Chemistry Department Faculty

Abhishek Chatterjee

Professor of Chemistry

Photo of Abhishek Chatterjee

Abhishek Chatterjee

Ph.D.

Contact

Merkert Center 201

Telephone: 617-552-1778

Email: abhishek.chatterjee@bc.edu

ORCID

Education

  • Ph.D., Cornell University

Research Interests

Combining directed evolution and chemical approaches to engineer biology for developing next-generation biotherapeutics and novel tools to probe complex biological questions.

Research

The Chatterjee group takes an interdisciplinary approach to engineer biology with the ultimate goal of developing new technologies to probe complex biological questions, and to create novel biotherapeutics that target challenging human diseases. A particular focus of the group is the development of technology for site-directed incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) with enabling chemistries into proteins expressed in living cells. We are using this technology for: 1) The development of new bioorthogonal conjugation reactions, especially ones that are compatible with existing bioconjugation chemistries to enable site-specific protein labeling with multiple distinct entities; 2) The development of next-generation biotherapeutics, such as therapeutic protein conjugates, as well as precisely modified adeno-associated virus vectors for human gene therapy; 3) Elucidating the roles of various post-translational modifications of mammalian proteins; 4) Versatile analysis of newly synthesized proteins in living cells. In order to facilitate these applications, we have: 1) Developed new aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA platforms that enable site-specific incorporation of previously inaccessible structural classes of ncAAs, 2) Combined these platforms to enable site-specific incorporation of multiple distinct ncAAs into proteins, 3) Developed optimized delivery strategies for introducing the ncAA incorporation machinery in a broad range of mammalian cells, and 4) Developed a novel mammalian cell-based directed evolution platform to improve the performance of the ncAA incorporation machinery.

Selected Honors and Awards

2024听听听听听听 Bioconjugate Chemistry Young Investigator Award

2022 听听听听 听Allen Distinguished Investigator Award

2018听听听听听听 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award

2018听听听听听听 Scialog庐 Fellowship (Research Corporation and the Moore Foundation)

2013听听听听听听 Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Sciences

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Representative Key Publications:

  • "Electrochemical labelling of hydroxyindoles with chemoselectivity for site-specific protein bioconjugation." Loynd C.; Singha Roy, SJ.; Ovalle, V.J.; Canarelli, S.E.; Mondal, A.; Jewel, D.; Ficaretta, E.D.; Weerapana, E.; Chatterjee, A. Nature Chemistry. 2024, 16(3), 389-397
  • 鈥淎n Efficient Opal-Suppressor Tryptophanyl Pair Creates New Routes for Simultaneously Incorporating up to Three Distinct Noncanonical Amino Acids into Proteins in Mammalian Cells.鈥� Osgood, A.O.; Zheng, Y.; Roy, S.J.S.; Biris, N.; Hussain, M.; Loynd, C.; Jewel, D.; Italia, J.S.; Chatterjee, A. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2023, 62(19), 3202219269.听
  • 鈥淰irus-assisted Directed Evolution of Enhanced Suppressor tRNAs in Mammalian Cells.鈥� Jewel, D.; Keleman, R.E.; Huang, R.L.; Zhu, Z.; Sundaresh, B.; Cao, X.; Malley, K.; Huang, Z.; Pasha, M.; Anthony, J.; van Opijnen, T.; Chatterjee, A.听 听Nature Methods听 听 听听听2023, 20, 95-103.
  • 鈥淎 Facile Platform to Engineer Escherichia coli Tyrosyl-tRNA Synthetase Adds New Chemistries to the Eukaryotic Genetic Code, Including a Phosphotyrosine Mimic.鈥� Grasso, K.T.; Roy, S.J.S.; Osgood, A.O.; Yeo, M.J.R.; Soni, C.; Hillebrand, C.M.; Ficaretta, E.D.; Chatterjee, A.听 ACS Central Science. 2022, 8(4), 483-92.
  • 鈥淕enetically Encoded Protein Sulfation in Mammalian Cells.鈥� Italia, J.S.; Peeler, J.C.; Hillenbrand, C.M.; Latour, C.; Weerapana, W.; Chatterjee; A. Nature Chemical Biology.听听2020, 16, 379-82.
  • 鈥淢utually Orthogonal Nonsense-suppression Systems and Conjugation Chemistries for Precise Protein Labeling at Up to Three Distinct Sites.鈥� Italia, J.S.; Addy, P.S.; Erickson, S.B.; Peeler, J.C.; Weerapana, E.; Chatterjee, A.听 Journal of the American Chemical Society.听听2019, 141, 6204-12.
  • 鈥淎n Orthogonalized Platform for Genetic Code Expansion in Both Bacteria and Eukaryotes.鈥� Italia, J.S.; Addy, P.S.; Wrobel, C.J.J.; Crawford, L.A.; Lajoie, M.J.; Zheng, Y.; Chatterjee, A. Nature Chenical Biology.听 2017, 13(4), 446-50.听

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