Vishma Pratap Sur

ORCID: 0000-0002-1175-7194

Research Interests

Vishma´s research focuses on the purification and characterization of natural products, coupled with the evaluation of their biological activities as antibacterial and anticancer agents. This involves isolating bioactive compounds from natural sources, followed by rigorous structural elucidation using advanced spectroscopic techniques such as NMR, MS, and X-ray crystallography. The biological efficacy of these compounds is then assessed through in vitro and in vivo assays to determine their potential as therapeutic agents.

In addition to experimental approaches, Vishma employs in silico methodologies to investigate the interaction of natural compounds with specific protein targets. This includes molecular docking studies to predict binding affinities, molecular dynamics simulations to understand the stability and conformational changes of protein-ligand complexes, and free energy calculations to quantify binding strengths. These computational techniques provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of action and help in the rational design of potent inhibitors with high specificity and efficacy against targeted diseases.

Curriculum vitae

• May 2024 – present: Postdoc, Algatech, Institute of Microbiology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Trebon, Czech Republic.
• February 2024 – March 2024: Scientist II, Sampling Human, Plzen, Czech Republic.
• July 2020 – January 2024: Postdoc at Institute of Biotechnology, BIOCEV, Czech Academy of Sciences, Vestec, Czech Republic.
• November 2019: Visiting Research Scholar at Utah State University, Logan, USA.
• November 2017 – July 2020: Doctoral Student at Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University of Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.
• November 2017 – July 2020: Research Technician at CEITEC-VUT, Brno, Czech Republic.
• May 2017 – November 2017: Senior Research Fellow at Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India.
• December 2015 – March 2017: Project Fellow at Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata.
• May 2015 – November 2015: University Research Assistant at Presidency University, Kolkata, India.
• November 2014 – May 2015: Biotech Industrial Trainee at GCC Biotech-DBT Government of India, Kolkata, India.
• July 2012 – August 2014: Masters in Biotechnology, The University of Burdwan.
• July 2009 – May 2012: BSc. Honours in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology.

Grants and Scholarships

• July 2023 – June 2024: Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy with Focused Ion BeamScanning Electron Microscopy for Comparative Ultrastructural Analysis of Midpiece and Mitochondria in Human Sperm Cells: A Novel Approach to unveil hidden aberration in Normospermic and Patients with burden of Testicular Germ Cell Tumour. Medical Imaging under Czech Bioimaging grant Program.
• January 2023 – December 2023: Two photon microscopy as a tool for analysis of the metabolic status of human sperm in physiological and pathological conditions. Medical Imaging under Czech Bioimaging grant program.
• January 2022 – December 2023: Post-Doctoral Support from Czech Academy of Sciences (Prospective human resources support program – postdoctoral students).
• November 2019 – February 2020: Visiting scholar grant for USA, Utah State University. 
• January 2019 – December 2019: IGA for PhD student, Mendel University.
• March 2017 – November 2017: Senior Research Fellow, CSIR, IICB.
• November 2014 – May 2015: DBT-BCIL scholarship for industrial training.

Top 5 publications

1. Sur, V.P.; Simonik, O.; Novotna, M.; Mazumdar, A.; Liska, F.; Vimberg, V.; Komrskova, K. Dynamic study of small toxic hydrophobic proteins PepA1 and PepG1 of Staphylococcus aureus. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.07.192.
2. Sur, V.P., Mazumdar. A, Vimberg, V., Stefani. T, Androvic, L., Kracikova, L, Laga, R., Kamenik, Z., Komrskova, K. Specific Inhibition of VanZ-Mediated Resistance to Lipoglycopeptide Antibiotics, International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23(1) (2022) 97. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23010097.
3. Sur, V.P.; Mazumdar, A.; Ashrafi, A.; Mukherjee, A.; Milosavljevic, V.; Michalkova, H.; Kopel, P.; Richtera, L.; Moulick, A. A Novel Biocompatible Titanium–Gadolinium Quantum Dot as a Bacterial Detecting Agent with High Antibacterial Activity. Nanomaterials 2020, 10, 778. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10040778.
4. Sur, V.P.; Mazumdar, A.; Kopel, P.; Mukherjee, S.; Vítek, P.; Michalkova, H.; Vaculovičová, M.; Moulick, A. A Novel Ruthenium Based Coordination Compound Against Pathogenic Bacteria. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2020, 21, 2656. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21072656.
5. Sur, V.P.; Kominkova, M.; Buchtova, Z.; Dolezelikova, K.; Zitka, O.; Moulick, A. CdSe QD Biosynthesis inYeast Using Tryptone- Enriched Media and Their Conjugation with a Peptide Hecate for Bacterial Detection and Killing. Nanomaterials 2019, 9, 1463. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9101463.