Nuruddin Unchwaniwala

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT NURUDDIN UNCHWANIWALA

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and its subviral agent Hepatitis D Virus (HDV) are a major global health problem. At Assembly Biosciences, I work on small molecule viral entry and assembly inhibitors, as well as immune modulators, to develop a cure for chronic HBV/HDV infections.Previously, I worked as an Assistant Scientist at the Morgridge Institute for Research in the lab of Dr. Paul Ahlquist where I worked with a highly advanced Nodavirus model system to study replication complex (RC) assembly, structure and function via a combination of cryo-electron microscopy and biochemical techniques. A detailed molecular understanding of viral RCs is essential to find novel drug targets to inhibit the replication and spread of (+)RNA viruses such as SARS and MERS coronaviruses, Dengue, Zika and Hepatitis C viruses.As a graduate research assistant at University of Wisconsin-Madison in the lab of Dr. Dan Loeb, I studied the replication of HBV by fixed and time-lapse fluorescence imaging techniques to track the viral components in cells during HBV replication. Our work led to crucial insights in the trafficking of viral core and polymerase proteins in cells and also highlighted a novel role for the viral polymerase at the mitochondria which can be explored for better drug design and eradication of the virus from chronically infected patients.Before that, I worked as an Application Specialist at Hemogenomics Pvt. Ltd, where I set up and maintained NAT (nucleic acid testing) lab facilities for blood banks in hospitals in Mumbai.