Open to Postdoctoral Positions — 2026

Ayan
Acharya

Ph.D. Medicinal Chemistry · NIPER, Mohali · Natural Product Drug Discovery

Final-year doctoral researcher transforming the structural logic of natural products into next-generation anticancer therapeutics — through focused synthesis, scaffold biology, and chemical innovation.

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Publications
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Years Research
AIR
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NIPER Ph.D. JEE
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Ph.D. GPA / 10
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Medicinal ChemistryNatural Product Drug DiscoveryHeterocyclic SynthesisScaffold HoppingBIOS StrategyAnticancer AgentsTargeted Protein DegradationCovalent Warhead DiscoveryNMR · Mass Spec · X-Ray12 SCI PublicationsAIR-1 NIPER Ph.D. JEE
AA
Ayan Acharya
Ph.D. Scholar · Medicinal Chemistry
InstituteNIPER, S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali
SpecializationNatural Product Drug Discovery
Ph.D. GPA9.83 / 10
NIPER JEE RankAIR — 01
SupervisorProf. S. K. Guchhait, FRSC
Expected CompletionJune 2026
StatusSeeking Postdoc
Research Profile

Molecular Architect of Anticancer Chemical Space

I am a final-year Ph.D. candidate at NIPER with 5+ years of doctoral research in medicinal chemistry, specialising in natural product-inspired drug discovery. My work sits at the intersection of synthetic organic chemistry, chemical biology, and oncology — developing novel molecular scaffolds that engage cancer targets with precision.

I have authored 12 peer-reviewed SCI publications across journals including Drug Discovery Today, European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, and Chemical Communications. I hold the distinction of securing AIR-01 in NIPER Ph.D. JEE (Chemical Sciences) and have received foreign travel grants from both CSIR and ICMR to present at international conferences.

I am actively seeking postdoctoral opportunities in chemical biology, targeted protein degradation, covalent drug discovery, or synthetic medicinal chemistry.

Future Research Interests
Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD): In-cell self-assembly of degraders via Click, SuFEx, and SuTEx chemistry — next-generation chemical biology tools.
Beyond-Cysteine Covalent Warheads: Discovery of new electrophilic warhead chemistries for selective, irreversible target engagement across the proteome.
BIOS-Driven Chemical Space Exploration: Biosynthesis-inspired natural product scaffolds as privileged cores for accessing uncharted therapeutic chemical space.
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SCI Publications
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AIR · NIPER Ph.D. JEE
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Ph.D. GPA / 10
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Foreign Travel Grants
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Conference Presentations
Doctoral Research

Ph.D. Thesis & Research


Ph.D. Thesis · NIPER S.A.S. Nagar · 2021–2026
Exploration of Bioactive Molecular Structures as Multifunctional Substrates: Synthesis of N-Heterocyclic Molecular Motifs as Potential Anticancer Agents
Supervisor: Prof. Sankar K. Guchhait, FRSC · Department of Medicinal Chemistry, NIPER S.A.S. Nagar
Research Strategy

Leveraged Biology-Oriented Synthesis (BIOS) — using bioactive natural product scaffolds as multifunctional synthetic platforms to construct structurally diverse, biologically relevant heterocyclic libraries. Developed novel nitrile-to-nitrile condensation methodologies on donor-acceptor cyclopropanes and acrylonitriles as enabling reactions.

BIOS Strategy Pseudo-Natural Products N-Heterocycles Combretastatin A-4 D-A Cyclopropane Nitrile-to-Nitrile
Key Outcomes

Established Combretastatin A-4-inspired Combretapyrroles as a new class of pseudo-natural product tubulin polymerization inhibitors active in triple-negative breast cancer. Synthesised BIOS-guided library of N-heterocycles; followed by preliminary cell-based biological evaluation including cytotoxicity, apoptosis induction, and target engagement studies.

