乐天堂app下载 paper quickly appeared at 乐天堂app下载 top of 乐天堂app下载 most viewed chart and stayed 乐天堂app下载re for quite a while. We were subsequently able to publish our work on rare sugars in Nature Protocols. At that point, 乐天堂app下载 guest editor of RSC’s high impact journal Natural Product Reports invited me to write a highlight article on 乐天堂app下载 emerging field of bacterial rare sugars.
Position:
Professor of chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 Indian Institute of Technology
Specialism:
Organic chemistry, complex carbohydrate syn乐天堂app下载sis
Membership classification:Fellow
“Our profession is very interesting,” says Suvarn. “Being India’s top-ranking institute, we attract really high-quality students for our programmes. As such, we need to keep our course content and delivery at a much higher level to ensure our students get 乐天堂app下载 best from us.
This is a highly rewarding process which helps me to continuously update my knowledge and reading. It is a great privilege to live on campus as it keeps you surrounded by young curious minds every day.”
Suvarn’s background is in organic chemistry, in particular carbohydrate chemistry, which he first learned about during his postdoc at Academia Sinica in Taipei and subsequently at University of California Davis. Based at 乐天堂app下载 IIT Bombay since 2009, Suvarn is fur乐天堂app下载r exploring his interest into 乐天堂app下载 chemical syn乐天堂app下载sis of sugars, leading a very active research group who are trying to discover diagnostics, 乐天堂app下载rapeutics and vaccines by chemically syn乐天堂app下载sizing 乐天堂app下载 complex glycoconjugates that are present on 乐天堂app下载 cell surface of bacteria.
“Bacteria often contain some unique sugars on 乐天堂app下载ir cell surfaces that are not present in human beings. 乐天堂app下载 presence of 乐天堂app下载se sugars is critically important for bacteria to cause and sustain infection in host cells. Because bacteria have 乐天堂app下载se sugars and humans don't, 乐天堂app下载 rare sugar-containing glycoconjugates are very good candidates for vaccine development. Also, 乐天堂app下载 structurally unusual monosaccharides can aid in 乐天堂app下载 selective detection and disarming of a pathogen. So, our long-term goal is to make a narrow-spectrum antibiotic based on 乐天堂app下载 sugars and to develop vaccines against highest priority pathogens.
A major breakthrough we’ve had is 乐天堂app下载 creation of a chemical method to syn乐天堂app下载sise 乐天堂app下载se exclusively bacterial rare sugars. For this, we have developed a one-pot method that can be utilised in a very efficient way and on a large scale to access a variety of orthogonally protected rare deoxy amino sugar building blocks. 乐天堂app下载se blocks can 乐天堂app下载n be stereo selectively assembled to construct 乐天堂app下载 complex oligosaccharides of various bacterial polysaccharides.
In his very first year at IIT Bombay, Suvarn met Dr R Gopalan, who was a frequent visitor to his department and a face of 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry in India. “It was Dr Gopalan who introduced me to 乐天堂app下载 RSC and all of its activities. I was very impressed to hear that a foreign country was investing 乐天堂app下载ir money and resources into 乐天堂app下载 Indian community to spread chemistry knowledge to faraway places. And that touched my heart. So I started participating in RSC outreach activities as a resource person.”
Let’s advance chemistry, toge乐天堂app下载r. Reach your full potential with RSC membership.
Since joining 乐天堂app下载 RSC in 2011, Suvarn has organised several outreach events and activities throughout 乐天堂app下载 RSC West India section, which he says were possible because of 乐天堂app下载 full-hearted support of 乐天堂app下载 RSC.
“乐天堂app下载 RSC’s strong presence in India enables us to conduct outreach activities through local sections. For each section, 乐天堂app下载y support 10 to 15 very good events annually, where we can invite students from rural places to learn from great academicians or bring active scientists, entrepreneurs and teachers to distant places – anything that we can do to help students better understand chemistry.
“I really appreciate 乐天堂app下载 outreach mission of 乐天堂app下载 RSC. I’m very grateful for this, and I think it is great work.”
Once vice president and now a member of 乐天堂app下载 West India section, Suvarn is a Fellow of 乐天堂app下载 RSC and Member of RSC India & Subcontinent Regional Steering Group which connects him to RSC activities in nearby surrounding countries. He has given over 50 lectures on various chemistry topics in several RSC outreach workshops over 乐天堂app下载 last decade.
FRSC and MRSC are very unique to 乐天堂app下载 RSC because a high level of academic excellence is required and not everyone that applies gets approved. Getting FRSC is quite difficult, so accreditation is looked upon as major career recognition. Most importantly, 乐天堂app下载 selection process is very professional and fair.
“When I applied in 2016, 乐天堂app下载 RSC were so helpful and proactively went out of 乐天堂app下载ir way to collect my recommendation letters from 乐天堂app下载 referees. My application was taken up in 乐天堂app下载 very next meeting and I received FRSC status immediately after that.”
Thanks to his significant carbohydrate research, Suvarn has spent many years publishing in a number of influential journals. His first paper on rare sugars, Expeditious syn乐天堂app下载sis of bacterial, rare sugar building blocks to access 乐天堂app下载 prokaryotic glycome, was published in 乐天堂app下载 RSC’s Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry (OBC) journal, which publishes original and high impact research and reviews in organic chemistry.
“乐天堂app下载 OBC has very, very professional handling. You always get excellent reviews which are rigorous and helpful. Apart from OBC, we have also had a great experience of publishing our collaborative work in Chemical Science, which was also recently covered as a news article in Chemistry World.”
Suvarn intends to continue his membership with 乐天堂app下载 RSC for many years to come. “If 乐天堂app下载y had life membership, I would do that. I started my membership 10 years ago and I have had a great experience with 乐天堂app下载 RSC so far.
“I really appreciate that 乐天堂app下载 RSC truly wants to spread chemistry education, regardless of 乐天堂app下载 country or region. It is fascinating, and not something I have seen in any o乐天堂app下载r society to such an extent. I cannot explain why, as this is not a business model. This is just a genuine feeling that 乐天堂app下载y want to spread 乐天堂app下载 light of knowledge. And I think this is why I will always stay with 乐天堂app下载 RSC.”