
Dr. Avisek Mahapa
Principal Scientist
Infectious Diseases Division
CSIR – Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine,Canal Road, Jammu – 180001
Email: avisek[dot]mahapa[at]iiim[dot]res[dot]in
Bio Sketch
In the dynamic realm of global health, one formidable challenge stands out:
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) – The top three threats to worldwide public health by the World Health Organization (WHO), this silent pandemic has precipitated a crisis of unprecedented proportions. AMR has cast a dark shadow over clinical practices worldwide, rendering most of the prescribed antimicrobials increasingly ineffectual. In recent years, the emergence of resistance in notorious pathogens such as ESKAPE bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis has caused the potential impact to develop new clinically relevant formulations.
The plethora of these resistant diseases has reached staggering proportions, particularly in developing nations such as India. Here, high infection prevalence and limited healthcare resources create a perfect storm for the rapid spread of drug-resistant infections. It is against this ominous backdrop that our laboratory has taken up the mantle of combating AMR through innovative antibacterial drug discovery. Our passion and dedication drive us to develop and identify new therapeutics to combat ESKAPE pathogens or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the reasons behind some of the most challenging infections known to humanity.
Our current Research focus: Our laboratory’s primary objectives reflect our unwavering commitment to tackling AMR –
- Novel Antimicrobial Agents for Staphylococcus aureus: We are dedicated to developing and characterizing antimicrobial agents to counter the menace caused by Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA.
- Combating AMR in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: In our relentless pursuit of innovative antimicrobials, we focus on identifying and characterizing of novel compounds that can effectively combat MDR in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
- Mycobacterial Stress Response: Our research dives deep into the intricate world of mycobacterial stress response pathways. By gaining a comprehensive understanding of these pathways, we aim to develop inhibitors that can disrupt mycobacterial stress signalling, offering new avenues for combating tuberculosis.
We harness cutting-edge methodologies, employing microbiological, molecular and biochemical probes, medicinal chemistry approaches to set up antimicrobial discovery platform. These powerful tools provide the foundation for establishing a robust drug development and characterization platform against resistant pathogens.
Education
| Degree | Subjects | University | Qualifying Year |
| Ph.D. | Biotechnology | Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad University of Technology, West Bengal (formerly known as West Bengal University of Technology), India – 700064 | 2017 |
| M. Sc. | Microbiology | Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India – 721102 | 2012 |
| B. Sc. | Microbiology | Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India – 721102 | 2010 |
Position Held
| Position Held | Period | Organization |
| Principal Scientist | 2025-Present | CSIR- CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu, India -180001 |
| Senior Scientist | 2021-2025 | CSIR- CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu, India -180001 |
| DBT-Research Associate | 2017-2021 | Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India – 560012 |
| Research Fellow | 2016-2017 | ICAR –National Dairy Research Institute- ERS, West Bengal, India -741235 |
Area of Expertise
- Molecular biology and Microbiology.
- Structural and functional biochemistry of bacterial proteins.
- Development and comprehensive characterization of novel antimicrobials.
- Mycobacterial stress signalling by nucleotide second messengers.
Projects
- A comprehensive approach to addressing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
- Molecular Evaluation of Newly Synthesized Isatin-Indole Hybrids as Potential Antibacterial Agents targeting the Pyruvate Kinase Enzyme Activity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
- Combating fluoroquinolone-resistant in MRSA by novel anti-staphylococcal isatin-di indolyl derivatives.
