People

Dr. Shalini Iyer, Ph.D.

Research Scientist 
iyer59@purdue.edu 

Shalini Iyer is a Research Scientist in the Das Lab. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Bath, UK. Her area of expertise is structure-molecular biology, specializing in X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, protein engineering and design. She also has a strong background in tissue culture techniques. She has led structural projects in a broad range of research areas including angiogenesis, ubiquitin biology, neurodegeneration, structure-activity relationship studies, infection and immunity. 

Since joining the Das lab in Jun 2018, she has been investigating the structure-function aspects of effector pairs with opposing activities from Legionella pneumophila. Shalini uses a combination of molecular, biochemical and structural techniques to gain insights into how these bacterial effectors trick the host ubiquitin signaling system and establish a safe, replicative intracellular environment for survival within the host.  

Outside of the lab, Shalini enjoys reading, cooking, watching movies, travelling and shopping. 

Nipuni Pannala

Ph. D. Student 

npannala@purdue.edu 

Nipuni is a third year Ph.D. student in Das Lab. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. She joined Purdue University in Fall 2022 as a chemistry graduate student.  She is currently working on stabilizing transient Ub-interactions and therapeutic targeting of deubiquitinating enzymes. Her interests lie in structure-based drug design and unique drug modalities. 

Outside of the lab, she enjoys traveling and listening to music. 

Chidinma Ononiwu

Ph.D. Student 

cononiwu@purdue.edu 

Chidinma Ononiwu is a third year Ph.D. student in the Das Lab with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Nigeria (UNN). She joined the Das lab in June 2023 and her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which certain prokaryotic and eukaryotic effectors manipulate the host ubiquitin signaling network. She uses molecular biology and structural elucidation techniques to decipher these host-pathogen interactions and their potential implication in disease progression.

Besides research, she enjoys travelling and spending time with her pals. 

Jayamini Gunaratne

Ph.D. Student 

Gunaratd@purdue.edu 

Jayamini Gunaratne is a second-year Ph.D. student with a B.Sc. in Chemistry from University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Her previous research focused on natural products chemistry and computational chemistry. She joined Das lab in June 2023 as a ZYRO-year student. Her current research focuses on bacterial effectors, enzymes delivered by pathogenic bacteria into host cells specifically to modulate host cell signaling pathways for the benefit of the pathogen. She is passionate about uncovering enzyme mechanisms and pathways that allow infectious bacteria to evade host immune defenses. 

In her free time, she enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors, and experimenting in the kitchen. 

Debapriya Bhattacharya

Ph.D. Student 

bhatta89@purdue.edu 

Debapriya is a joint second-year graduate student in Das Lab and Drown Lab in Purdue. Born and brought up in Kolkata, India, he got his master's degree in chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. There, his research involved synthesizing novel covalent probes to target the undruggable proteome. Currently, he is working on investigating ISG15 signaling using genetically encoded crosslinkers. Side by side, he is trying to optimize a novel mass-spectrometry based assay to quantify Deubiquitinase (DUB) mediated hydrolysis of polyubiquitin substrates.  

Outside the lab, Debapriya spends most of the time watching soccer and listening to music. He is also fond of watching historical documentaries and podcasts on the internet.  

Ala Ahmad

Ph.D. Student 

Ahmad119@purdue.edu 

Ala Ahmad is a second-year PhD student joining Dr. Chitta Das's research group in April 2024. His current research focuses on utilizing NAD⁺ derivatives to investigate novel enzymes that use NAD⁺ as their substrate. He earned his Master’s degree in organic chemistry from Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he specialized in the application of organometallic compounds for the selective reduction of double bonds. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from The Hashemite University in Jordan. 

Ala hopes to utilize bioinformatics tools alongside his research with NAD⁺ probes to discover and characterize new enzymes. With a strong foundation in organic chemistry, he is excited to bring his expertise to uncover enzyme mechanisms and explore their potential applications in biochemical systems. 

Outside of the lab, Ala enjoys traveling and has visited 10 states so far. By the end of his PhD, he hopes to explore even more of the United States. 

Abigail Wight

Ph.D. Student 

awight@purdue.edu 

Abigail Wight is a first-year graduate student with a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Evansville. Her previous research experience focused on the synthesis and isolation of Iridium-based catalysts to perform hydrogenolysis of C-O bonds in small organic compounds. Abigail’s current research focuses on characterizing interactions between HECT E3 ligases and their substrates using fluorescent assays.  

In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling and baking fun desserts. 

Zachary Ruotsala

Ph.D. Student 

zruotsal@purdue.edu 

Zachary Ruotsala is a first year PhD student in the Das Lab. He received his B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in May 2024. His previous research focused on the in-silico development of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) for the treatment of osteoporosis. Zachary’s current research focuses on the investigation of enzymatic biosynthesis of NAD+ derivatives for use in molecular probing. In the future, Zachary hopes to work on enzyme engineering and directed evolution to create enzymes that carry out industrial syntheses. 

Outside of the lab, Zach enjoys reading, lifting weights and listening to music.