Dr. Utsab Debnath 

Dr. Debnath received postdoctoral experience in medicinal chemistry from Bose Institute, Kolkata, India. Before that, he received a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry from CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow (Degree conferred by Faculty of Pharmacy, Integral University, Lucknow, India). Dr. Debnath completed his bachelor's in pharmacy and masters in pharmaceutical chemistry from West Bengal University of Technology, India.

Research experience is more than 13 years, and teaching experience is more than six years.

Research interest in design, synthesis, biological studies, and structure-activity relationship studies (SAR) of anti-infective (HIV-1, SARS-CoV-2, Malaria) and anti-cancer agents.

Dr. Debnath was awarded the ‘National Postdoctoral Fellowship’ under the ‘DST-Young Scientist Scheme’ of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), New Delhi in 2017 for two years to perform research work in cancer. He was also awarded ‘Direct Senior Research Fellowship’ from Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) New Delhi in 2011 for a period of four years to carry Ph.D. research on HIV-1. He has qualified GPAT conducted by AICTE. He has completed an extramural research project as principal investigator.

UPES-affiliated publications:

1. SK Batin Rahaman, S Halder, KK Roy, PK Halder, U Debnath*, K Jana*, Discovery of New 4‐Aminoquinoline–Thiazolidinone Hybrid Analogs as Antiproliferative Agents Inhibiting TLR4–LPS‐Mediated Migration in Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer Cells. 2025, Chemical Biology & Drug Design 105 (3), e70089
2. SK Batin Rahaman, SK Nandi, SK Mandal, U Debnath*, Structural Diversity and Mutational Challenges of Toll‐Like Receptor 4 Antagonists as Inflammatory Pathway Blocker. 2024. Drug Development Research 86 (1), e70031
3. V Dewaker, PN Srivastava, U Debnath, AK Srivastava, YS Prabhakar. MD simulations for rational design of high-affinity HDAC4 inhibitors–Analysis of non-bonding interaction energies for building new compounds. 2024. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 764, 110262.
4. A Sen, V Dewaker, U Debnath*, K Jana*, J Rath, N Joardar, SP Sinha Babu*, In silico exploration and in vitro validation of the filarial thioredoxin reductase inhibitory activity of Scytonemin and its derivatives. 2024. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics 43 (2), 890-902.
5. J Patra, S Arora, U Debnath, N Mahindroo. In silico studies for improving target selectivity of anti-malarial dual falcipain inhibitors vis-à-vis human cathepsins. 2024, Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, 1-20.
6. U Debnath, A Mitra, V Dewaker, YS Prabhakar, R Tadala, K Krishnan et al. Conformational perturbation of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein using N-acetyl cysteine: an exploration of probable mechanism of action to combat COVID-19. 2024, Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics 42 (10), 5042-5052.
7. A Dutta, S Halder, I Bhaumik, U Debnath, D Dhara, AK Misra, K Jana. Novel Sulforaphane Analog Disrupts Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase-Protein Kinase B Pathway and Inhibits Cancer Cell Progression via Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Caspase-Independent Apoptosis. 2023, ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science 7 (1), 195-211
8. V Dewaker, AR Sharma, U Debnath, ST Park, HS Kim, Insights from molecular dynamics simulations of TRPV1 channel modulators in pain. 2023, Drug Discovery Today 28 (12), 103798
9. S Karim, S Halder, S Mukherjee, U Debnath, AK Misra, K Jana, D Das. Glutathione Depleting a Chemoselective Novel Pro-oxidant Nano Metal–Organic Framework Induced G2/M Arrest and ROS-Mediated Apoptotic Cell Death in a Human Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cell Line. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 15 (22), 26442-26456.
10. K Das, SB Rahaman, S Upadhyay, D Das, U Debnath*. Non-vesicular Lipid Transport Machinery in Trichomonas vaginalis: Novel Drug Targets against Trichomoniasis. 2023. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 23 (7), 540-550.
11. U Debnath*, S Verma, J Patra, SK Mandal. A review on recent synthetic routes and computational approaches for antibody drug conjugation developments used in anti-cancer therapy. 2022, Journal of Molecular Structure 1256, 132524
12. P Bera, A Aher, P Brandao, U Debnath, V Dewaker, SK Manna, A Jana et al. Instigating the In Vitro Anticancer Activity of New Pyridine–Thiazole-Based Co(III), Mn(II), and Ni(II) Complexes: Synthesis, Structure, DFT, Docking, and MD Simulation Studies. 2022. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling 62 (6), 1437-1457.
13. N Joardar, P Shit, S Halder, U Debnath, S Saha, AK Misra, K Jana et al. Disruption of redox homeostasis with synchronized activation of apoptosis highlights the antifilarial efficacy of novel piperine derivatives: an in vitro mechanistic approach. 2022, Free Radical Biology and Medicine 169, 343-360.
14. S Mandal, U Debnath, J Sarkar. Structural-Genetic Characterization of Novel Butaryl co-A Dehydrogenase and Proposition of Butanol Biosynthesis Pathway in Pusillimonas Ginsengisoli SBSA. 2021, Journal of Molecular Evolution 89, 81-94.

Dr. Debnath believes that current teaching methods need to be modified to produce effective learners and make the learning process more significant. He uses the “Constructivism framework” policy to improve active learning rather than spoon-feeding with information. He prefers to use PowerPoint presentations and good-quality audio-video materials to make the topic of discussion more attractive to students. Also, he favors giving problems to the students to determine through proper group discussion and, afterward, providing study materials and taking regular class tests to assess their level of understanding.

Taking bachelor and master classes (B.Pharm & MSc) for the subjects related to pharmaceutical inorganic chemistry, pharmaceutical organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and drug design and development. 

utsab.debnath@ddn.upes.ac.in