Our Team

Dr. Natarajan brings over two decades of experience in cancer drug discovery. Originally from Chennai, India, Dr. Natarajan completed his B.S. at Madras Christian College, M.S. at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Vermont. Following a postdoctoral stint at Harvard Medical School, he started his independent career as a tenure track assistant professor at University of Texas Medical Branch. He was recruited to the Eppley Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) as an associate professor, was promoted to full professor and held the Ruth Branham Professorship. In addition to a federally funded research program, at UNMC he served as the Program Leader in the NCI-designated Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. He was elected to the UNMC senate for four consecutive 3-year terms and served as President of the Faculty Senate (2023-2024). At the University of Cincinnati, he serves as a senior advisor, UC Cancer Center. Dr. Natarajan has served on numerous grant review panels including as the permanent member of the NIH drug discovery and molecular pharmacology study section.

Amar Natarajan, PhD
Professor and James L. Winkle Endowed Chair​
Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences​, College of Pharmacy

Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine

Education: Madras Christian College, Madras, India, 1994 (Chemistry, BS); Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, 1996 (Chemistry, MS); University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 2001 (Organic Chemistry, PhD)

Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2005 (Medicinal Chemistry, Postdoc)

Hometown: Chennai, India

Hobbies/activities: Pingpong and board games

Meet the Lab Members

  • Smitha Kizhake, MS

    ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

    Education: University of Vermont (MS); IIT Chennai (M.Sc.)

    Hometown: Kerala, India

    Hobbies/activities: Reading, Astronomy, Traveling

    LinkedIn: smitha-kizhake-73a0351b

  • Siddhartha Kumar, PhD

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

    Education: University of North Texas (PhD); IIT-Bombay (M.Sc.)

    Hometown: Serampore, West Bengal

    Hobbies/activities: Food, History, Art, Psychology, Economics

    LinkedIn: siddhartha-kumar-unt

  • Prathap R Mukthapuram, PhD

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

    Education: CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (PhD), Sri Krishnadevaraya University (M.Sc.)

    Hometown: Andhra Pradesh, India

    Hobbies/activities: Family time and socializing with friends

    LinkedIn: prathap-reddy-mukthapuram-605933aa‍ ‍

  • Wangbin Wu, PhD

    RESEARCH SCIENTIST

    Education: Sichuan University (B.Sc., PhD)

    Hometown: Taiyuan, China

    Hobbies/activities: Marathon, Music, Museums

    LinkedIn: wangbin-wu-01433a195‍ ‍

  • Lelisse Umeta, BS

    GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

    Education: Chadron State College (BS)

    Hometown: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Hobbies/activities: Reading, Baking, Hiking, Traveling, Cooking

    LinkedIn: lelisse-t-umeta‍ ‍

  • Suchita Vishwakarma, M.Pharm

    GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

    Education: University of Mumbai (B.Pharm., M.Pharm.)

    Hometown: Mumbai, India

    Hobbies/activities: Hiking, Skygazing, Socializing, Reading about business models

    LinkedIn: vsuchita‍ ‍

  • Mihir Kachhia, MS

    GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

    Education: NIPER-Ahmedabad (MS), CHARUSAT University (B.Pharm.)

    Hometown: Ahmedabad, India

    Hobbies/activities: Cricket and Volleyball

    LinkedIn: mihir-kachhia-m-s-044723117‍ ‍

  • Karan Vishwakarma, MS

    GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

    Education: Université Paris-Saclay, France (MS); Techno India University, West Bengal (B.Tech.)

    Hometown: Satna, India

    Hobbies/activities: Gym and Snooker

    LinkedIn: karanvishwakarma‍ ‍

  • Anish Mohan, BS

    RESEARCH ASSISTANT

    Education: University of Cincinnati (BS)

    Hometown: Bengaluru, India

    Hobbies/activities: Swimming, exploring different forms of horror in media.

    LinkedIn: mohananishk‍ ‍

  • Peter Schaffer, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL

    Education: Northeastern University (PhD), University of Rhode Island (BS)

    Hometown: Massachusetts, USA

    Hobbies/activities: Playing hacky sack & pool; Listening to alt rock, punk rock, indie, and synthwave genres of music; Watching hockey, football, and boxing. Huge fan of the New England Patriots and Boston Bruins.

    LinkedIn: peter-schaffer-phd-36805956‍

  • Anshu Yadav, PhD

    POSTDOCTORAL

    Education: Michigan State University (MS, PhD), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (M.Sc.), University of Delhi (B.Sc.)

    Hometown: Delhi, India

    Hobbies/activities: Working out, Reading.

    LinkedIn: anshu-yadav1‍ ‍