Publications
| Authors | Title | Journal |
| Chowdhary R, Rathore A, Sarkar AR, Kumari J, Manhas R, Firdous S, Mahapa A*, Rai R. | Antibacterial activity of 2-(4-aminopiperidin-4-yl) acetic acid (β3, 3-Pip) and Its peptide conjugated with lauric acid through the side chain against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) |
Microbial Pathogenesis (2025) |
| Firdous S, Sarkar AR, Manhas R, Chowdhary R, Rathore A, Kumari J, Rai R, Mahapa A*. | Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Activity of Urea-Containing α/β Hybrid Peptides against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus | ACS Omega (2025) |
| Mahapa A, Gautam S, Rathore A, Chatterji D | An HPLC-based Assay to Study the Activity of Cyclic Diadenosine Monophosphate (C-di-AMP) Synthase DisA from Mycobacterium smegmatis | Bioprotocol (2024) |
| Sarkar AR, Kumari J, Rathore A, Chowdhary R, Manhas R, Firdous S, Mahapa A, Rai R. | Antimicrobial activity of α/β hybrid peptides incorporating tBu-β3,3Ac6c against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus | The Journal of Antibiotics (2024) |
| Shahi A, Manhas R, Bhattacharya S, Rathore A, Kumar P, Samanta J, Sharma MK, Mahapa A, Gupta P, Anal JM. | Synthesis and antibacterial potential of novel thymol derivatives against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and P. aeruginosa pathogenic bacteria | Frontiers in Chemistry (2024) |
| Manhas R, Rathore A, Havelikar U, Mahajan S, Gandhi SG, Mahapa A#. | Uncovering the potentiality of quinazoline derivatives against Pseudomonas aeruginosa with antimicrobial synergy and SAR analysis | The Journal of Antibiotics (2024) |
| Sarkar B, Mahapa A, Dey K, Manhas R, Chatterji D, Jayaraman N. | Aza-Michael promoted glycoconjugation of PETIM dendrimers and selectivity in mycobacterial growth inhibitions | RSC advances (2023) |
| Gautam S, Mahapa A, Yeramala L, Gandhi A, Krishnan S, Kutti R V, Chatterji D | Regulatory mechanisms of c‐di‐AMP synthase (MsDisA) protein from Mycobacterium smegmatis revealed by a structure–function analysis | Protein Science (2023) |
| Petchiappan A, Mahapa A, Chatterji D | Cyclic Dinucleotide Signaling in Mycobacteria | Springer (2020) |
Patents
| Inventors/Contributors | Title | Description | Year |
| Rubina Chowdhary, Aminur Rahman Sarkar, Rakshit Manhas, Arti Rathore, Avisek Mahapa, Zabeer Ahmed, Rajkishor Rai | Short β/γ-hybrid peptides as potent antimicrobial agents |
The present invention relates to the process for the preparation of novel b/g hybrid peptides and their exploration as antibacterial agents. |
2025 |
Awards and Honours
- First Class 2nd in M.Sc Microbiology – Silver Medalist by Vidyasagar University, Dept. of Microbiology – 2012.
- Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) – 2012.
- DBT-Research Associateship program (DBT-RA – 2017).
- National Post-Doctorate Fellowship program (NPDF – 2017).
- EMBO and DST travel grant – 2019.
Students
| Photo | Name | Area of Interest | Position | Education |
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Arti Rathore |
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PhD Scholar (UGC-JRF) | M. Sc. Biotechnology from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, J&K, India; Qualified CSIR-UGC NET JRF 2021, DBT Category-II 2022, GATE Biotechnology 2022 and GATE Life Sciences 2021. |
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Jyoti Kumari |
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PhD Scholar (CSIR-JRF) | M.Sc. Zoology from Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, India; Qualified CSIR JRF – 2021. |
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Shifa Firdous |
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PhD Scholar (UGC-JRF) | Integrated B.Sc.- M.Sc. Biotechnology from Central University of Kashmir, J&K, India; Qualified CSIR – JRF in 2023, JK-SET in 2023, GATE XL in 2023, CSIR- NET in 2022. |
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Rakshit Manhas |
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PhD Scholar | M. Sc. Biotechnology from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra, J&K, India. |
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Biplab Sarkar |
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Project Associate 1 | M.Sc. Microbiology from Raiganj University, Raiganj, West Bengal, India. (B.Sc. & M.Sc. Gold Medalist) |
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Vivek Singh Baghel |
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Project Associate 1 | M.Pharma (Pharmaceutical chemistry) from CGV, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, India. |
Summer Internship/Dissertation students:
- Yashika Manhas (M.Sc Trainee)
- Hemani Sharma (B.Sc Trainee)
- Sumran Dassi (B.Sc Trainee)
- Mabil (M.Sc Trainee)
- Harman Kaur (M.Sc Trainee)
- Indu Bala (M.Sc Trainee)
- Bavneet Kaur (M.Pharma Trainee)
- Vanshika (B.Tech Trainee)
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