DEEPTHI RAMESH
Duke University, University of California, San Francisco, Pondicherry University, Mahatma Gandhi University, Pondicherry University Department of Chemistry
0000-0002-0493-3700
About
Dr. Deepthi Ramesh is a medicinal chemist with over 10 years of research experience in synthetic organic chemistry, drug discovery, hit to lead optimization and chemical biology. She has developed expertise in small molecule synthesis, SAR studies, and targeted drug design, with a consistent focus on translating chemical innovation into biological impact.
As a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of California, San Francisco (Nov 2022-June 2026), she focused on design and synthesis of novel small molecule inhibitors, PROTACs, and covalent drugs for therapeutics targeting undruggable oncology and viral proteins. As a part of AVIDD, her work included ligand optimization for both target proteins and E3 ligases, linker engineering, and tuning physicochemical properties to balance potency, selectivity, and cellular permeability. Another area of her work involved the design of covalent warheads, electrophilic linker attachment points, and optimization of reactivity and selectivity to achieve effective and controllable target engagement. She is proficient in late-stage functionalization strategies, SAR-driven compound refinement, and the use of biophysical and analytical techniques. She evaluated the target engagement of covalent warheads by protein mass spectrometry.
During her Ph.D. (2016-2022) at Pondicherry University, India, she has designed and synthesized novel uracil derivatives as first-in-class inhibitors for tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, and leishmaniasis establishing new chemical modalities for pathogens, which were historically considered hard to drug. Dr. Deepthi contributed substantially to the field with 14 peer-reviewed publications and one book chapter.
Additionally, she has mentored six postgraduate students, leading to successful publications, and have actively participated in peer review for high-impact journals demonstrating my commitment to scientific excellence and community service.
Dr. Deepthi has extensive expertise in multi-step organic synthesis, bioconjugation, covalent drug design, molecular docking, and the use of advanced analytical techniques. Her research work combines chemical innovation with therapeutic impact, aiming to address unmet medical needs worldwide.
Throughout her research journey, she has emphasized creativity, precision, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her experiences span both early discovery (hit identification and hit-to-lead optimization) and mechanistic studies to understand target engagement. She is particularly motivated by opportunities to push the boundaries of synthetic chemistry to solve biologically relevant challenges.
Employment
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Duke University Research Scientist2026 - Present
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University of California, San Francisco Postdoctoral scholar2022 - 2026
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Pondicherry University Department of Chemistry RESEARCH SCHOLAR2016 - 2022
Education
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Pondicherry University Doctor of Philosophy2016 - 2022
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Mahatma Gandhi University Bachelor of Science2010 - 2013
Projects & Funding
Projects & funding information is unavailable.
Publications (18)
- PROTACs as novel therapeutics against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Current progress and future directions Save
- Linear triazenes: Versatile scaffolds for chemical biology and drug design Save
- Heterocyclic Scaffold Modification of Chalcones: Piperidinyl and Morpholinyl Triazene Derivatives as Potent Blood Stage Antimalarials With SAR and Docking Insights Save
- Targeting Cancer Cells With Triazene‐Appended Morpholine Chalcones: Antiproliferative Activity and ROS‐Dependent Apoptotic Mechanisms Save
- Targeting Blood-Stage Malaria: Design, Synthesis, Characterization, In Vitro, and In Silico Evaluation of Pyrrolidinodiazenyl Chalcones Save
- Morpholinodiazenyl chalcone blocks influenza A virus capsid uncoating by perturbing the clathrin-mediated vesicular trafficking pathway Save
- Enhancing antifungal properties of chitosan by attaching isatin-piperazine-sulfonyl-acetamide pendant groups via novel imidamide linkage Save
- Novel pyrimidine-Imines against tuberculosis: Rationale, in vitro, in silico studies and mechanistic insights Save
- Acetylene containing 2-(2-hydrazinyl)thiazole derivatives: design, synthesis, and in vitro and in silico evaluation of antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Save
- Uracil derivatives as HIV-1 capsid protein inhibitors: design, in silico, in vitro and cytotoxicity studies Save