Principal Investigator
Dr. Bingchen Yu
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University​
Email: byu8@gsu.edu
Tel: 404-413-5498
Office Address: NSC 549, 46 Decatur St. SE, Atlanta, GA
Lab Address: NSC 546 and NSC 518
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Academic Background:
2010-2014 B.S., Shandong University
2014-2018 Ph.D., Georgia State University
2019 Postdoc, Georgia State University
2020-2023 Postdoc, University of California, San Francisco
2023-present Assistant Professor, Georgia State University
Dr. Bingchen Yu graduated from Shandong University in China in 2014 with a B.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Science. He then received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry in Georgia State University (GSU). His Ph.D. work in Prof. Binghe Wang’s lab in the Department of Chemistry at GSU focused on prodrug development for hydrogen sulfide and persulfide species. Notably, he uncovered that persulfide exhibited elevated pharmacological activities and better safety profiles than hydrogen sulfide, which contributed to a paradigm shift from hydrogen sulfide to persulfide. He also led a project on the discovery of antibiotic adjuvants, which can enhance the potency of existing antibiotics against drug-resistant bacteria. After receiving his Ph.D. degree, he took a postdoctoral position with Prof. Binghe Wang to continue working on this exciting project and advance product commercialization.
In 2020, He joined Prof. Lei Wang’s lab as a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to expand his research interests. His post-doc research focused on developing covalent protein drugs, which can form a covalent and irreversible bond with their targets via genetic code expansion and a proximity-enabled reactive therapeutic (PERx) mechanism. He developed covalent nanobodies that effectively neutralized SARS-CoV-2 with increased potency and covalent sugar binders for cancer immune therapy.
In 2023, he joined the Department of Chemistry at GSU at an assistant professor. His training and expertise include organic chemistry, drug discovery, and chemical biology. He has long-term research interests in building chemical tools to probe signal transduction and develop medicine.
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In his leisure time, he enjoys traveling (especially road trip), snow skiing, playing badminton, and hiking with family and friends. He is also an All-Pro Dad by training and love to spend time with his daughter above all else.
Current Member
Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr. Surajit Haldar
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Chemistry, Georgia State University
Lab address: NSC 546
Email: shaldar@gsu.edu; vbsurajit@gmail
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Academic Background:
B.Sc.,2009, University of Kalyani
M.Sc., 2012, Visva-Bharati, University
Ph.D., 2019, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Postdoc, 2019, SKKU University, South Korea
Postdoc, 2022, Tokyo University Science, Japan
Postdoc, 2024, Georgia State University, USA. (Present)
Dr. Surajit Haldar completed his bachelor’s studies at Nabadwip Vidyasagar College, University of Kalyani in 2009. He obtained his M.Sc. degree in organic chemistry from Visva Bharati University, West Bengal in 2012. In the same year, he moved to the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) and joined the group of Prof. Chandan K Jana for doctoral studies.
At the beginning of 2019, he defended his thesis on synthetic organic chemistry and obtained his Ph.D. degree. His Ph.D. work focused on “Metal and Oxidant Free Direct C(sp3)-H Arylation of N-Heterocycles”. During his doctoral studies, he developed a novel stereoselective method for direct α-arylation of alicyclic secondary amines under metal and oxidant-free reaction conditions. In the middle of 2019, he moved to SKKU University, South Korea, and joined Prof. Lee's group as a postdoctoral fellow (as a team leader). His post-doctoral studies focused on bottom-up synthesis of semiconducting organic molecules. Due to covid-19 pandemic, he came back to India in 2021.
At the end of 2021, he moved to the Tokyo University of Science (TUS), Japan, and joined Prof. Aoki's research group. During this period, he worked on the project "Discovery and Mechanistic Analysis of Zn2+-Promoted Decomposition Reactions of Cyclometalated Iridium (III) Complexes and their Applications in Chemical Biology and Photo Physics”. In addition, he worked on the project “Synthesis of New Inhibitors of Dimeric Mettallo-β-lactamases”.
In 2024, he joined Prof. Yu’s research group at Georgia State University (GSU), Atlanta, USA. During this period, he will focus on the project “discovery of co-valent drug molecules based on the SuFex Click chemistry and the synthesis of new chemical probes to investigate signaling pathways, especially protein-protein interactions.
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Outside the laboratory, he enjoys, traveling, cooking, listening to detective and horror audio stories, watching Indian movies with his family, and playing and watching cricket matches with friends. Above all, he likes to spend good times with his beloved family.
Graduate Student
Yongkuan Li
Ph.D. Student
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Yongkuan Li obtained his bachelor's degree from China Pharmaceutical University in 2019. He joined Yu's lab and began his PhD research in the spring of 2024.
He loves chemistry and biology and hopes he will make a great achievement in the interdisciplinary field of chemical biology!
Lingyun Yang
Ph.D. Student
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Yang obtained her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2014, and Master's degree in Chemistry from Georgia State University in 2017. She then obtained her Master's degree in Computer Science from Kennesaw State University in 2021. She joined the group as a Ph.D. student on Jan. 2024.
Shuyue Yang
Master's Student
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Shuyue Yang graduated from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology with a major in Bioengineering, mastering core courses in Biochemistry in 2019. Her dream is to publish some high-level papers and create some research results that can help people.
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In her free time, she enjoys sleeping as she sees it as a way to stay energized during the workday. In addition, she also cherishes the time spent with her family. She wants to accompany her little brother to some theme amusement parks during the holidays, hoping to grow up with her brother.
Meng Zhang
Ph.D. Student
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In 2024, Meng Zhang obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Science from Shandong University. During this period, she joined Zhiyi Yu’s lab and focused on the project about Discovery of Novel SHP2-PD1 PPI Inhibitors, which is an efficient way to treat NSCLC through anti-tumor immunity. In the fall of 2024, she joined Bingchen Yu’s group as a Ph.D. student. In the future, she will do some jobs using chemical tools to expand her research on the mechanisms of disease. According to it, medicinal researchers can develop more potent drugs to keep people healthy. Her most interest region is protein-protein interaction, and she believes there will be much mysterious and valuable discovery work to be done.
Joshua Mullins
Master's Student
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Joshua Mullins graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry in 2024. He then began his Master’s program at Georgia State University in the Fall of 2024 and joined the Yu lab.He is passionate about the intersection of chemistry and biology and hopes to contribute meaningful work to help improve people’s lives. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, biking, and spending time with his family.
Omar Kelly
Master's Student
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Omar Kelly is a passionate biochemistry and molecular biology enthusiast, currently pursuing his master’s degree in chemistry with a focus on biochemistry. Aspiring to become a Medical Doctor, he aims to integrate his scientific knowledge into advancing holistic medicine. Outside the lab, Omar loves to travel, having explored various parts of the world. He is also a music producer and performer, having shared the stage with renowned celebrities. As the oldest of six siblings (and the only boy), Omar balances his extroverted personality with moments of personal time and reflection.
Undergraduate Student
Hank Lefkowicz
Undergraduate Student
Hank Lefkowicz is currently an undergraduate at GSU with a major in neuroscience and a concentration in organic and biochemistry. In his free time he works for Grady hospital as an Advanced EMT and as a fabricator and artist.
Vandanadevi Dasarapu
Undergraduate Student
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Vandanadevi Dasarapu is currently an undergraduate at GSU, majoring in traditional chemistry. She previously volunteered at Northside Gwinnett Hospital. Her interests include medicinal chemistry.