Our Team

Dr. Bheema Rao Paraselli is a seasoned professional in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, boasting over 24 years of experience. He has a distinguished track record in the discovery and development of several INDs, successfully advancing them to Phase III clinical trials.

Dr. Paraselli earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad, India. He then pursued post-doctoral research as a Humboldt Fellow with Prof. W. Adam at the University of Würzburg, Germany. Subsequently, he conducted additional post-doctoral research with Prof. K.C. Nicolaou at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.

Beginning his career in 1995 as a Medicinal Chemist at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Dr. Paraselli played a pivotal role in discovering novel small molecules for metabolic disorders, co-inventing two clinical candidates: Balaglitazone and Ragaglitazar. From 2003 to 2010, he worked at Syrrx (later acquired by Takeda Pharmaceuticals), leading an oncology project that resulted in the identification of a clinical candidate.

With over 75 patents and publications, Dr. Paraselli possesses extensive expertise in structure-based drug discovery and the exploration of natural products as sources for new therapeutics.

Frank obtained his Ph.D. in 1996 in organic chemistry from the University of Bonn in Germany, and completed his postdoctoral studies at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, under the mentorship of Professor K.C. Nicolaou.
After an industrial postdoc at Hoechst in Frankfurt, Germany, he moved back to the US in 1999 to join IRORI, which later became a CRO (Discovery Partners International), working on solid phase library design and synthesis supporting Hit Identification programs as well as client management.

From 2002 to 2010, he further honed his skills as a medicinal chemist at Anadys Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, CA, working on metabolic diseases, antibacterial, and antiviral targets in roles of increasing responsibility, including Director of Medicinal Chemistry. He is an inventor of Anadys’ lead molecule setrobuvir (ANA598) which progressed into Phase II clinical studies for the treatment of hepatitis C and led to the acquisition of Anadys by Roche in 2011.

Prior to joining Chemveda, Frank has worked for 13 years in Beijing and Shanghai at BioDuro-Sundia, a leading CRDMO in China, serving in senior roles such as Vice President Chemistry, Senior Vice President Chemistry Operations, and most recently, Senior Vice President of Integrated Services and Alliances. His contributions have been pivotal in driving the growth of BioDuro, showcasing his extensive experience in operations, strategies, compliance and QA, leadership and organizational development, business development, and stakeholder engagement.

Frank has a strong scientific track record with over 50 publications and patents.

Prathyusha brings over 22 years of diverse experience across teaching, administration, marketing, inventory management, strategic planning, personnel planning, finance, and operations management. She holds a master’s degree in Industrial Chemistry from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal, and has contributed to research projects at the University of Hyderabad. Additionally, she earned an MBA from Osmania University.

With extensive expertise in corporate management, project execution, and policy implementation, Prathyusha has played a pivotal role in fostering collaborations between academic institutions and corporate clients. She previously served as a promoter and director at GPS Biotech India and Aegis Agro Chemicals India. Currently, she serves as the full-time Vice President of Business Operations at Chemveda Life Sciences, overseeing key functions including finance, administration, human resources, and supply chain management.

Dr. Ravi Kumar Puthukanoori brings over 20 years of extensive academic and industrial research experience to Chemveda. He holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, where his research focused on the enantiospecific total synthesis of terpenoids. Prior to joining Chemveda, he spent over 13 years at GVK Biosciences (Aragen Life Sciences), where he played a pivotal role in managing multiple client collaborations, primarily with US-based biotech and pharma companies. His work has been widely recognized, with several publications in internationally reputed scientific journals.

He also played a vital role as regional technical head for US West Coast business Territory where he played a strategic role through extensive client engagement in synergy with business territory colleagues. Such integrated and collaborative sales pitch combined with technical and business teams helped the growth of the clientele of business territory multi-fold and led to expansion and long-term collaborations.
Dr Puthukanoori has extensive expertise in leading and managing large teams across diverse areas of medicinal chemistry and development collaborations. In addition, Dr. Puthukanoori has successfully supervised projects involving route scouting, route optimization, and process development collaborations over the tenure. He also transitioned into the role of streamlining and managing the operations for development and manufacturing services and managed several collaborations from all the way from discovery to development life cycle.

On the strategic front, Dr Puthukanoori has extensive expertise in developing the high performing teams, systems and organisational processes tailored for the service portfolio. He has excelled in designing and delivering customized solutions for clients, fostering strong customer relationships, and enhancing Chemveda’ value proposition. His efforts have significantly contributed to building and expanding both discovery and development collaborations with a mix of biotech and pharma companies, solidifying Chemveda’s reputation as a trusted partner in the industry.