Tubulin Inhibition TNBC Anticancer Evaluation Apoptosis Scaffold Hopping
Scholarly Output

Publications (18 Total)

12 peer-reviewed SCI publications across journals of international repute. Author name in blue denotes Ayan Acharya. DOI links provided for all published work.

01 Thesis Research
Cyclopropyl-1,1-dinitrile as Five-Atom Synthon: Regioselective Ring-Opening and a Keteneimine-Enamine Based Nitrile-to-Nitrile Condensation Affording an Entry to Pyridines
Ayan Acharya, Mithilesh Nagpure, Kriti Mehta, Savita Negi, Prasad V. Bharatam, and Sankar K. Guchhait*
Journal of Organic Chemistry (JOC) Under Revision
02 Thesis Research
Bis-Indolyl Methane Natural Product-Inspired Scaffold Hopped Analogs — Indolyl-Arylmethyl-Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines: Discovery of Synthetic Method and Bioevaluation Studies for Anticancer Activities
Ayan Acharya, Santanu Basak, Santosh Guru, and Sankar K. Guchhait*
Manuscript in Preparation
03 Thesis Research
Combretastatin A-4 Natural Product-Inspired Pseudo-Natural Products — Combretapyrroles: Discovery of Synthetic Method and Bioevaluation Studies for Anticancer Activities
Ayan Acharya, Satyajit Haldar, Kuladip Jana, and Sankar K. Guchhait*
Manuscript in Preparation
04 Thesis Research
Synthesis of Diarylpyrrole Pseudo-Natural Products: Cyanide-Mediated Nitrile-to-Nitrile Cyclocondensation and C-H Acidity-Guided Regioselectivity
Debanjan Singha‡, Tanmay Kundu‡, Ayan Acharya‡, Sankar K. Guchhait* (‡ equally contributed)
Synlett · 2024 · 35(20), 2423–2428 Published DOI ↗
05 Perspective
Biosynthetically Natural Product-Conserved Scaffolds: Harnessing Power with Molecular-Medicinal Strategy for New Therapeutic Development
Ayan Acharya, Vaibhav Gupta, Mithilesh Nagpure, and Sankar K. Guchhait*
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters · 2026 Published DOI ↗
06 Perspective
How to Nurture Natural Products to Create New Therapeutics? Strategic Innovations and Molecule-to-Medicinal Insights into Therapeutic Advancements
Ayan Acharya, Mithilesh Nagpure, Nibedita Roy, Vaibhav Gupta, Soumadeep Patranabis, Sankar K. Guchhait*
Drug Discovery Today · 2024 · 29, 104221–104240 Published DOI ↗
07 Perspective
Molecular Medicinal Insights into Scaffold Hopping-Based Drug Discovery Success
Ayan Acharya, Mukul Yadav, Mithilesh Nagpure, Santhanalaxmi Kumaresan, Sankar K. Guchhait*
Drug Discovery Today · 2024 · 29, 103845–103862 Published DOI ↗
08 Review Article
Topoisomerase II-Targeting Anticancer Clinical Candidates and Drugs: A Critical Analysis, Unravelling Molecular Medicinal Insights and Promising Research Roadmap
Ayan Acharya, Nibedita Roy, Vaishnavi Newaskar, Abhishek Rai, Abhrajyoti Ghosh, Mithilesh Nagpure, Santosh Kumar Giri, Gautam Sahni, Sankar K. Guchhait*
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry · 2025 · 291, 117611–117636 Published DOI ↗
09 Allied Work
Natural Product Inspired Scaffold Hopping Strategy: Identification of Potent Anticancer 2-Arylpyridopyrimidinones that Induce Cytoplasmic and Mitochondrial ROS and G₂/M Arrest
