Left to right - Guanping Yu, Norah Alqahtani, Suheel Porwal, Deepti Sharma, Alden Voelker, Brittney Bunn, Karthikeyan T and Raj Viswanathan - enjoying a beautiful summer walk with flowers in full bloom-- Summer 2012
Thanks to Dale Ray for the picture!
Rajesh Viswanathan
Rajesh was born in Madras (now Chennai), India. He grew up in Madras and graduated with B. Sc. from New College (University of Madras) in 1997. He then joined the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India for a 2-year M. Sc. program (in Chemistry) graduating in May 1999. He immigrated to the United States to join Indiana University, Bloomington for a Ph. D. degree in Chemistry. His dissertation topic of study during his graduate work involved development of organic synthesis methods for construction of natural products and understanding mechanisms of organic reactions, in particular, radical-mediated transformations. Upon graduating he moved to the University of Utah for further training as a post-doctoral fellow (2005-2008) in bioorganic chemistry and mechanistic enzymology. He developed strategies for modifying proteins site-specifically to immobilize them as biochips. He joined Case Western Reserve University as an assistant professor during fall of 2008.
Outside of professional life, Raj enjoys playing racquet sports, tennis especially and is an avid self-taught learner of the sport. He is married to Nirmala Krishnamurthy, a biochemist who graduated (with Ph. D.) from University of Utah. They have a 3-year old daughter, Diya Viswanathan.
On mentoring philosophy:
I adopt a philosophy to mentor students that is best paraphrased by the following quote from the book Open in which (former tennis world no 1) Andre Agassi's coach, Gil, supports his mentee by saying:
“Andre, I won't ever try to change you, because I've never tried to change anybody. If I could change somebody, I'd change myself. But I know I can give you structure and a blueprint to achieve what you want. There's a difference between a plow horse and a racehorse. You don't treat them the same. As far as I'm concerned, you're a racehorse, and I'll always treat you accordingly. I'll be firm, but fair. I'll lead, never push. I'm not one of those people who expresses or articulates feelings very well, but from now on, just know this: It is on. You know what I'm saying? We're in a fight, and you can count on me until the finish line. Somewhere up there is a star with your name on it. I might not be able to help you find it, but I've got pretty strong shoulders, and you can stand on my shoulders while you're looking for that star. You hear? For as long as you want. Stand on my shoulders and reach, man. Reach.”
Excerpt adapted from Open
My Ph. D. Dissertation can be found here:
Outside of professional life, Raj enjoys playing racquet sports, tennis especially and is an avid self-taught learner of the sport. He is married to Nirmala Krishnamurthy, a biochemist who graduated (with Ph. D.) from University of Utah. They have a 3-year old daughter, Diya Viswanathan.
On mentoring philosophy:
I adopt a philosophy to mentor students that is best paraphrased by the following quote from the book Open in which (former tennis world no 1) Andre Agassi's coach, Gil, supports his mentee by saying:
“Andre, I won't ever try to change you, because I've never tried to change anybody. If I could change somebody, I'd change myself. But I know I can give you structure and a blueprint to achieve what you want. There's a difference between a plow horse and a racehorse. You don't treat them the same. As far as I'm concerned, you're a racehorse, and I'll always treat you accordingly. I'll be firm, but fair. I'll lead, never push. I'm not one of those people who expresses or articulates feelings very well, but from now on, just know this: It is on. You know what I'm saying? We're in a fight, and you can count on me until the finish line. Somewhere up there is a star with your name on it. I might not be able to help you find it, but I've got pretty strong shoulders, and you can stand on my shoulders while you're looking for that star. You hear? For as long as you want. Stand on my shoulders and reach, man. Reach.”
Excerpt adapted from Open
My Ph. D. Dissertation can be found here:
| raj.pdf |
Graduate Students (Current)
Deepti Sharma
Hometown: Amritsar, India.
Education: Sc.B. in Biology from BBK. D.A.V.
College, India
M.Sc in Pharmaceutical Sciences from
GND University, India.
Research Project: Secondary metabolites from cyanobacteria: mining nature’s treasure trove
Email: dxs479@case.edu
Education: Sc.B. in Biology from BBK. D.A.V.
College, India
M.Sc in Pharmaceutical Sciences from
GND University, India.
Research Project: Secondary metabolites from cyanobacteria: mining nature’s treasure trove
Email: dxs479@case.edu
Norah AlQahtani
Hometown: Jeddah,Saudi Arabia
Education: B.S. in Chemistry from Jeddah University
Research Project: Studies in Directed Biosynthesis of Anticancer Microbial Alkaloids
Email: nfa14@case.edu
Education: B.S. in Chemistry from Jeddah University
Research Project: Studies in Directed Biosynthesis of Anticancer Microbial Alkaloids
Email: nfa14@case.edu
Brittney Bunn
Hometown: Barberton, Ohio.