Srini joined Chemveda bringing along a diversified experience of 20 years in chemistry and drug discovery research in several therapeutic areas (anti-infectives, oncology, CNS). Srini received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Northeastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, India.

Srini gained medicinal chemistry experience during his postdoctoral research at international universities (France, Taiwan and USA) involving design and synthesis of novel derivatives of natural products (Campothecin, Taxol and Artemisinin). Before moving to the US, Srini worked as a Scientist at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad and led a collaboration project with DuPont, USA.

Srini came to the US in 1998 on a research fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) sponsored by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) as part of a global multi-institutional consortium, Product Development Partnerships (PDPs). The collaborative team efforts led to India’s first new drug, Synriam® (Arterolane) codeveloped by La Roche and Ranbaxy.

In 2002, Srini moved to Boston to join a start-up biotech, Predix Pharmaceuticals (later Epix Pharmaceuticals) focused on GPCR and ion channel targets. As a project lead, Srini contributed towards 4 CNS drug candidates in collaboration with GSK, Amgen, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Subsequently after working in the DEL library group at GSK, Srini joined another start-up, Warner Babcock Institute (WBI) for Green Chemistry as Director of Research Programs leading projects across a diverse array of industrial applications including pharma, agro, cosmetics, performance materials, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and electronics (OLEDs).

Prior to joining Chemveda, Srini worked at BioDuro-Sundia as Senior Director of Integrated Programs. He is a co-inventor of 26 patents and co-author of 25 research publications.

Shambabu Joseph is an accomplished scientific professional with 22 years of industrial experience and 30 years of research experience. He received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Karnataka University, Dharwad, India. After his Ph.D. and a short stint at Ciba Specialty chemicals, Mumbai he took up a Post-doctoral fellowship at the National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Prior to joining Chemveda in 2022, he was associated with GVK Biosciences, now Aragen Life Sciences for over 17 years and held key positions in managing multiple collaborations with clients based out of the US, Europe and Asia pacific wherein he could build strong client relationships. He has many scientific publications in journals of international repute to his credit.

Shambabu Joseph has a rich experience in managing teams that support the discovery of chemistry research and has provided cost-effective solutions to improve efficiency.

Sampath has over 20 years of academic and industrial research experience and he received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Hyderabad, where he was involved in the synthetic and mechanistic studies of chiral amino alcohol derivatives and their applications in organic synthesis. After his Ph.D. he worked for over two years in the area of peptidomimetics as a Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Mississippi, USA.

He has been associated with Chemveda right from its inception and actively participated in the initial design of laboratory and analytical infrastructure, and systems and processes. He had been associated with companies like Sai Advantium, and Sapala Organics prior to joining Chemveda. Over his tenure at Chemveda, he has played a crucial role in managing and growing multiple collaborations and turning them into key clients for the company. Sampath has some key scientific publications and patents arising out of the collaborations at Chemveda under his name.

Sampath has a profound experience of managing teams with diverse chemistry expertise and projects ranging from lab-scale synthesis, route scouting and optimization, to kilo scale deliveries of NCEs, and building blocks. In addition to heterocycles, Sampath also has experience in chiral chemistry, nucleosides and nucleotides, organoboranes, phosphonates, carbohydrate chemistry, and peptides.

Srinivasa has over 20 years of industrial research experience and has a very strong background in organic synthesis and catalysis, with a Ph.D. and two Post-Doctoral Fellowships from Japan (JSPS) and Taiwan (NHS). Prior to joining Chemveda, Srinivasa worked with Piramal Pharma Solutions as the Director, QbD (Process R&D for their CRAMS, Intermediates & Generics division). In addition, he has previously held leadership positions at companies like Sai Life Sciences, AstraZeneca, Jubilant Chemsys, and Zydus-Cadila. Srinivasa also has numerous scientific publications in prestigious international journals to his name.

Srinivasa’s core expertise includes Process R&D, QbD, DoE, Crystallization, Polymorphism, and accommodating processes in GMP scale-up manufacturing, with hands-on experience in ReactIR-4000 and the use of PAT tools such as FBRM, Raman, UV-Vis, and others. Srinivasa has made significant contributions to accommodating processes in GMP scale-up manufacturing for multiple innovator organizations. In addition to his core expertise, Srinivasa also has a command of Regulatory Audits, Quality Management Systems, Quality Assurance, Analytical Method Development and Validation, and Genotoxic Impurities (PGIs) assessment.