Gulshan Kumar, Satyajit Haldar, Ayan Acharya, Chirantan Majumder, Kuladip Jana*, and Sankar K. Guchhait*
Bioorganic Chemistry · 2026 · 172, 109595 Published DOI ↗
10 Allied Work
Scaffold-Hopping of Natural Alkaloid Rutaecarpine: Synthesis and Anticancer-Apoptosis and Autophagy Effects of Indole-Based Analogs
Mukul Yadav, Santanu Basak, Vaibhav Gupta, Sandesh Sarjerao, Ayan Acharya, Santosh Kumar Guru, Sankar K. Guchhait*
Chemistry & Biodiversity · 2026 · 23, e02540 Published DOI ↗
11 Allied Work
Scaffold Overlay of Flavonoid-Inspired Molecules: Discovery of 2,3-Diaryl-Pyridopyrimidin-4-Imine/Ones as Dual hTopo-II and Tubulin Targeting Anticancer Agents
Meenu Saini, Subarno Paul, Ayan Acharya, Sushree Subhadra Acharya, Chanakya Nath Kundu, Sankar K. Guchhait*
Bioorganic Chemistry · 2024 · 152, 107738 Published DOI ↗
12 Allied Work
Development of QTMP: A Promising Anticancer Agent through NP-Privileged Motif-Driven Structural Modulation
Pritam Giri, Pooja J. Batra, Ayan Acharya, Anuradha Kumari, Neha Hura, Sankar Kumar Guchhait*, Dulal Panda*
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry · 2023 · 95, 117489 Published DOI ↗
13 Allied Work
Scaffold Hopping in Drug Discovery: Innovation in Pharma Industries and Academia
Santhanalaxmi Kumaresan, Jagroop Singh, Ayan Acharya, Mukul Yadav, Sankar K. Guchhait*
CRIPS · 2023 · 16, 94–99 Published PDF ↗
14 Allied Work
A Cascade Reaction of Indolyl-Migratory Isocyanide Insertion, Scaffold Rearrangement and Redox-Neutral Event with Isocyanide as a C(sp³)H–N Synthon Efficiently Constructs Indolylisoindolinones
Shailendra Sisodiya, Ayan Acharya, Mithilesh Nagpure, Nibedita Roy, Santosh K. Giri, Hare Ram Yadav, Angshuman R. Choudhury, Sankar K. Guchhait*
Chemical Communications · 2022 · 58, 11827–11830 Published DOI ↗
15 Allied Work
Organocatalyzed Umpolung Addition for Synthesis of Heterocyclic-Fused Arylidene-Imidazolones as Anticancer Agents
Gulshan Kumar, Chinmay Das, Ayan Acharya, Subhasmita Bhal, Mayank Joshi, Chanakya Nath Kundu, Angshuman Roy Choudhury, Sankar K. Guchhait
Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry · 2022 · 67, 116835 Published DOI ↗
16 Allied Work
Identification of 2-Arylquinazolines with Alkyl-Polyamine Motifs as Potent Antileishmanial Agents: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation Studies
Anjila Kumari, Tara Jaiswal, Vinay Kumar, Neha Hura, Gulshan Kumar, Neerupudi Kishore Babu, Ayan Acharya, Pradyot K. Roy, Sankar Kumar Guchhait, Sushma Singh
RSC Medicinal Chemistry · 2022 · 13, 320–326 Published DOI ↗
17 Thesis Research
Diastereoselective [4+1] Annulation of 2-TosylAlkyl-Phenols with Nitrile-Stabilized Ammonium Ylides as Motifs-Transferring Synthons: A Route to Benzofurans and 2,3-Dihydrobenzofuran-2-carbonitriles
Mithilesh Nagpure, Ayan Acharya, Vaibhav Gupta, and Sankar K. Guchhait*
Manuscript in Preparation
18 Allied Work
Cu(II)-Catalyzed Regioselective Alkyne Hydro-oxygenation and C–P(V) Bond Formation of Alkynylphosphonates with Phenols: A Route to Phosphachromones
Vaibhav Gupta, Ayan Acharya, Mithilesh Nagpure, and Sankar K. Guchhait*
Manuscript in Preparation
Academic Visibility

