Amitabha Chattopadhyay PhD

Prof. Amitabha Chattopadhyay received B.Sc. with Honors in Chemistry from St. Xavier’s College (Calcutta) and M.Sc. from IIT Kanpur. He obtained his Ph.D. from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Davis. He subsequently joined the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad and is now an Outstanding Scientist (Director level) there. Prof. Chattopadhyay’s work is focused on monitoring organization, dynamics and function of biological membranes in healthy and diseased conditions.

His group has developed and applied novel, innovative and sensitive techniques (such as the wavelength-selective fluorescence approach) using fluorescence spectroscopy for monitoring solvent relaxation in membranes, membrane-mimetic media, and proteins. These pioneering studies have led to a better understanding of the dynamics of hydration of membranes and proteins. Another seminal contribution of Prof. Chattopadhyay’s group focuses on the role of membrane cholesterol in regulating the organization, dynamics and function of G protein-coupled receptors such as the serotonin1A receptor. His work showed, for the first time, that membrane cholesterol is necessary for the function of G protein-coupled receptors such as the serotonin1A receptor.