Regular biography
Professor Sir Shankar Balasubramanian is a Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the chemical biology of nucleic acids, employing chemistry and molecular sciences to address biological and medical questions. His work includes the study of non-canonical nucleic acid structures and the development of small molecule gene regulators. He is particularly interested in mechanisms controlling gene expression and has contributed to the invention of Solexa sequencing technology, which was commercialized as a Cambridge spinout company. His research spans organic synthesis, biophysics, and genomics, with applications in therapeutics and molecular medicine.
Scholar-generated biography
Shankar Balasubramanian is a researcher at the University of Cambridge specializing in Nucleic Acids Chemistry and Chemical Biology. His work focuses on understanding the structure and function of DNA and RNA G-quadruplexes, their role in gene regulation, and their potential as therapeutic targets. He has contributed significantly to the development of sequencing technologies, including reversible terminator chemistry and high-throughput sequencing methods for analyzing DNA and RNA structures. His research also explores the detection and biological significance of G-quadruplexes in the human genome, with applications in cancer detection and treatment. Balasubramanian's studies highlight the importance of alternative DNA structures in gene expression and disease mechanisms.