Professor Soumitra Athavale has been awarded a highly prestigious Early Stage Investigator Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (ESI MIRA) R35 grant from the National Institutes of Health / National Institute of General Medical Sciences. This award will support Athavale’s research focused on the development of novel biocatalysts for new-to-nature chemistry
The MIRA program supports investigators’ overall research programs through a single, unified grant rather than individual project grants. The goal is to provide investigators with greater stability and flexibility, thereby enhancing scientific productivity and the chances for important breakthroughs.
Athavale obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in organic chemistry in 2019. Following his postdoctoral training at the California Institute of Technology, Athavale joined the UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry faculty in 2023. He currently holds the John D. and Edith M. Roberts Term Chair.
The Athavale Lab uses organic chemistry, molecular biology and protein engineering for the creation of novel enzymes to tackle long standing challenges in chemistry and biology. More about the Athavale Lab’s research and latest findings can be found at their website.
