Arup K. Chakraborty

 Professor Chakraborty earned his Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 1983 and in 1988 he earned his PhD from the University of Delaware. His PhD was in chemical engineering and after postdoctoral studies he joined the University of California at Berkeley physics department as a professor. He was a professor of chemical engineering, chemistry, and biophysics with many accomplishments in his research. He later transferred to MIT and continued his teaching and research. Before 2000, his research consisted of engineering polymers and catalysts using quantum mechanical calculations. After 2000 and into this current day, he researches immunology and its connections to the disciplines of engineering and physics. He focuses on the development and signalling of T cells and the characteristics of HIV to be able to study the antigens and potential vaccine designs. These studies have earned Professor Chakraborty countless honors and awards, and his work has renownedly shaped the world of chemical engineering and physical immunology. 

To further elaborate on his research, Arup Chakraborty has worked with a team of postdoctoral associates, research associates, and MIT undergraduates to understand the reaction to pathogens in the immune system. Not only does he look at harmful diseases to analyze the adaptive responses, but to create therapies and vaccines that can be tested and studied to fight these diseases. He specifically focuses on type T of lymphocytes of white blood cells and the HIV pathogen, trying to understand and fight this ongoing virus. Using chemical engineering and immune system data from immunologists, he is able to experimentally understand the physical mechanics of our body and their adaptive responses to harmful, foreign agents. His research on the intersection of these disciplines offers steps forward into further understanding the body's immune system processes, the adaptation of these processes upon pathogen infection, and the chemical adaptations to certain virus vaccines.     

Work Cited

“Arup K Chakraborty.” MIT Department of Chemistry, 2018, chemistry.mit.edu/profile/arup-k-chakraborty/.

“Faculty.” MIT Department of Physics, 2020, web.mit.edu/physics/people/faculty/chakraborty_arup.html.

“Understanding the Adaptive Immune Response to Pathogens.” Arup K. Chakraborty Group, chakrabortygroup.scripts.mit.edu/.