Dr. Amit Pandit

Awards & Achievements:-

• Awarded with Rising star postdoctoral research fellowship from Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie University Berlin, 2021–2023.
• Awarded with Project fellowship under DBT/BIRAC India sponsored Bio Ignition Grant at IIT Indore, 2020.
• Awarded with student exchange fellowship at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, from German academic exchange service (DAAD), 2019.
• Awarded with Ph.D. teaching assistantship from MHRD, India, 2015–2019.
• Young Scientist Award 2018 at International conference on innovation in pharmaceutical, medical, and biosciences (ICIPMBS-2018), Oriental university Indore.
• Royal Society of Chemistry Poster Presentation Award at the IIT Indore- RSC Symposium on Advances in Chemical Sciences, held at IITI Indore, 2018.
• GRE, TOEFL, and GPAT Qualified

Total Conference Attended National & International:- 02

1. National conference on “Artificial Intelligence Driven Paradigms in Drug Discovery and Pharmaceutical Research” organized by University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, Punjab, India.
2. International Conference on Next Generation Technologies for Sustainable Development (ICNGT-2025), organized by SVKM’s NMIMS Deemed to be University, Shirpur Campus

Total Patents :- 04

1. Third generation tubulysin analogues and process of preparation thereof, Venkatesh Chelvam, Amit Pandit, Ramesh B. Reddy, Kratika Yadav, Biswarup Pathak, Diptendu Roy, Grant 2022, Patent No. US11518786B2 US Patent.
2. Third generation tubulysin analogues and process of preparation thereof, Venkatesh Chelvam, Amit Pandit, Ramesh B. Reddy, Kratika Yadav, Biswarup Pathak, Diptendu Roy, Grant, 2024, Patent No. 49843, Indian Patent.
3. Small molecule inhibitors for early diagnosis of prostate specific membrane antigen cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, Venkatesh Chelvam, Sagnik Sengupta, Mena Asha Krishnan, Amit Pandit, Published May 2020, Publication No. 2020/0164075A1, US Patent.
4. New small molecule inhibitors/ligands for early diagnosis and therapy of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA⁺) cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, Venkatesh Chelvam, Sagnik Sengupta, Mena Asha Krishnan, Amit Pandit, Published May 2020, Application No. 201821044594, Indian Patent.

Total Research

1. Postdoctoral Researcher under Rising Star Fellowship, Freie University (FU), Berlin (Nov 2021 – Oct 2023)
   1. Designed and characterized multitargeted indolamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO)/tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase (TDO) inhibitors.
   2. Utilized 3D-pharmacophore mapping, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics for the design of IDO/TDO inhibitors.
   3. Conducted virtual screening of small molecule enamine database using pharmacophore-based and ROCS-based methods.
   4. Collaborated with medicinal chemistry lab in Slovenia for IDO1 inhibitory assay.
   5. Collaborated with biochemistry lab at FU for IDO1 protein expression, purification, and crystallization.
   6. Responsible for project planning, writing, and presenting project reports.
2. Research Associate/Fellow at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore under DBT-BIRAC Grant, Government of India (Aug 2020 – Aug 2021)
   1. Designed and synthesized prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) ligands.
   2. Employed in-silico methods such as 3D-QSAR and molecular docking for designing small molecule ligands for PSMA protein.
   3. Executed solution-phase organic synthesis for the synthesis of designed small molecules.
   4. Utilized solid-phase peptide synthesis for the synthesis of PSMA targeting bioconjugates.
   5. Involved in project planning, writing, synthetic pathway designing, and collaboration for biological evaluation.
3. Doctoral Research at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore (Jan 2015 – July 2020)
   1. Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of enzyme inhibitors:
      1. In silico design, synthesis, and in-vitro evaluation of novel PSMA ligands.
      2. Established structure-activity relationship of urea-based molecules as PSMA ligands using QSAR, molecular docking, and dynamics.
      3. Designed and synthesized novel classes of PSMA ligands such as aminoacetamide and thiourea and their bioconjugates.
      4. Contributed to USA and Indian patent writing and submission, as well as paper writing.
   2. Development of PSMA targeted nanoconjugates for dual (optical/MRI) imaging and therapy:
      1. Conducted a DAAD-funded student exchange project at Leibniz University Hannover, Germany.
      2. Designed PSMA-targeted near-infrared and magnetic nanoparticle conjugates for dual imaging and therapeutic applications.
      3. Synthesized PSMA targeting bioconjugates through solid-phase peptide synthesis and iron oxide nanoparticles.
   3. In-silico design, synthesis, and in-vitro evaluation of third-generation tubulysin derivative:
      1. Established SAR of tubulysin derivatives as tubulin inhibitors using QSAR and molecular docking methods.
      2. Designed and synthesized third-generation tubulysin derivatives through solution-phase organic synthesis and solid-phase peptide synthesis.
      3. Conducted in-vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of synthesized derivatives using MTT assay.
4. Master’s Research Project at School of Pharmacy, Devi Ahilya University, Indore (July 2013 – Sep 2014)
   1. Designed, green synthesized, and evaluated chalcone derivatives as antioxidants.
   2. Established SAR and designed new chalcone derivatives using QSAR and molecular docking methods.
   3. Conducted microwave-assisted organic synthesis of chalcone derivatives and evaluated their antioxidant properties.

Total Webinar/Workshops/FDPs Attended: – 08

1. 12 weeks Faculty Development Program (FDP) on Medicinal Chemistry organized by IISER Pune, in association with SWAYAM-NPTEL-AICTE.
2. One-Week Faculty Development Programme on Emerging Frontiers: Data Analytics, Generative AI, and Machine Learning, organized by SVKM’s NMIMS, MPSTME, Shirpur Campus.
3. Four days workshop on “Introduction to data analysis with R” by Freie University Berlin, Germany.
4. Online non-credit course on “Drug Discovery” authorized by University of California San Diego and offered through Coursera.
5. Eight days GIAN workshop on “Advance concepts in the synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs” organized by Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), India, in association with Illinois Wesleyan University, USA.
6. 12 days GIAN workshop on “Chemical biology: The integration of chemistry, biology, and medicine” organized by Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), India, in association with Purdue University, USA.
7. 12 days GIAN workshop on “Chemistry and biology of carbohydrates” organized by Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), India, in association with Max Planck Institute of colloids and interfaces, Germany.
8. 8 days GIAN workshop on “Introduction of principles of green chemistry” organized by Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), India, in association with Illinois Wesleyan University, USA.