Prof Parvesh Singh

Academic Qualifications

PhD (Organic Chemistry)
MSc (Applied Chemistry)
BSc

Biography

Prof Singh is working on several multi-disciplinary research projects at UKZN that involve the synthesis, biological testing against diabetes, cancer and bacterial infections, and molecular modelling studies. He was a recipient of the prestigious DST-NRF Free-standing Post-doctoral fellowship and was featured as one of the emerging researchers in South Africa by the NRF. He has also received top university and College publisher awards on several occasions. For his contributions to science, the NRF rated him an established researcher with a C2 rating in 2019. Since his appointment at UKZN (2014), he has successfully graduated 6 PhDs and 5 Master’s students. He has published around 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals of international repute.

Learn more about his research group here: MedChemic and Synthesis Group

Research Interests

Synthetic methodology
Computational Chemistry and Molecular modelling
Pharmacophore design
Medicinal Chemistry
Ligand-Protein interactions
Peptide folding, Docking

Prof Singh’s group is working on several multi-disciplinary research projects involving the synthesis, molecular modelling and biological evaluation of heterocyclic scaffolds. Predominantly, we are using[2+2], [3+2] and [4+2] cycloaddition modes to synthesize heterocyclic pharmacophoric assemblies of different ring sizes. In parallel, They are also using various molecular modeling techniques such as molecular docking, molecular dynamics, QSPR and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to complement our experimental studies.

Prof Singh’s group is currently using the molecular hybridization and cycloaddition methodologies to prepare a variety of heterocyclic scaffolds including pyrimidinones, beta-lactams, thiadiazolo-pyrimidinones, caumarin-1,2,3-triazoles, coumarin-oxadiazole, pyrazoles, chalcones, alkenes, thiadiazole-thiazolidinoneconjugates. Some of the synthesized compounds such as pyrimidinones, tetra substituted alkenes, coumarins and carbapenam chalcones, tested in vitro against breast (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231), lung (A-549), colon (Caco2), hepatocellular (HepG2) and cervical (HeLa) cancer cell lines have shown promising activities. Additionally, we are also exploring the antidiabetic and antimicrobial potential of thiazolidone-and quinoline-based heterocycles. We are also using molecular docking simulations to determine the binding modes of potent compounds in the active sites of their receptors.

Research Fellow
Department of Chemistry
Durban University of Technology, Durban, South AfricaJan2007-Dec 2013 Post-Doctoral Fellow
Department of Chemistry
Durban University of Technology
Durban
South Africa June 2006-Sept 2007
Research Scientist
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients unit, Research and Development Unit
Jubilant Organosys, Sector- 59
Noida,
India Jan 2005-May 2006 Senior Research Fellow Fellowship awarded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, India).

National

School of Molecular and Cell BiologymUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg.
Department of Chemistry, Durban University of Technology, Durban
Department of Chemistry, University of Johanesburg, Johanesburg
Department of Biochemistry School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Department of Chemistry, University of Zululand
Department of Microbiology School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus
Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, ML Sultan Campus, Durban University of Technology
Department of Chemistry, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban.

International

Sytheon Ltd315 Wootton Street, Boonton, NJ 07005, USA•
Department of Chemistry, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, Punjab (India)
Department of Chemical Sciences, I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, Kapurthala, Punjab, India
Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, JamiaNagar, India
Department d’ Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon, India
Department of Pharmacology, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Hershey, USA.
CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, HP, India
Department of Chemistry, GITAM Institute of Sciences, GITAM University, Visakhapatnam, AndhraPradesh, India
Departamento de Quimica Analitica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia, Spain
CO-ADD, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia• Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, USA

Research Profiles

Media

Discipline

Chemistry

Email

singhp4@ukzn.ac.za

Contact

031 260 2181

Campus

Westville

Office Address

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