfully defended Second Annual Progress Seminar
✅ Milestone
2023
Sep
Successfully defended First Annual Progress Seminar
✅ Milestone
Aug
Started new journey as Teaching Assistant (TA) at IIT Bombay
📚 Role
May
Successfully completed PhD coursework
✅ Milestone
Jan
Started 2nd semester of PhD coursework — Course: Protein Crystallography
📖 Course
2022
Nov
Completed first semester of PhD coursework
✅ Milestone
Aug
Started first semester of PhD coursework
🎓 PhD Start
Jul
Joined IIT Bombay as Doctoral candidate
🏛️ Joined IIT-B
Mar
Received UGC Research Fellowship
🏆 Fellowship