K.C. Nicolaou studied chemistry at the University of London. (B.Sc., 1969, Bedford College; Ph.D. 1972, University College, with Professors F. Sondheimer and P.J. Garratt). In 1972, he moved to the United States and, after postdoctoral appointments at Columbia University (1972-1973, Professor T.J. Katz) and Harvard University (1973-1976, Professor E.J. Corey), he joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania where he rose through the ranks to become the Rhodes-Thompson Professor of Chemistry.

In 1989, he accepted joint appointments at the University of California, San Diego, where he is Professor of Chemistry, and The Scripps Research Institute where he is the Darlene Shiley Professor of Chemistry, and Chairman of the Department of Chemistry. In 1996, he was appointed Aline W. and L.S. Skaggs Professor of Chemical Biology in The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of numerous scientific journals and is an advisor to several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. K.C. Nicolaou’s research interests include the chemistry, biology, and medicine of natural and designed molecules. The group’s research activities are centered around the total synthesis of architecturally novel and biologically important natural products which serve as opportunities for discovery and invention of novel synthetic strategies, methods, and enabling technologies for biology and medicine.

He is the author or co-author of more than 725 publications, 67 patents and 5 books. Among K.C. Nicolaou’s Awards and Honors are the Schering Prize (Germany), the Aspirin Prize (Spain), the Max Tishler Prize Lecture (Harvard), the Yamada Prize (Japan), the Janssen Prize (Belgium), the Nagoya Medal (Japan), the Centenary Medal (Royal Society UK), the Paul Karrer Medal (Switzerland), the Inhoffen Medal (Germany), the Nichols Medal (USA), the Linus Pauling Medal (USA), the Esselen Award (USA), the ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (USA), the ACS Guenther Award in Natural Products Chemistry (USA), the Nobel Laureate Signature Award, Tetrahedron Prize Award, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry, and several honorary degrees. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Member of the American Philosophical Society.

Phil is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute and Member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology. He received his B.S. in chemistry from the New York University in 1997 and his Ph.D. from The Scripps Research Institute in 2001, under the supervision of Prof. K.C. Nicolaou. He did his postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Prof. E. J. Corey at Harvard University.

Phil currently holds the Darlene Shiley Chair in Chemistry and has authored over 200 published scientific articles and has several patents to his name.

He has been the recipient of several ACS awards such as the Corey (2015), Pure Chemistry (2010), Fresenius (2006), and Nobel Laureate Signature (2003), and several international distinctions such as the Hirata Gold Medal and Mukaiyama Prize (Japan), the RSC award in Synthesis (UK), and the Sackler Prize (Israel). In 2013 he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, in 2015 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2016 he was awarded the Blavatnik National Award.

His work is focused on synthesizing complex organic compounds, the development of new reactions, and the development of new reagents.

Jin-Quan Yu received a B.Sc. (1987) from East China Normal University, an M.Sc. (1990) from Guangzhou Institute of Chemistry, and a Ph.D. (1999) from the University of Cambridge. He was a research fellow (1998–2002) and junior faculty member (2003–2004) at the University of Cambridge, postdoctoral fellow (2001–2002) at Harvard University, and assistant professor of chemistry (2004–2007) at Brandeis University prior to his current affiliation with Scripps Research Institute, where he is the Frank and Bertha Hupp Professor of Chemistry. His scientific articles have been published in Nature, Science, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, and Nature Chemistry.

Jin-Quan Yu is a synthetic chemist pioneering new techniques for the functionalization of carbon-hydrogen (C–H) bonds. In order to create many of the chemical compounds used in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials science, inert C–H bonds in organic molecules must be broken so that a more complex cluster of atoms (the functional group) can be chemically attached—a process known as C–H functionalization. Activation of C–H bonds requires the use of metal-based catalysts that are guided to the targeted bond by other nearby directing functional groups (or ligands), which often must be removed to yield the desired product once the new functional group is attached.

Most recently, Yu invented a new method for activation of methylene groups, which are the most common class of C–H bonds. Using palladium catalysts bearing amino acid– or quinoline (from coal tar)- derived chiral ligands, he has both drastically accelerated this process and enabled the creation of products with specific chirality. Yu’s unconventional approach to C–H functionalization is creating a paradigm shift in the logic of organic synthetic chemistry and breaking down barriers to the development of versatile compounds with enormous benefits to academic, industrial, and pharmaceutical research.

