Faculty
Dr. Vijay Kumar H
Associate Professor
Alliance School of Biotechnology
Dr. Vijay Kumar H is a distinguished organic and medicinal chemist with over 20 years of research and academic teaching experience at premier institutions in the United States and India. He joined the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA, as a Postdoctoral Associate and was subsequently promoted to Research Staff. Over a ten-year tenure, he served as a lead scientist, research laboratory manager, and research advisor. He also held the prestigious position of Dr. D. S. Kothari Postdoctoral Associate for three years at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. Dr. Kumar earned his Ph.D. in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Mysore, Karnataka.
Dr. Kumar's multidisciplinary research lies at the intersection of synthetic organic chemistry, nucleic acid chemistry, biotechnology, chemical biology, chemical toxicology, bioanalytical chemistry, and medicinal chemistry. His current work focuses on designs and synthesizes structurally modified DNA strands and DNA adducts of 1,3-butadiene, a toxic compound found in cigarette smoke, to investigate DNA replication, damage, repair mechanisms, and mutagenesis. Additionally, he works on the structure-based design and synthesis of small molecule inhibitors targeting Ten-Eleven Translocation (TET) dioxygenases—epigenetic modulators implicated in leukemia and lung cancer.
A major thrust of Dr. Kumar’s research involves multi-step synthesis and structural characterization of biologically relevant heterocyclic scaffolds for therapeutic applications such as anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial agents. He is also deeply engaged in the development of novel synthetic methodologies and annulation strategies for heterocyclic compound synthesis. Dr. Kumar has authored over 50 publications in leading peer-reviewed international journals, contributed a patent, a book chapter, and actively participates in international conferences, including as an invited and keynote speaker.
In addition to his scientific contributions, Dr. Kumar serves as a reviewer for several international peer-reviewed journals and He has mentored over 60 undergraduate students, graduate researchers, and postdoctoral fellows, guiding their research projects and fostering their academic and professional development. His guidance has been instrumental in advancing diverse research projects, while fostering a culture of scientific excellence and global collaboration in the chemical sciences, Biotechnology, Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical toxicology, and chemical biology.
Research Collaborations
- Prof. Natalia Tretyakova, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, USA.
- Prof. Gunda Georg, Director, Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development (ITDD), University of Minnesota, USA.
- Prof. Ashis Basu, Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut. USA.
- Prof. TinChung Leung, Julius L. Chambers Biomedical Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, USA.
- Prof. Christopher J. Cramer, Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, USA.
- Prof. Colin R. Campbell, Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, USA
- Prof. Guru Raw, Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), India.
Book Chapters
- Qi Zhang, H. Vijay Kumar, Alexander K Hurben, Natalia Y Tretyakova. DNA Reactive Agents. Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences. Elseiver. 2025.
Patents
- H. Vijay Kumar. Alex Hurben, Sang Le, Natalia Tretyakova. Design and Synthesis of Small Molecule TET Dioxygenases Inhibitors as Epigenetic Modulators. US Patent. IP disclosure has been submitted and assigned case number is 2022-272. Submitted.
Awards and Honors
- Outstanding Poster Presentation Award, presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2023 Meeting, San Francisco, USA, in recognition of excellence in scientific communication and research presentation.
- Honored with the American Chemical Society (ACS) Poster Travel Grant by the Division of Chemical Toxicology for presenting research at the ACS Fall Meeting 2023, held in San Francisco, USA, from August 13–17, 2023.
- Best Poster Presentation Award, presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Southwestern/Southeastern Regional Meeting 2015, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, in recognition of outstanding research presentation.
- UGC–Dr. D. S. Kothari Postdoctoral Fellowship, awarded by the University Grants Commission (UGC), India, 2010 in recognition of excellence in postdoctoral research.
- Awarded the prestigious CSIR Foreign Travel Grant by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India, to participate in the Tetrahedron Symposium 2012 held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 25–28 June 2012.
Selected Invited Talks
- H Vijay Kumar, “Chemical Modification and Solid-Phase Synthesis of DEB-FAPy-dG Containing DNA: Implications for Mutagenesis and DNA Repair”, Guest Speaker, American Chemical Society (ACS) Toxi India – Advances in the Toxicological Sciences in India, April 4th 2025.
- H. Vijay Kumar, “Design and synthesis of small molecule inhibitors of TET dioxygenases as epigenetic modulators”. Department of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, USA, August 10th, 2022.
- H Vijay Kumar, “Adventures with Heterocycles”, Guest Speaker, 3 days International Webinar at Department of Chemistry, University of Mysore, India, September 18-21, 2020.
Selected Conference Presentation
- H Vijay Kumar, Holly Den Hartog, Shin Young Park, Simón Gutiérrez, Christine Lorentz and Natalia Tretyakova. Synthesis of DNA strands containing DEB-FAPy-dG adducts of 1,3-Butadiene. American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall-2023 conference, San Francisco, USA. 2023. “Won the Outstanding poster presentation award”.
- H Vijay Kumar, Wayland E. Noland, Venkata Srinivasarao Narina, Anjola Uprety, Derek Aschbacher, Grant C. Flick, Hyejin Kim, Jun Xie. Diels-Alder Reactions of 2-Cycloalkenylthiophenes and 2-Cycloalkenylbenzo[b]thiophenes. American Chemical Society (ACS)-SERMACS-SWRM conference, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Nov 4-7, 2015. “Won the best poster award”.
- H Vijay Kumar, S. Chandrasekhar. “New light in the Chemistry of Aspirin”. 13th Tetrahedron Symposium, Challenges in Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2012.
- H Vijay Kumar, A. Ranga Rao, R. Naresh, M.N. Manjunath, Devendra J Haware, K.Anbalagan, “Leaching of heavy metals from stainless steel coupons/ cookware in food stimulants and food materials” at IFCON-2008 (Indian Food Convention) at CFTRI, Mysore, India.
- H Vijay Kumar, B.B. Borse, L Jagan Mohan Rao “Radical scavenging activity of novel green tea extractives” at ICFOST-2006 (Indian Convention of Food Scientists and Technologists) at ANGRAU, Hyderabad, India.
- H Vijay Kumar, Nagaraja Naik Synthesis and evaluation of 10-methoxy-5H-dibenz[b,f]azepine derivatives as antioxidants. National conference on the emerging areas in chemistry NACEAC-2009, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore. India.
- H Vijay Kumar, L Jagan Mohan Rao, B.B. Borse, B. Raghavan. “Characteristic of green teas prepared using different drying methods” at ICFOST-2004 (Indian Convention of Food Scientists and Technologists) at DFRL, Mysore, India.
