Biography

Dr. Pathak obtained his B.Sc. in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Rajasthan and his M.Sc. in Chemistry from Jiwaji University Gwalior. He pursued his Ph.D. at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay from 2006 to 2011, focusing on the synthesis and bio-interaction of calix[4]arene, a protein/enzyme mimic supramolecular system, in a pathological context under the guidance of Prof. C.P. Rao. After completing his Ph.D., he moved to the United States and joined the Nanotherapeutic Lab at the University of Georgia as a postdoctoral fellow. 

His work there involved the design, synthesis, and therapeutic applications of prodrugs, polymeric NPs, and mitochondria-targeted formulations for treating various cancers. In 2015, Dr. Pathak joined the Ohio State University and received the prestigious Pelotonia Postdoctoral Fellowship. This fellowship facilitated his transition from a postdoc fellow to an independent researcher. In 2017, he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences at IISER Berhampur, where he is currently establishing a Laboratory of Biological Chemistry and Nanomedicine. Dr. Pathak's research focuses on the convergence of synthetic chemistry, biology, and nanotechnology within the broader realm of traditional bioinorganic chemistry.

Research Projects

•  Metal-Drug Conjugates and Their Lipid-Polymer Blended Nanoscale Composites for Drug Delivery: 

  Cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed disease in India. In recent times, India has been ranked as 2nd in terms of high cancer-related mortality to incidence ratio. The exact mechanism for the cellular action of many important anticancer drugs remains unknown. Investigating and understanding the mechanistic aspects of newly designed drug conjugates for targeted action is required for improving the therapeutic regimen for cancer. 

  Metal ions with distinct features, such as multi-valency, biocompatibility, and therapeutic relevance, can be used to develop new drug conjugates as a combination therapeutic regimen. We plan to engineer the individual drugs on to a single metal ion platform in a manner that the drugs stabilize to form a new species designated as metal-drug conjugates (MDCs). These conjugates will be entrapped into stable nanoparticle core for sustained and efficacious deliver

•  Multifaceted Platinum-Based Therapeutics and Engineering of Antibody-Drug Conjugates for Targeted Therapy of Cancer: 

  Targeted therapies have emerged as an attractive approach to cancer treatment and offer the ability to deliver potent cytotoxic drugs specifically to tumor site and reduces side effect. However, this type of therapy is still not much explored for treatment of various cancer. Of late, the interest to use, platinum (Pt) based chemotherapeutic drugs have emerged as adjuvant therapy for many cancers including breast and pancreatic cancer treatment. Among Pt based drugs, cisplatin and oxaliplatin are the most effective chemotherapeutic agents used to treat 50% of all cancers including breast cancer. 

  However, in recent times platinum agents faces tremendous challenge of drug resistance, severe toxicity and side effects. In this scenario, a targeted delivery of platinum drugs using completely biological systems, expected to revolutionize treatment regimens for many solid tumors. Antibody-drug-conjugates (ADCs) can be an endowed molecular approach to deliver highly potent drugs using monoclonal antibodies to the targeted tissues. This project is in collaboration with cancer biologist and translational research scientist and aimed to develop platinum-based ADCs for better therapeutic outcomes in men and women suffering from cancer.

Key Publications

• Biswas, M.; Kajol; Singha, D.; Rana, M. K.; Pathak, R. K.* "A pH-Activatable Prodrug and Metal Prodrug Conjugate of Gossypol: Synthesis, Emergent Photophysical, Nanoscopic, Computational, and in vitro Cellular Studies" Chem. Eur. J., 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202203865.
   

• Pathak, R. K.; Dhar. S. (2015) "A nanoparticle cocktail: Temporal release of predefined drug combinations" J. Am. Chem. Soc., 137, 8324–8327.

• Pathak, R. K., Marrache, S., Choi, J. H., Berding, T. B. and Dhar, S. (2014) "The prodrug Platin-A: Simultaneous release of cisplatin and aspirin" Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 53, 1963-1967.

• Marrache, S. ‡; Pathak, R. K. ‡; Dhar, S. (2014) "Detouring of Cisplatin to Access Mitochondrial Genome for Overcoming Resistance "Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 111, 10444-10449. ‡ Equal contribution.

• Pathak, R. K.; Hinge, V. K.; Milon, M.; Rao, C. P. (2011); “Triazole-linked-thiophene conjugate of calix[4]arene: Its selective recognition of Zn2+ and as biomimetic model in supporting the events of the metal detoxification and oxidative stress involving metallothionein” J. Org. Chem. 76, 10039−10049..

• S Dhar, R Pathak, “Platinum prodrugs and methods of making and using thereof” US Patent 10457700, 2019/10/29.

• S Dhar, R Pathak, "Precise delivery of therapeutic agents to cell mitochondria for anti-cancer therapy" US Patent 10,004809, 2018/6/26. 

• S Dhar, R Pathak, Prodrug for release of cisplatin and cyclooxygenase inhibitor", US Patent App. 15102700, 15102700.

• S Dhar, R Pathak, VV Popik, CD McNitt, "Platinum (iv) compounds and methods of making and using same", US Patent App. 15123432, 2017/4/6.

• S Dhar, R Pathak, S Marrache, "Mitochondria-targeting platinum (iv) prodrug" US Patent App. 15302549, 2017/2/9.

• S Dhar, RK Pathak, "Combination therapeutic nanoparticles" US Patent App. 14782618, 2017/1/5.

• CP Rao, RK Pathak "Calix [4] arenes for the selective detection of Zn2+" US Patent 8148158, 2012/4/3.

Patents

• S Dhar, R Pathak, "Platinum prodrugs and methods of making and using thereof" US Patent 10457700, 2019/10/29.

• S Dhar, R Pathak, "Precise delivery of therapeutic agents to cell mitochondria for anti-cancer therapy" US Patent 10,004809, 2018/6/26.

• S Dhar, R Pathak, Prodrug for release of cisplatin and cyclooxygenase inhibitor", US Patent App. 15102700, 15102700. 

• S Dhar, R Pathak, VV Popik, CD McNitt, "Platinum (iv) compounds and methods of making and using same", US Patent App. 15123432, 2017/4/6.

• S Dhar, R Pathak, S Marrache, "Mitochondria-targeting platinum (iv) prodrug" US Patent App. 15302549, 2017/2/9. 

• S Dhar, RK Pathak, "Combination therapeutic nanoparticles" US Patent App. 14782618, 2017/1/5. 

• CP Rao, RK Pathak "Calix [4] arenes for the selective detection of Zn2+" US Patent 8148158, 2012/4/3