Conferences & Presentations


Poster Presentation · International
"Combretapyrroles as Potent Pseudo-Natural Product Inhibitors of Tubulin Polymerization in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer"
10th RSC-BMCS Conference · London, UK · 2026
Best Oral Presentation Award
Oral Presentation · National
"Flavonoid-Inspired Scaffold-Hopping Concept: Discovery of Dual Inhibitors of Topoisomerase II and Tubulin"
RABMC-2025 Symposium · IIT Ropar, Punjab · 2025
Oral Presentation · International
"Exploration of Flavonoid-Inspired New Scaffolds: Novel Pyridopyrimidin-4-Imine/Ones as Dual hTopo-II and Tubulin Targeting Anticancer Agents"
CTDDR 2025 · CDRI, Lucknow · International Conference
Oral Presentation · National
"How to Create New Therapeutics from Natural Products?"
CRSI-ACS Early Career Researchers' Symposium 2024 · KIIT, India
Technical Arsenal

Skills & Expertise


Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Multi-step Synthesis Heterocyclic Synthesis Ylide Chemistry D-A Cyclopropane Nitrile-to-Nitrile Condensation Microwave Synthesis (MONOWAVE 400) Column Chromatography
Structural Characterisation
¹H & ¹³C NMR (Bruker 400 MHz) FTIR Spectroscopy Mass Spectrometry Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffraction
Biology
Cancer Cell Biology Cytotoxicity Assays Apoptosis Studies Tubulin Polymerisation Assay
Software & Informatics
ChemDraw 20.0 TopSpin MestReNova MassHunter (Agilent) SciFinder · Reaxys ELN Mendeley · EndNote
Scientific Communication
12 Peer-Reviewed Papers Patent Drafting Grant Report Writing Conference Abstracts Book Chapter Contribution
Research Strategy
BIOS-Guided Library Design Scaffold Hopping Natural Product Inspiration SAR Analysis Hit-to-Lead
Academic Trajectory

Education & Training



2021 – 2026 (Expected)
Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry)
National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) · S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, Punjab
GPA: 9.83 / 10AIR-1 · NIPER Ph.D. JEE
2019 – 2021
M.S. (Pharm.) — Medicinal Chemistry
National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) · S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali, Punjab
GPA: 9.66 / 10AIR-37 · NIPER JEE
2015 – 2019
Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm)
NSHM Knowledge Campus · Kolkata — Affiliated to MAKAUT, West Bengal
GPA: 8.66 / 10AIR-549 · GPAT
Recognition

Awards & Achievements


AIR-01 · NIPER Ph.D. JEE
All India Rank 1 in NIPER Joint Entrance Examination for Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences — the national benchmark for pharmaceutical science research aptitude.
Foreign Travel Grant · CSIR & ICMR
Recipient of prestigious foreign travel grants from both CSIR and ICMR to present research at the 10th RSC-BMCS International Conference in London — awarded on scientific merit.
Best Oral Presentation · RABMC-2025
Awarded Best Oral Presentation at RABMC-2025 Symposium, IIT Ropar for work on flavonoid-inspired scaffold hopping and dual topoisomerase II / tubulin inhibition.
AIR-37 · NIPER M.S. JEE
All India Rank 37 in NIPER Joint Entrance Examination for M.S. (Pharm.) — demonstrating consistent national-level pharmaceutical sciences performance.
AIR-549 · GPAT
Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test, NTA — national qualification demonstrating depth across pharmaceutical science disciplines at undergraduate level.
12 SCI Publications · Ph.D. Tenure
Authored/co-authored 12 peer-reviewed SCI publications during doctoral tenure in high-impact journals including Drug Discovery Today, Eur. J. Med. Chem., and Chemical Communications.
Contact & Collaboration

Let's Collaborate

"I am actively seeking postdoctoral opportunities in chemical biology, targeted protein degradation, covalent drug discovery, and synthetic medicinal chemistry. Let's build the next generation of therapeutics together."