
Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran
Assistant Professor, Department of ChemistryContact
Kolthoff Hall Room 468B 225 Pleasant Street SeMinneapolis, MN 55455
B.S. St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, 2009
M.S. Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 2011 (Siddharth Pandey)
Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2016 (Yi Lu)
Post Doctorate Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Post-doctoral Fellow (Michelle Arkin)
Chemical Biology: metalloenzymes, small-molecule discovery, protein engineering
Inorganic & Organometallic Chemistry: spectroscopy, catalysis
My research group seeks to combine inorganic techniques of metalloenzyme characterization along with cutting-edge chemical biology methods to identify, explore and target “druggable” redox-active metalloenzymes. We elucidate structure-function relations in redox-active metalloenzymes and apply this knowledge toward the development of novel drug lead compounds. We also utilize the insights gathered from these studies to design new biocatalysts with high efficiency and broad substrate scope.
American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Inorganic Chemistry Young Investigator Award, 2017
NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2018 (declined)
Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellowship, 2016-18
Excellence in Teaching Award, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), 2014-2015
ACS Chemical Biology Travel Award, 2015
Eastman Travel Award, Department of Chemistry, UIUC, 2015
Harry S. Drickamer Fellowship, Department of Chemistry, UIUC, 2014
University Fellowship, Department of Chemistry, UIUC, 2013-14
Virginia Bartow Fellowship, Department of Chemistry, UIUC, 2011-12
Highest GPA Award, Department of Chemistry, IIT, Delhi, 2011
DFG fellowship to attend Lindau Nobel Laureate Conference, 2009
Project Oriented Chemical Education Fellowship, JNCASR, Bangalore, 2007-09
Young Science Fellowship, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 2007-08 (declined)
The Sumitomo-St. Stephen’s College Scholarship, St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, 2006-09
Mailing Address
Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran
University of Minnesota
Department of Chemistry
A-7, 139 Smith Hall
207 Pleasant St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0431