Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Bioengineering Ph.D. Student Receives National Recognition for Breakthrough Molecular Computational Tool

Wednesday, April 14, 2021, By Alex Dunbar
Share
BioInspiredCollege of Engineering and Computer ScienceGraduate SchoolResearch and CreativeSTEMStudents
person sitting at desk

Nandhini Rajagopal

Nandhini Rajagopal’s accomplishments are massive even though her research focuses on small molecules. As part of biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Shikha Nangia’s research group, the Ph.D. student has focused her work on minute interactions between protein molecules in the biological cells that make up all living things. These interactions between proteins are essential since proteins are the building blocks of all living things.

Rajagopal’s work is entirely computational and as part of her research she developed a new algorithm that could determine how two different protein molecules would interact.

“These small proteins are found in every tissue of our body,” says Rajagopal. “Using computers we literally visualize how these molecules move around each other and aggregate.”

Rajagopal’s computational tool can screen all possible orientations for how two proteins would interact with each other.

“How proteins interact has a direct impact on their functions,” says Rajagopal. “I wanted to create an algorithm that would also plot a graph showing an intuitive, easy-to-interpret three-dimensional energy landscape of the two interacting protein molecules.”

“The algorithm produces not only highly accurate results, it is also highly efficient. Nandhini’s algorithm can sample millions of protein-protein interactions in a matter of minutes, which otherwise used to take weeks to simulate,” says Nangia.

Rajagopal was selected to present her computational method at the 2020 Gordon Research Conference (GRC), a premier scientific conference where a select group of researchers meet to discuss cutting-edge research in biological, chemical and physical sciences. Rajagopal’s presentation was well received by the experts in the field and led to multiple national and international collaborations.

The algorithm was published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation and featured on the cover. For her outstanding work, Rajagopal won several notable awards:

  • 2021 Merck Research Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Women Chemistry Committee
  • 2020 ACS Chemical Computing Group Excellence Award for Graduate Students
  • 2021 All University Doctoral Prize from the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
  • 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student in Bioengineering
  • 2021 Research Presentation Award, College of Engineering and Computer Science Research Day
  • 2020 Syracuse University Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Biomaterials Research

Rajagopal is finishing up an externship at Genentech’s pharmaceutical development division and will begin a postdoctoral research position at pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim this summer.

She hopes to continue her current research and see how it could expand to cancer studies.

  • Author

Alex Dunbar

  • Recent
  • A Legacy of Caring: Robin Berkowitz-Smith’s 38-Year Journey at Syracuse University
    Tuesday, August 5, 2025, By Kelly Homan Rodoski
  • Syracuse University and University of Bergen Host Transatlantic Alliance for Law, Outreach and National Security Conference
    Monday, August 4, 2025, By Robert Conrad
  • National Grid Summer College Scholars Program Invests in Energy Literacy
    Thursday, July 31, 2025, By Hope Alvarez
  • Bowlers Wanted for Faculty and Staff Bowling League
    Thursday, July 31, 2025, By News Staff
  • Lender Center New York Event Gathers Wealth Gap Experts
    Wednesday, July 30, 2025, By Diane Stirling

More In STEM

New Study Reveals Ozone’s Hidden Toll on America’s Trees

A new nationwide study reveals that ozone pollution—an invisible threat in the air—may be quietly reducing the survival chances of many tree species across the United States. The research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres is the first…

Inspiring the Next Generation of STEM Enthusiasts

A friendly competition is brewing in the corner of a basement classroom in Link Hall during the annual STEM Trekkers summer program, where students are participating in a time-honored ritual: seeing who can build a paper airplane that travels the…

5 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Use Generative Artificial Intelligence at Work

Not too long ago, generative artificial intelligence (AI) might’ve sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie. Now it’s here, and it’s ready to help you write emails, schedule meetings and even create presentations. In a recent Information Technology Services…

NSF I-Corps Semiconductor and Microelectronics Free Virtual Course Being Offered

University researchers with groundbreaking ideas in semiconductors, microelectronics or advanced materials are invited to apply for an entrepreneurship-focused hybrid course offered through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The free virtual course runs from Sept. 15 through…

Jianshun ‘Jensen’ Zhang Named Interim Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) is excited to announce that Professor Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang has been appointed interim department chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE), as of July 1, 2025. Zhang serves as executive director of…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.