Tuhina Banerjee, Ph.D.

Dr. Banerjee was born and brought up in Varanasi, an ancient city in India. While pursuing her Masters in Biochemistry, Dr. Banerjee developed keen interest in protein folding problem. When she joined Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) to pursue her doctoral degree, she was particularly interested in Dr. Kishore’s research aimed at characterizing protein folding intermediates. During this time, she used calorimetric and spectroscopic approaches to gain mechanistic insights on equilibrium and kinetic intermediates of several proteins. Her work highlighted that most of these intermediates in various proteins share similar thermodynamic signatures. As a postdoctoral scholar at Dr. Teter’s lab at University of Central Florida, Orlando, Dr. Banerjee worked on several AB-type protein toxins including cholera toxin, pertussis toxin, and ricin for deeper understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms of their pathogenicity. As a Research Scientist at Pittsburg State University, she has developed several innovative approaches involving biomimetic nanoparticles, antigenically equivalent magnetic reporter viruses and cell-based assays utilizing magnetic relaxation nanosensor technology. Dr. Banerjee has a strong passion for teaching and strongly believes in hands-on learning experiences. She has taught graduate and undergraduate biochemistry courses at Pittsburg State University. In August, 2021, she joined Missouri State University Springfield where she plans to continue building her passion for research and teaching.

Research interest of Banerjee’s lab is to apply an integrative approach of biochemical, biophysical and nanotechnology for mechanistic understanding of the fibrillation of alpha synuclein, a known biomarker for Parkinson’s disease. Beyond the classroom and research,

Dr. Banerjee likes visiting places, cooking and experiencing different cultures.