Manuraj Kallumkal and Pete Gabriel Ledesma receive Pothapragada International Graduate Student Fellowship
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (1/2/2024) – PhD students Manuraj Kallumkal and Pete Gabriel Ledesma each received the 2023 Pothapragada International Graduate Student Fellowship from the Department of Chemistry in late November. The award recognizes outstanding international graduate students who have yet to take the Oral Preliminary Exam for PhD candidacy.
Kallumkal joined the UMN Chemistry community in Fall 2022 after completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry at the Mahatma Gandhi University in India. “I have always loved learning, teaching and researching fundamental chemistry. Exploring and discovering deep nuances in chemical systems always excites me, that is the primary reason I chose to pursue research,” Kallumkal says. He’s a member of the Bailey lab and is currently working on atomically precise multimetallic cluster platforms for developing molecular level understanding of catalytic reactions – ultimately working towards developing new catalyst design principles.
“Getting into UMN was a game-changing moment in my life and I see myself exponentially growing in all the diverse areas, including personal, professional, and research levels,” Kallumkal says. “At this budding stage of grad school, I'm considering all the potential possibilities and opportunities for my career and developing diverse skill sets, however, I see myself more inclined towards academic or industrial research.”
Ledesma also came to Minnesota in Fall 2022 after completing his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines – Diliman. He’s a member of both the Pomerantz and Gadkari groups. His interests are interdisciplinary, lying at the interface of chemistry and biology. “My current overarching interests lie in studying protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions involved in epigenetics and how we can leverage the orthogonality between different bioanalytical and biophysical methods to study and modulate the aforementioned interactions,” Ledesma says. He’s currently working on several components of the project, leveraging insights obtained from native ion mobility-mass spectrometry to understand biophysical behavior and develop peptide-based modulators for transcription-related proteins.
“I believe that scientific research is a conduit for us to experience the three great transcendentals of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. More than just the discovery of new phenomena or the development of new technologies, I consider research to be a fruitful avenue for creative self-expression. Indeed, I see these things manifest clearly in the Department through the lives and works of my mentors, teachers, colleagues, and students,” Ledesma says.
The Pothapragada International Graduate Student Fellowship recognizes up to two excellent international graduate students with a $3,000 scholarship each year. The award is named for Dr. Venkateswarlu Pothapragada, who was born and raised in India, but spent most of his life in Minnesota. He earned his Ph.D. in physiological chemistry and microbiology from the University of Minnesota in 1962, and became a research scientist for 3M. Dr. Pothapragada also taught at the University of Minnesota. His strong belief in higher education and his family’s donations continue to provide scholarships and financial assistance to graduate students in the College of Biological Sciences and the College of Science and Engineering.