Amit Sachdeva

Amit Sachdeva is an Associate Professor of Bio-Organic Chemistry at the University of East Anglia (UEA), where he leads the School of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Pharmacology's Department of Chemistry. He serves as Director of Postgraduate Research in Chemistry, overseeing doctoral training and academic strategy. His research focuses on Chemical Biology and Synthetic Biology, with a specific emphasis on expanding genetic code capabilities to engineer novel proteins for biomedical applications.

Dr. Sachdeva completed his PhD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, investigating DNA-based enzymes, followed by postdoctoral work at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. His current work includes developing light-responsive antibodies for targeted therapies and ultrafast viral diagnostics. Notable achievements include pioneering photoactive antibody fragments and securing patents (e.g., WO-2020193981-A1) for light-controlled antigen binding.

• Key Projects: Designing cancer biotherapeutics (Leverhulme Trust), fluorescent switches for SARS-CoV-2 detection (Royal Society of Chemistry), and biomolecular wire development (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council).
• Grants: Over £5M from institutions like The Big C Appeal and Wellcome Trust.

Research Interests: Genetic code expansion, protein engineering, non-natural amino acids, and their applications in diagnostics/therapeutics. His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in health and innovation.

Publications: Over 25 peer-reviewed articles in top journals like Nature Chemical Biology, Angewandte Chemie, and Nature Reviews Chemistry, with several highly cited contributions (e.g., 99th percentile in 2023).