Avninder S Bhambra

Dr. Avninder S Bhambra is an Associate Professor and Subject Lead for Biomedical Science within the School of Allied Health Sciences at De Montfort University (DMU), Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. He is affiliated with the Leicester Institute for Pharmaceutical Innovation and actively contributes to teaching, research, and quality assurance in higher education.

His research lies at the interface of biology and chemistry, focusing on drug discovery for cancer and neglected tropical diseases such as human African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis. His work involves natural product extraction, synthetic chemistry, in silico drug design, molecular docking, and in vitro bioassays. He employs structure- and ligand-based drug design strategies and investigates flavonoids, heterocyclic compounds, and prodrugs.

The recent publications reflect a strong trend in targeting parasitic proteases, developing dual inhibitors, utilizing virtual screening, and exploring the chemopreventive potential of plant-derived compounds. His research integrates computational and experimental approaches in medicinal chemistry and natural products for therapeutic development.

• Member, Royal Society of Chemistry
• Chartered Chemist (CChem)
• Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Science (FIBMS)
• Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• Member, Phytochemical Society of Europe
• Editorial Board Member, Cogent Chemistry

Dr. Bhambra supervises PhD students both internally and externally and welcomes inquiries for Master’s by Research or PhD opportunities. He has led the IBMS-accredited BSc Biomedical Science programme and is engaged in curriculum design and pedagogical innovation. He participates in quality assurance activities with accrediting bodies in health and life sciences.

He is involved with the Leicester Institute for Pharmaceutical Innovation, where his research group conducts interdisciplinary work in drug discovery, combining synthetic chemistry, natural product analysis, and computational modeling for the development of novel therapeutics.