Education: Sc.B. in Biochemistry from the University of Mount Union
Research Project: Unraveling genetically encoded pathways leading to bioactive metabolites in group V cyanobacteria
Awards:
2013 Graduate Dean's Instructional Excellence Award
2012 - present: GAANN fellowship from Department of Education
2012 Dumitru and Gheorghe D. Mateescu Student Citizenship Award
Email: bmb70@case.edu
Education: Sc.B. in Biochemistry from the University of Mount Union
Research Project: Unraveling genetically encoded pathways leading to bioactive metabolites in group V cyanobacteria
Awards:
2013 Graduate Dean's Instructional Excellence Award
2012 - present: GAANN fellowship from Department of Education
2012 Dumitru and Gheorghe D. Mateescu Student Citizenship Award
Email: bmb70@case.edu
Sarah Huff
Hometown: Canal Winchester, Ohio
Education: B.Sc. Chemistry from Central Michigan University
Awards: 2013 Dumitru and Gheorghe D. Mateescu Student Citizenship Award
Email: sxh537@case.edu
Education: B.Sc. Chemistry from Central Michigan University
Awards: 2013 Dumitru and Gheorghe D. Mateescu Student Citizenship Award
Email: sxh537@case.edu
Graduate Students pursuing M.S. degree
Xinyu Dong
Hometown: Hebei,China
Education: B.Eng.in Pharmaceutical Engineering from Tianjin University of Science &Technology
Email: xxd73@case.edu
Post-doctoral Scholars
Suheel Porwal
Hometown: Delhi, India
Education: Ph. D. in Chemistry (completed 2011) from IIT Madras (Prof. Santosh Gharpure)
Research Project: Role of DHBA in Chelating siderophores of bacteria and humans - a biosynthetic investigation.
Awards: Prof. C. N. Pillai Prize for the Best Thesis in Ph.D. Chemistry from IIT Madras.
Email: skp62@case.edu
Education: Ph. D. in Chemistry (completed 2011) from IIT Madras (Prof. Santosh Gharpure)
Research Project: Role of DHBA in Chelating siderophores of bacteria and humans - a biosynthetic investigation.
Awards: Prof. C. N. Pillai Prize for the Best Thesis in Ph.D. Chemistry from IIT Madras.
Email: skp62@case.edu
Viswanathan Group Alumni
Graduate Students
Alden Earl Voelker (graduated: 2013)
Current Affiliation: University of Wisconsin, Madison, Biochemistry.
Hometown: Cleveland (Rocks!)
Education: Sc.B., concentrations in Chemistry and French from Brown University
Research Project: Self-Catalyzed Immobilization of GST and its Fusion Proteins
Awards: 2011 Graduate Dean's Instructional Excellence Award
Read more about this award here!
Hometown: Cleveland (Rocks!)
Education: Sc.B., concentrations in Chemistry and French from Brown University
Research Project: Self-Catalyzed Immobilization of GST and its Fusion Proteins
Awards: 2011 Graduate Dean's Instructional Excellence Award
Read more about this award here!
Post-Doctoral Scholars
Sridhar Anand
Current Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
ST. JOHN FISHER COLLEGE | Wegmans School of Pharmacy
3690 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14618
Faculty Page
Hometown: Mumbai, India.
Education: Ph. D. in Medicinal Chemistry,
University of Mississippi (Dr. John Rimoldi, Adviser)
B. Pharm. Sci., Mumbai University.
Research Project:
a. Isolation of sesquiterpenoid compounds from Russian Knapweed and Yellow Starthistle
b. Structure-based design and synthesis of potential antibiotics for tuberculosis
Awards: St. John Fisher College, Faculty Development Grant
for the academic year 2013-2014,
for the isolation of natural products from Yellow Starthistle.
Email: sanand@sjfc.edu
ST. JOHN FISHER COLLEGE | Wegmans School of Pharmacy
3690 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14618
Faculty Page
Hometown: Mumbai, India.
Education: Ph. D. in Medicinal Chemistry,
University of Mississippi (Dr. John Rimoldi, Adviser)
B. Pharm. Sci., Mumbai University.
Research Project:
a. Isolation of sesquiterpenoid compounds from Russian Knapweed and Yellow Starthistle
b. Structure-based design and synthesis of potential antibiotics for tuberculosis
Awards: St. John Fisher College, Faculty Development Grant
for the academic year 2013-2014,
for the isolation of natural products from Yellow Starthistle.
Email: sanand@sjfc.edu
Karthikeyan Thandavamurthy
Current Affiliation: Scientist, Shasun Chemicals, India.
Undergraduate Students
William Lang
Current Affiliation: Pre-med student in transit to Medical School
Hometown: Winchester, Massachusetts
Education: B.A in Chemistry (2013) from Case Western Reserve University
Research Project: Isonitrile synthases (Wwi-IsnA and Wwi-IsnB) of terrestrial cyanobacteria: Mechanistic insights from homolgy based 3-dimensional structures
Email: wrl19@case.edu
Hometown: Winchester, Massachusetts
Education: B.A in Chemistry (2013) from Case Western Reserve University
Research Project: Isonitrile synthases (Wwi-IsnA and Wwi-IsnB) of terrestrial cyanobacteria: Mechanistic insights from homolgy based 3-dimensional structures
Email: wrl19@case.edu
Andrew Gansmiller
Hometown:
Education: B.S. in Chemistry,
Research Project:
Awards:
Current Affiliation: Graduate Student, University of California, Irvine. Department of Chemistry.
Education: B.S. in Chemistry,
Research Project:
Awards:
Current Affiliation: Graduate Student, University of California, Irvine. Department of Chemistry.
Elizabeth Ennis
Hometown: Ellicott City, Maryland
Education: B.S. in Chemistry, B.A. in Spanish Case Western Reserve University
Research Project: Site-specific protein modification (CWRU)
Awards: 2008-2010 Case Alumni Association Scholarship
Current Affiliation: Graduate Student, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
younger minds...
Diya Viswanathan
Hometown: Cleveland, USA
Education: Parks, Outdoors, Wiggles, Nat. Geographic etc.
Hometown: Cleveland, USA
Education: Parks, Outdoors, Wiggles, Nat. Geographic etc.
Contact the Viswanathan Group
Fall 2008
