Drashti Daraji
Postdoctoral Researcher | Ph.D. in Medicinal & Organic Chemistry | Drug Discovery | Computational & Synthetic Chemist | Open to R&D Roles in Biotech/Pharma
- Role
- Postdoctoral Fellow at Northern Illinois University
- Location
- DeKalb, IL, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Drashti Daraji
I am a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher with a Ph.D. in Medicinal and Organic Chemistry and over 4 years of experience across academic and industry settings. My expertise spans small molecule drug discovery, synthetic chemistry, structure-based drug design, and computational chemistry. I have designed and synthesized inhibitors targeting key biological enzymes (Acetyl CoA synthetase, DHPS, MetAp), led small research teams, and contributed to over a dozen peer-reviewed publications and patents. My work integrates in-silico modeling (docking, MD simulation, homology modeling, QSAR, ADME) with hands-on skills in NMR, HPLC, TLC, and reaction optimization. I am actively seeking R&D Scientist or Medicinal Chemist roles in the biotech or pharmaceutical industry where I can apply my research and leadership skills to contribute to novel therapeutic development.
Experience
Postdoctoral Fellow
Apr 2022 — Present · DeKalb, IL, US
As a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Prof. Timothy Hagen, I am leading medicinal and computational chemistry efforts on an NIH R01-funded project focused on antifungal drug discovery. My work integrates synthetic organic chemistry with in silico design to develop and evaluate inhibitors of fungal Acetyl CoA synthetase (ACS).Key responsibilities and achievements-Designed, synthesized, and purified a series of novel heterocyclic compounds targeting fungal ACS- Performed structure-based drug design (docking, modeling, SAR analysis) to guide compound optimization-Analyzed and interpreted analytical data (NMR, HPLC, HRMS) for compound characterization-Mentored graduate and undergraduate students in both computational and wet lab techniques-Collaborated with interdisciplinary teams to accelerate lead identification and optimization.
Education
Department of Chemistry, Gujarat University
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
2017 — 2020
Gujarat University
Master of Science - MS
2013 — 2015
Gujarat University
Bachelor of Science - BS
2010 — 2013
Gujarat University
Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.)
2015 — 2016
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