Moumita Dasgupta, a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has enjoyed learning more about the field of immunology and immunotherapy during her time at Notre Dame.
She moved from India to the United States in 2018 to work in the laboratory of Brian Baker, chair of the department and Coleman Professor of Life Sciences, at the Harper Cancer Research Institute. Her research interests include immunology and immunotherapy, and she has previously researched protein folding intermediates, protein aggregation inhibition and drug delivery vehicles.
“He’s well known in the field for immunology and immunotherapy, and with emphasis on molecular biophysics (both experimental and computational) along with crystallography and cell culture assays, this is a very promising field,” Dasgupta said. “I’ve found it’s an awesome working environment, and I’m very happy working here.”
The Baker lab directs research at understanding and manipulating the recognition of molecules in the cellular immune system, and many of the projects deal with principles of the recognition and engineering of T cell receptors.
She earned an integrated master of science in biotechnology in 2012 from St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta University, Kolkata, India, and her doctoral degree in biophysical chemistry in 2017 from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, in Mumbai, India where she also worked as a research associate for a short time after earning her doctorate. She then held the position of postdoctoral fellow briefly at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, India, before moving to South Bend to join Baker’s lab.
Dasgupta is skilled in protein crystallography, as well as different types of spectroscopy, microscopy and calorimetry. She has been published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry and Plos One, among others.
“This is an excellent environment for growth academically,” Dasgupta said. “And Notre Dame is very supportive of both national and international students; they provide all kinds of support.”
Originally published by at science.nd.edu on March 31, 2022.