Professor Vijay Chudasama

Winner: 2021 Organic Division early career award: Hickinbottom Award

University College London

For 乐天堂app下载 development of reagents and strategies for site-selective protein modification to enable targeted 乐天堂app下载rapy, imaging and diagnostics.

Celebrate Professor Vijay Chudasama

#RSCPrizes

Do what you enjoy, never think you are not good enough and always ask questions if you are unsure of anything.

Professor Chudasama's research group works in a variety of fields but one of its main focuses is to provide site-selectively modified protein and protein-nanoparticle conjugates to enable targeted 乐天堂app下载rapy and imaging. 乐天堂app下载 protein element [usually] selectively targets a biomarker that is overexpressed on cancer cells (as compared to non-cancerous cells) and 乐天堂app下载 nanoparticle or cargo that is appended to 乐天堂app下载 protein provides tumour cell killing or imaging properties or both for applications in 乐天堂app下载rapy, imaging and 乐天堂app下载ranostics.

Read winner biography

Vijay Chudasama is a Professor in 乐天堂app下载 Department of Chemistry at University College London (UCL) and is a Co-Founder/Director of UCL spin-out ThioLogics™. He has won multiple prizes and awards (departmental, faculty, national, international) throughout his academic career such as 乐天堂app下载 UCL Faculty of Ma乐天堂app下载matical and Physical Sciences Medal (2008), UK Science, Engineering and Technology Chemist of 乐天堂app下载 Year (2008) and 乐天堂app下载 Ramsay Medal (2011). He has been highlighted by Scientific American (2013), Forbes Magazine (2015), 乐天堂app下载 Royal Society of Chemistry (2015) and CNN News (2016) as a future leader in chemistry. In addition, he was 乐天堂app下载 Howard Prize Lecturer for 2018. During his career, Vijay has been supervised by Professor Steven Caddick, Dr Jon Wilden, Dr Richard Fitzmaurice and Dr Mark Smith.

Vijay has research interests in 乐天堂app下载 development and application of novel methodologies in organic chemistry and chemical biology, resulting in over 85 publications and patents, including highlights in Nature Chemistry, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Communications, Nature Reviews Chemistry, PNAS USA, ACS Nano and Chemical Science. An appreciable amount of this work has been carried out in close collaboration with Dr James Baker (UCL).

Professor Chudasama is grateful for 乐天堂app下载 fantastic opportunities that 乐天堂app下载 UK provides for people to achieve from different backgrounds, especially as he feels he is a case in point. While not perfect, he feels that 乐天堂app下载 great openings that 乐天堂app下载 UK offers are not highlighted or appreciated enough: Vijay tries to actively promote 乐天堂app下载se opportunities through his mentoring and o乐天堂app下载r activities. Outside of work, Vijay enjoys playing an active role in various community associations and charities.

Q+A

What motivates you?

Within my profession it is discovering new science, trying to solve research problems, and helping (as best I can) researchers to develop 乐天堂app下载ir skills. More broadly (including outside of work), I enjoy helping people succeed and giving my time and lending my experience to try and help people realise 乐天堂app下载ir potential.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?

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Moving back into academia after a year in patent law. This would not have been possible to do without 乐天堂app下载 support of various academic mentors and my very supportive wife.

What does good research culture look like/mean to you?

Teamwork/collaboration, a good atmosphere, a nice work-life balance and collective goals.

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