Biography

Dr. Chandrima Chatterjee received her undergraduate education from India. After obtaining her B.Sc. (Hons.) in Chemistry, she moved to Indian Institute of Technology to pursue her Master’s degree with specialisation in Physical Chemistry. During her Master’s program, she had the opportunity to perform a research project in the field of Biophysical Chemistry. Following completion of her M.Sc. work, she joined the PhD program at the Yale University in US and obtained her doctoral degree in Physical Chemistry. In addition to executing her research work as a graduate student, Dr. Chatterjee had the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant (TA) for the undergraduates, which turned out to be a rewarding experience. Her responsibilities as a TA spanned from delivering classroom lectures to offering trainings in the laboratory.

After finishing her PhD, Dr. Chatterjee wished to further diversify her research area and was keen on addressing issues of Biomedical importance. Consequently, for her postdoctoral studies, she joined the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. She was involved in investigating interactions between two different classes of protein by means of optical-based detection schemes.

Education Background

• PhD, Physical Chemistry, Yale University, USA, 2010
• MSc, Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, 2003
• BSc, Chemistry, Presidency College Kolkata, India, 2001

Research Interests

Dr. Chatterjee’s research interests have always revolved around understanding complex chemical and biological phenomenon by means of various spectroscopic and optical tools. The primary area of her graduate research was physical chemistry where she elucidated excited-state proton transfer dynamics in organic molecules through the application of resonance Raman spectroscopy. This phenomenon of excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) has emerged as a paradigm of crucial importance for explaining diverse photochemical and biochemical events. Such concepts also have found widespread applications in various commercial endeavours, where they have been invoked to rationalise the photostability of polymers, the optical provenance of information storage techniques and the synthesis of anti-tumor agents.

For her postdoctoral studies, she undertook a project in a Biophysics laboratory, where she investigated the mechanism of interactions between microtubules (MTs) and motor proteins belonging to the kinesin-13 family by means of fluorescence polarisation microscopy (FPM), at both ensemble and single-molecule level. The structural and functional information extracted from such studies are expected to provide a deeper insight into how cells regulate MT dynamics and may lead to the development of novel strategies to control cell proliferation for the treatment of diseases, including cancer. Dr. Chatterjee is committed to an interdisciplinary approach to research and in the future intends on integrating her knowledge in physical and biophysical chemistry to develop novel optical schemes for addressing issues of chemical and biochemical importance.

Awards

• Outstanding Education Award for “Excellence in Teaching”, SUTD, Singapore, 2019.
• Recipient of “Long Service Award” for five years’ service to SUTD, Singapore, 2017.
• Recipient of a special token of appreciation from the Student Body as a part of the Professor’s
  Appreciation Week organized at SUTD, Singapore, 2015.
• Awarded inaugural “Pedagogy Innovation Grant”, SUTD, Singapore, 2014.
• Graduate Research Fellowship, Yale University, 2003-2010

Select Publications

• Chatterjee, C; “Teaching Atomic Orbitals using hand-held 3D printing technology” Eduscapes: An SUTD
  Pedagogy Newsletter, Edition / 003, 59 (2019).
• Chatterjee, C., Benoit, M.P., Juan Daniel Diaz-Valencia, J. D., De Paoli, V. M., Asenjo, A. B., and Sosa, H. J. “Distinct interaction modes of the kinesin-13 motor domain with the microtubule revealed by fluorescence polarization microscopy”  Biophysical J., 110(7), 1593 (2016). 
• Asenjo, A. B., Chatterjee, C.,  Tan, D.,  DePaoli, V., Rice, W. J.,  Diaz-Avalos, R.,  Silvestry,M.,  and Sosa, H. “Structural model for tubulin recognition and deformation by kinesin-13 microtubule depolymerases,” Cell Rep. 3(3), 759 (2013).
•  Chatterjee, C., Incarvito, C. D., Burns, L. A., Vaccaro, P. H. “Electronic structure and proton transfer in ground-state hexafluoroacetylacetone,” J. Phys. Chem. A 114(24), 6630 (2010).
• Broadbent, S. A., Burns, L. A., Chatterjee, C., Vaccaro, P. H. “Investigation of electronic structure and proton transfer in ground state acetylacetone,” Chem. Phys. Lett. 434, 31 (2007).

Conferences

• Chatterjee, C; “Integrating Active Learning Techniques to enhance Student Learning of Abstract Concepts”. 6th Education and Teaching Conference, Vienna (Austria) hosted by International Institute of Social and Economic Science, Singapore University of Technology and Design, October 2018. (Oral)
• Krishnaswamy, L., Bong, E. Y., Chatterjee, C., Colla, M.,Kurniawan, O., and Kushnarev, S.; “2D projects at SUTD- Case studies that cut across disciplines:” Pedagogy Day, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, October 2016 (Poster)
• Chatterjee, C, and Bong, E. Y; “Bridging the gap between high school and university through an online chemistry course.” SUTD Pedagogy Day, Singapore University of Technology and Design, October 2016. (Oral)
• Chatterjee, C, and Patricia D. Christie; “Creating Concept Vignettes as a supplement to teach Quantum Mechanics.” Singapore Technology-Enabled Learning Experience Conference, Nanyang Technological University, November 2015. (Poster)
• Chatterjee, C, and Patricia D. Christie; “Creating Concept Vignettes as a supplement to teach Quantum Mechanics.” Pedagogy Day, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, August 2015. (Poster)
• Chatterjee, C, Ana B. Asenjo, Vania M. De Paoli and Hernando J. Sosa; “Investigating Interactions between Kinesin-13s and Microtubules by Single Molecule Fluorescence Polarization Microscopy.” Biophysical Society 55^th Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, USA, March 2011. (Poster)
• Chatterjee, C, Stacy A. Wilson, Lori A. Burns, Bruce R. Johnson and Patrick H. Vaccaro; “Evidence for Hydrogen Atom Dislocation in Electronically Excited b-Diketo Enols.” Gordon Research Conference; Electronic Spectroscopy and Dynamics”, Waterville, ME, USA, July 2009. (Poster)
• Chatterjee, C, Christopher D. Incarvito, Lori A. Burns and Patrick H. Vaccaro; “Investigating Hexafluoroacetylacetone Structure by X-ray Diffraction.” Yale-Rigaku Symposium, Yale University, CT, USA, May 2009. (Oral)
• Chatterjee, C, Lori A. Burns, Stacy A. Wilson, Bruce R. Johnson and Patrick H. Vaccaro; “Evidence For Hydrogen Atom Dislocation in Excited Hexafluoroacetylacetone.” 63^rd International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, Columbus, Ohio, USA, June 2008. (Oral)
• Chatterjee, C, Stacy A. Broadbent, Bruce R. Johnson and Patrick H. Vaccaro; “Investigating Substituent Effects on Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bonding.” 234^th American Chemical Society National Meeting, Boston, MA, USA, August 2007. (Poster)
• Chatterjee, C, Stacy A. Broadbent, Bruce R. Johnson and Patrick H. Vaccaro; “Investigation of Substituent Effects on Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bonding.” 61^st International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy, Columbus, Ohio, USA, June 2006. (Oral)