Swagata Dasgupta
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur
Swagata Dasgupta is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry, IIT Kharagpur. She received her PhD from RPI, USA and works primarily in the area of protein chemistry. She has served as a member of the Women Scientist Committee (WOS-A) in Chemical Sciences, DST (2008–2012) and is on the Core committee of the ECRA/N-PDF scheme of SERB in Chemical Sciences. She is the recipient of many awards and honors including the Darshan Ranganathan Memorial Lecture Award of Chemical Research Society of India (2013) and the CRSI Bronze medal (2016). Her Biochemistry lectures (NPTEL, MHRD) are very well received and she regularly delivers talks to young scholars. She is a Fellow of the West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology (2014) and was elected a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 2018
Session 2B: Lectures by Fellows/Associates
H Shekar Shetty, University of Mysore, Mysore
The evolving story of protein–polyphenol interactions
Protein interactions form the basis of all life processes – whether the interaction is between two proteins, a protein and a nuclei acid or a protein and a small molecule. In this context, recent years have seen increasing interest in protein–polyphenol interactions with researchers investigating the interactions of polyphenols (e.g. green tea polyphenols) with various human proteins. Such interactions affect protein functionality in various ways. For example, polyphenols present in green tea were found to be noncompetitive inhibitors of Ribonuclease A, while they also inhibit angiogenesis – the capacity to form blood vessels. Protein condensation/aggregation, the hallmark of many diseases triggered research involving human serum albumin, lysozyme, and the amyloid peptide Aβ25−35 that established the vital role of Cu(II) and the effect of additives on the fibrillation process. Green tea polyphenols were also observed to protect human γB-crystallin from UV radiation-induced damage and aggregation. Modified γ-crystallin has been isolated from discarded cataractous emulsion of patients to examine changes in the protein. The eye protein isolate is being explored for nanoparticle/film preparation to be used in possible drug/compound delivery