OBCL: Organic and bioconjugate chemistry LABoratory
Vishal RAI
Positions held
J. C. Bose Fellow: IISER Bhopal, India, Sept 2025 - till date
Professor: IISER Bhopal, India, June 2022 - till date
Swarnajayanti Fellow: IISER Bhopal, India, Mar 2020 - Mar 2025
Associate Professor: IISER Bhopal, India, May 2017 - June 2022
Ramanujan Fellow: IISER Bhopal, India, July 2011 - June 2016
Assistant Professor: IISER Bhopal, India, May 2011 - April 2017
Additional positions
Current
Associate Editor, Chemical Communications, RSC, UK, 2026-2028
Head, Department of Chemistry, IISER Bhopal, 2023-2025
Council Member, National Organic Symposium Trust (NOST), 2023-2026
Founder and Director, Plabeltech Pvt. Ltd., 2018-till date
Past
Advisory Board Member, Chemical Science, RSC, UK, 2023-2025
Editor-in-Chief search committee member, ACS Publications, 2022
Early Career Board Member, ACS Chemical Biology, 2020-2022
National Co-Chair (India), International Chemical Biology Society (ICBS), June 2021-May 2024
Head, Computer Center, IISER Bhopal, 2012-2018
Awards, Fellowships, Recognition
J. C. Bose Fellowship (2025)
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (RVP-VY-SSB, 2024)
FNASc: Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI, 2024)
Distinguished Teacher Award, IISER Bhopal, India (2024)
Research Partnerships & Industry Translation Award, CRS (2024)
G. D. Gokhale Lectureship Fellow (2024)
Distinguished Teacher Award, IISER Bhopal, India (2023)
Pioneering Investigator - Chemical Society Reviews, RSC, UK (2023)
Asia representative in ECN Committee, Commonwealth Chemistry (2023)
CRSI Nominee at 2nd Commonwealth Chemistry Congress, Trinidad (2023)
Leading Investigator in India, AsiaChem (2023)
CRSI Bronze Medal (2022)
SERB-IRHPA Grant for PACE (Precision Antibodies Engineering Center, 2022)
CDRI Award for Excellence in Drug Research (2021)
SERB-TETRA Technology Translation Award (2021)
Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC; Leaders in the Field Scheme), UK 2020
Swarnajayanti Fellowship, DST and SERB, India 2019 (2020-2025)
Young Scientist Award by RSC-WIS, India 2012
DAE Young Scientist Award, DAE-BRNS, India 2012
Ramanujan fellowship, DST, India 2011-2016
MITACS Elevate postdoctoral fellowship, MITACS, Canada 2011
Senior Research fellowship, CSIR, India 2005-2008
Junior Research fellowship, CSIR, India 2003-2005
Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, 2003
Teaching
CHM 112: Basic Organic Chemistry
CHM 114: Laboratory Course in Organic Chemistry
CHM 211: Basic Organic Chemistry
CHM 311: Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
CHM 416/616: Spectroscopy and its application to organic molecules
CHM 612: Advanced Organic Chemistry II (Organic Synthesis)
CHM 613: Advanced Organic Chemistry I (Asymmetric Synthesis)
CHM 615: Frontiers in Organic Chemistry
CHM 617: Chemical Biology
Services
SERB: PAC, COVID-19 task force, NPDF, SUPRA
Administrative committees 2011-till date
Additional editorial contributions
Frontiers in Chemistry, special issue on "Bioconjugation Chemistry" during 2022-2023
Frontiers in Chemistry, special issue on "Bioconjugates for Drug Delivery" during 2021-2022
Academic record and postdoctoral training
MITACS Elevate Postdoctoral Fellow: University of Toronto, Canada, 2011-2011
(Mentor: Prof. Andrei K. Yudin)
Postdoctoral Fellow: University of Toronto, Canada, 2008-2011
(Mentor: Prof. Andrei K. Yudin)
Ph.D.: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India, 2003-2008
(Supervisor: Prof. I. N. N. Namboothiri)
B.Sc. and M.Sc.: Banaras Hindu University, India, 1998-2001 and 2001-2003
Professional Affiliations
Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI)
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
American Chemical Society (ACS)
International Chemical Biology Society (ICBS)
Indian Peptide Society (IPS)
American Peptide Society (APS)