Angad Pankaj Mehta

Angad Pankaj Mehta is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Bioengineering at the University of Illinois. He holds the T. M. Balthazor Faculty Scholar title and is affiliated with the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. His work bridges synthetic biology and chemical biology to address challenges in health and energy.

Education:

• B.Tech. from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
• Ph.D. from Texas A&M University

Research Interests:

1. Directed evolution for combating emerging pathogens and cancer, focusing on antibody engineering and single B cell sequencing.
2. Directed endosymbiosis to engineer artificial photosynthetic life forms, studying chloroplast evolution and developing photosynthetic yeast hybrids for sustainable biosynthesis.
3. Targeted cancer therapies combining synthetic biology, chemistry, and materials science for biomarker-driven treatments.

Article Trends: Recent publications emphasize endosymbiotic systems, antiviral strategies via RNA capping enzymes, and synthetic biology applications in photosynthesis and immunology. These studies highlight cross-disciplinary approaches to foundational biological questions and translational health solutions.

Awards:

• Sloan Research Fellow (2025)
• T. M. Balthazor Faculty Scholar (2022)
• Teachers Ranked As Excellent (2022)
• Scialog Fellow (2021)
• Moore-Simons Foundation award (2020)
• Dow Chemical Scholar Award (2014)

Advising & Grants: While no named advisees are listed, his lab focuses on translational research funded by major grants like the Moore-Simons award. Research collaborations span medicinal chemistry, virology, and evolutionary biology to advance antivirals and synthetic organelles.

Labs & Teams: His lab integrates synthetic biology and chemical biology, collaborating with the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and the Cancer Center at Illinois. Active projects include engineering photosynthetic yeasts and studying cyanobacterial endosymbionts in eukaryotic cells.