Yu has made several significant advances in the efficiency, specificity, and practicality of palladium-catalyzed C–H functionalization. He and collaborators have expanded the possibilities for tailored C–H activation by extending the distance between the C–H bond and the directing functional group much further than previously possible. They have also developed modified amino acids that can act as “transient directing groups” for a variety of ketone and aldehyde substrates. The amino acids automatically attach and remove themselves from the compounds to be modified and can be continually re-used, thereby streamlining a time-consuming process of pre-installation of directing groups and reducing the amount of reagents used. The amino acids can be selected to direct the chirality of the resulting products, a critical step in the production of effective pharmaceuticals. Most C–H functionalizations generate mirror image products at the site of the activated bond, but often only one of these (the right- or left-hand chiral form) has a drug’s desired properties.

Professor Snyder grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, NY, where his interests in science, particularly chemistry, were forged in high school by a variety of experiences including three summers of research in a biochemistry lab at the State University of New York at Buffalo and an opportunity to attend the United States National Study Camp for the International Chemistry Olympiad.

Scott then pursued his undergraduate studies in chemistry at Williams College in Williamstown, MA, where he conducted research in several different areas, including physical organic, heterocyclic, and medicinal chemistry. He also spent a summer as an intern at the Dupont-Merck Pharmaceutical Company (now part of Bristol-Myers Squibb). These endeavors resulted in several publications, a number of awards, and the receipt of national fellowships such as a Pfizer Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship and the Barry M. Goldwater Fellowship in Science and Engineering.

In 1999, he began his graduate studies with Professor K. C. Nicolaou at The Scripps Research Institute, where he devoted his attention to studying the chemistry and biology of the marine-derived antitumor agent diazonamide A. During his five years in La Jolla, Scott was funded by graduate fellowships from the National Science Foundation, Pfizer, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Overall, his thesis project resulted in two distinct total syntheses of this intricately complex molecule attended by the discovery of several new synthetic methods and strategies. In addition to his benchwork, Scott also co-authored several review articles and book chapters as well as the textbook Classics in Total Synthesis II (Wiley-VCH).

Scott then trained as a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor E. J. Corey at Harvard University, where he completed the enantioselective total synthesis of four members of the dolabellane family of natural products and discovered several new synthetic reactions and reagents.

He began his independent career in 2006 at Columbia University and moved to The Scripps Research Institute in 2013 where he is now an Associate Professor with tenure. His group is well known for its efforts related to synthesis of diverse polyphenolic and alkaloid natural products as well as the development of several new reagents that have enabled access to a diverse array of halogenated molecules. These endeavors are supported by generous grants from the National Institute of Health (through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences), the National Science Foundation, and the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund. Scott is also a recognized educator and co-author, with Graham Solomons and Craig Fryhle, of the widely-used undergraduate book Organic Chemistry, 11th Edition (Wiley).

Professor Chen obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry (University of Auckland) and his Ph.D. in Chemistry (Organic Synthesis) from University of Cambridge in the year 2001. Later, he worked as a research assistant for Auckland Cancer Society Research Center, New Zealand, then as a research associate at Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA till 2003. Then Professor Chen moved to the industry where he worked with Merck Research Laboratory, Rahway, USA from 2003-2005 as a senior research chemist and then moved to Singapore to work as a principal investigator for Agency for Science, Technology and Research from 2005-2011.

Professor Chen’s current research interests include: total synthesis, a research field that renders the preparation of larger molecular constructs from their structurally simplified progenitor(s) through a series of carefully coordinated synthetic operations, has admirably served the scientific community through its contributions in both fundamental chemical research and in a wide-spectrum of physical and biological applications. Our research activity rests its foundation on complexity-inspired total synthesis, with strong emphasis on the design and orchestration of innovative synthetic strategies by employing modern synthetic technologies based on transition-metal and organo-catalysis. Convergent and yet flexible approaches are pursued in order to maximize overall synthetic efficiency, and enable the preparation of rationally designed analogues for chemical-biology investigations. Novel reactivities bestowed by complex molecular architectures are explored in a methodological manner and further applied in the context of target-oriented synthesis.

David was born and raised in Slovenia, where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry (University of Ljubljana). He carried out his undergraduate research with Prof. K. C. Nicolaou at Scripps and Prof. Samuel J. Danishefsky at Columbia. He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry with Prof. K. C. Nicolaou, involving the total synthesis of complex natural products.

David then joined Prof. Erick M. Carreira’s group at ETH as a postdoctoral fellow and explored the field of asymmetric catalysis. In the fall of 2014 David joined the faculty at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.