AREA OF RESEARCH -DR BAJARANG KUMBHAR

Dr. Bajarang Kumbhar

Assistant Professor

Biological Science

Area of specialization: Computational Structural Biology, Drug Design and Discovery, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Genome analysis.

Area of Research:

Dr. Kumbhar is a computational structural biologist and earned his Ph.D. from Shivaji University, Kolhapur. He was a postdoctoral fellow, followed by a Senior Research Associate at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. His formal education in the field of Chemistry and Biochemistry led him to be interested in exploring how molecular interactions carry out biological processes using a molecular modeling approach. Currently, he is working on the anti-mitotic drug discovery targeting cancer-specific tubulin isotypes. He is also working on designing and developing a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) structure against a cancer-specific antigen expressed on B-Cells against leukemia.

Ph.D. Students:

Purva Khodke

2022 Registered

Research Area: Design and development of Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T structure

Fellowship: NMIMS Institutional Doctoral Fellowship

Summary:

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy and has produced outstanding outcomes against B-cell malignancies. The FDA has approved six CAR-T cell therapies for the CD19 and BCMA tumor antigens; many more are under development. However, this therapy has certain limitations, and one of them is precise antigen recognition and affinity. CARs against CD20 are still in the clinical development stage despite being a desirable tumor target. It is a surface marker for B cells and is present in pre- and mature B cells. Purva is working on designing and developing the chimeric antigen receptor against the CD20-specific antigen.

Pruthanka Patil

2022 Registered

Research Area: Anti-mitotic drug design

Fellowship: NMIMS Institutional Doctoral Fellowship

Summary:

Microtubules are essential in mitosis, making them an important target for treating various carcinomas. Currently used anti-mitotic drug such as taxol, vinblastine, and eribulin shows resistance due to the expression of specific drug-resistant tubulin isotypes. Pruthanka is working on identifying potential anti-mitotic drugs against the drug-resistant tubulin isotypes using the In-silico and In-vitro approaches.

Selected Publications:

Swapnil Doijad, Nicolas Gisch, Renate Frantz, Bajarang Vasant Kumbhar, Jane Falgenhauer, Can Imirzalioglu, Linda Falgenhauer, Alexander Mischnik, Jan Rupp, Michael Behnke, Michael Buhl, Simone Eisenbeis, Petra Gastmeier, Hanna Gölz, Nadja Käding, Winfried V. Kern, Axel Kola, Evelyn Kramme, Silke Peter, Anna M. Rohde, Harald Seifert, Evelina Tacconelli, Maria Vehreschild, Sarah Walker, Janine Zweigner, Dominik Schwudke and Trinad Chakraborty, and R-Net Study Group, Resolving colistin resistance and heteroresistance in Enterobacter species. Nature Communication, 14, 140 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35717-0 (IF: 17.69), ISSN No: 2041-1723.
Khushnandan Rai, Bajarang Vasant Kumbhar, Dulal Panda, Ambarish Kunwar. Computational study of interaction of anti-cancer drug eribulin with human tubulin isotypes. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2022, 24, 16694-16700 (IF: 3.676) ISSN No:1463-9076. https://doi.10.1039/D1CP04454K
Alka Dwivedi, Atharva Karulkar, Sarbari Ghosh, Srisathya Srinivasan, Bajarang Vasant Kumbhar, Ankesh Kumar Jaiswal, Atish Kizhakeyil, Sweety Asija, Afrin Rafiq, Sushant Kumar, Albeena Nisar, Deepali Pandit, Minal Poojary, Hasmukh Jain, Shripad D. Banavali, Steven L. Highfill, David F. Stroncek, Nirali N. Shah, Terry J. Fry, Gaurav Narula, Rahul Purwar. "Robust anti-tumor activity and low cytokine production by novel humanized CD19 CART-cells”. American Association for Cancer Research, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. 2021 May; 20(5):846-858. (IF: 6.009), ISSN No: 1535-7163. https://doi.org/10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-20-0476
Anandsinha Patil, Vijay Patil, Dipak Jaiswal, Sandip Palakhe, Sandip Patil, Bajarang Vasant Kumbhar*. Investigating the novel acetonitrile derivatives as potential SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitor using molecular modeling approach. 2022 Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, Apr 6; 1-13. (IF: 5.235) ISSN No:1538-0254. https://doi.org/10.1080/07391102.2022.2059568
Bajarang Vasant Kumbhar* and Vishwambhar Vishnu Bhandare. ‘Exploring the interaction of peloruside-A with drug resistant αβII and αβIII tubulin isotypes present in human ovarian carcinoma using molecular modeling approach.’ Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, 2020, Apr 3; 1-13 (IF: 5.235), ISSN No: 1538-0254. https://doi.org/10.1080/07391102.2020.1745689
Bajarang Vasant Kumbhar, Vishwambhar Vishnu bhandare, Dulal Panda, Ambarish Kunwar, Delineating the Interaction of Combretastatin A-4 with αβ tubulin Isotypes present in Drug Resistant Human Lung Carcinoma using a Molecular Modeling Approach. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, 2019, Mar 4:1-13 (IF: 5.235), ISSN No: 1538-0254. https://doi.org/10.1080/07391102.2019.1577174
Bajarang Vasant Kumbhar, Dulal Panda and Ambarish Kunwar. Interaction of microtubule depolymerizing agent indanocine with different human αβ tubulin isotypes. PLoS One, Mar 27, 2018, 13(3): e0194934 (IF: 3.240), ISSN No: 1932-6203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194934
Bajarang Vasant Kumbhar, Anubhaw Borogaon, Dulal Panda, Ambarish Kunwar. "Exploring the Origin of Differential Binding Affinities of Human Tubulin Isotypes αβII, αβIII and αβIV for DAMA-Colchicine using Homology Modeling, Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulations” PLoS One, May 26, 2016 ;11(5): e0156048. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0156048 (IF: 3.752), ISSN No:1932-6203.
Bajarang V. Kumbhar, Asmita D. Kamble, Kailas D. Sonawane. "Conformational Preferences of Modified Nucleoside N(4)-Acetylcytidine, ac⁴C Occur at ‘‘Wobble’’ 34th Position in the Anticodon Loop of tRNA”. Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics, 2013, 66; 797-816, (IF: 2.989), https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-013-9525-8 ISSN No: 1085-9195. **Citation in the Cell, Nature, ACS, RNA etc**