Sidharth Chopra, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist,Division Of Microbiology
➤ Screening for potent anti-bacterial compounds and evaluating their in-vivo efficacy
Drug resistant bacterial infections are a major threat worldwide to healthcare systems. Increased knowledge about the molecular biology, genome sequences and even advent of novel research methodologies has not made a huge dent in pathogen eradication. One of our main objectives is to screen potent anti-bacterial compounds and evaluate their in-vivo efficacy in established animal models to further populate the drug discovery pipeline.
In addition t novel drug discovery, we also focus on Drug repurposing as a viable alternative for discovery of novel antibacterial agents.
➤Unraveling the antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in ESKAPE Pathogens
Unfortunately, increased drug utilization worldwide has compounded the problem of antimicrobial resistance, particularly in gram-negative bacterial species. Adding to this problem is the fact that there are very little definitive studies on antimicrobial resistance mechanisms prevalent under Indian conditions. Thus, one of the core areas of research of my lab in unraveling antimicrobial resistance mechanisms prevalent in ESKAPE pathogens in India.