Athavale, Soumitra

Short Biography

Soumitra was born and raised in Pune, India. Following BS-MS studies in Chemistry and Biology at IISER Pune, he travelled to the US for doctoral research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign under the supervision of Prof. Scott E. Denmark. Soumitra’s PhD was focused on elucidating the mechanism of the Soai reaction. This extraordinary transformation displays the unique phenomenon of amplifying asymmetric autocatalysis, can generate enantioenriched products starting from achiral reactants by spontaneous symmetry breaking, and has received widespread attention from diverse chemical fields. Its mechanism had remained elusive for more than two decades. Soumitra’s investigations have produced the first comprehensive mechanistic picture of this iconic reaction and provide a foundation for further explorations in the field of asymmetric autocatalysis and the evolution of homochirality.

Soumitra joined Professor Frances H. Arnold’s group at Caltech as a postdoctoral scholar, expanding his expertise into protein engineering and directed evolution. He was involved in the development of nitrene transferase enzymes, breaking new ground in the nitrogen functionalization of C–H bonds. The enzymes Soumitra has worked on have contributed to the asymmetric C–H amidation of benzylic positions, and the site and enantioselective derivatization of unactivated and unbiased C–H bonds, a reaction unprecedented in both biology and synthetic chemistry. They can be considered as the nitrogen counterparts of the venerable P450 heme-monooxygenases. The research opens new opportunities for the biocatalytic manufacturing of nitrogen compounds, will assist fundamental enzymological studies of nitrene transfer reactions, and may inspire the design new pathways for nitrogen metabolism.

Soumitra joined the UCLA department of Chemistry and Biochemistry as an Assistant Professor in July 2023.

Research Interests

The Athavale group has a broad interest in synthetic organic chemistry, (bio)molecular evolution and chemical biology, with research encompassing four main themes:

1. Synthetic chemistry and biocatalysis. The group explores new methodologies for challenging bond disconnections using main group chemistry, photoredox catalysis and biocatalysis. A special emphasis is on utilizing the tools of directed evolution for the development of novel enzymology to solve classical challenges in asymmetric synthesis.
2. The ‘organic chemistry of evolution’: exploring molecular evolution beyond biology. This program aims to pursue the assembly of artificial, synthetic (proto)evolutionary systems to reveal the essential design principles that enable evolutionary behavior.
3. Fundamental relationships in enzyme structure and function. This research addresses questions like the minimum sequence length for functional enzymes and the evolution of early biochemical catalysts, utilizing innovative directed evolution approaches to tackle classical problems in protein structure and peptide evolution.
4. Engineered Enzymes as Next-Generation Synergetic Co-Therapeutics. The group focuses on developing engineered enzymes as cutting-edge therapeutics, targeting metabolic enzymes that enhance drug action, improve efficacy, and promote safety. This program fuses state-of-the-art protein engineering with practical medical applications.