I earned my Ph.D. in Biophysics and Structural Biology from the Regional Center for Biotechnology under the guidance of Prof. Deepak T. Nair. For my postdoctoral research, I joined the laboratory of Prof. Aneel K. Aggarwal at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. At Mount Sinai, I specialized in structural biology and enhanced my expertise in structure-based drug discovery. My work focused on applying advanced approaches to drug development, driven by a passion for tackling critical challenges in the field.
Institute of Advanced Virology, Trivandrum
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
Biophysics, Structural Biology, Drug discovery
2016
Best poster award, New advances in X-ray diffraction and Cryo-electron Microscopy (NXCM) International Symposium-cum-Workshop (New Delhi, India)
2012
CSIR-UGC Fellowship (All India rank-27)
Our research focuses on advancing the scientific understanding and development of antiviral therapeutics by integrating state-of-the-art structural biology techniques with innovative drug discovery strategies. Using approaches such as Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTACs), Fragment-Based Drug Discovery (FBDD), and Structure-Based Drug Discovery (SBDD), we aim to address critical gaps in combating significant public health threats posed by both known and emerging pathogens.
Rechkoblit O, Sciaky D, Ni M, Li G, Kottur J et al. Mechanism of DNA degradation by CBASS Cap5 endonuclease immune effector. Nat Commun 16, 5243 (2025).
Kottur J*#, Malik R*#, & Aggarwal AK# (2024). Nucleic acid mediated activation of a short prokaryotic argonaute immune system. Nature Communications, 15(1), 4852.
Quintana-Feliciano R*, Kottur J*#, Ni M, Ghosh R, Salas-Estrada L, Rechkoblit O, Filizola M, Fang G, Aggarwal AK#. (2024). Burkholderia cenocepacia epigenetic regulator M. BceJIV simultaneously engages two DNA recognition sequences for methylation. Nature Communications, 15(1), 7839.
Rechkoblit O, Sciaky D, Kreitler D, Buku A, Kottur J, Aggarwal AK (2024). Activation of CBASS Cap5 endonuclease immune effector by cyclic nucleotides. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, 1–10.
Karakus U, Mena I, Kottur J, El Zahed S, Krammer F, de Vries RP, Aggarwal AK, Boyce W, Coffey L, Garcia-Sastre A. (2024). H19 influenza A virus exhibits species-specific MHC class II receptor usage. Cell Host & Microbe. 32 (7),1089 – 1102.e10
Yu X*, Li D*, Kottur J*, Kim HS, Laura H, Yao Y et al. (2023) Discovery of Potent and Selective WDR5 PROTACs as Potential Therapeutics for Pancreatic Cancer. J. Med. Chem. 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01521.
Kottur J#, White KM, Rodriguez ML, Rechkoblit O, Quintana-Feliciano R, Nayar A, et al. (2023) Structures of SARS-CoV-2 N7-methyltransferase with DOT1L and PRMT7 inhibitors provide a platform for new antivirals. PLoS Pathog. 19(7):e1011546.
Kottur J#, Rechkoblit O, Quintana-Feliciano R, Sciaky D and Aggarwal A K#. (2022) High-resolution structures of the SARS-CoV-2 N7-methyltransferase inform therapeutic development. Nature Struct Mol Biol. 29(9):850-3.
Li D, Yu X, Kottur J, Gong W, Zhang Z, Storey AJ et al. (2022) Discovery of a dual WDR5 and Ikaros PROTAC degrader as an anti-cancer therapeutic. Oncogene 41: 3328-3340.
Yu X*, Li D*, Kottur J*, Shen Y, Kim HS, Park KS et al. (2021) A selective WDR5 degrader inhibits acute myeloid leukemia in patient-derived mouse models. Science Transl Med 13: eabj1578.
Johnson MK, Kottur J, Nair DT. (2019) A polar filter in DNA polymerases prevents ribonucleotide incorporation. Nucleic Acids Res. 47: 10693-10705.
Kottur J, Nair DT. (2018) Pyrophosphate hydrolysis is an intrinsic and critical step of the DNA synthesis reaction. Nucleic Acids Res 46: 5875-5885. Categorized as Breakthrough discovery.
Kottur J, Nair DT. (2016) Reactive Oxygen Species Play an Important Role in the Bactericidal Activity of Quinolone Antibiotics. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 55: 2397-2400.
Kottur J, Sharma A, Gore KR, Narayanan N, Samanta B, Pradeepkumar PI et al. (2015) Unique structural features in DNA polymerase IV enable efficient bypass of the N2 adduct induced by the nitrofurazone antibiotic. Structure 23: 56-67.
Weinert T, Olieric V, Waltersperger S, Panepucci E, Chen L, Zhang H et al. (2015) Fast native-SAD phasing for routine macromolecular structure determination. Nature Methods 12: 131-133.
Sharma A, Kottur J, Narayanan N, Nair DT. (2013) A strategically located serine residue is critical for the mutator activity of DNA polymerase IV from Escherichia coli. Nucleic Acids Res 41: 5104-5114.
Project scientist
neethurs@d1.iav.res.in
Ph.D. Student
krishanlekhaj@d1.iav.res.in
PhD student
farhasalim@d1.iav.res.in
Project Associate
sadiyans123@gmail.com
Position : Project scientist
Current Position: DBT-MK BHAN Young Research Investigator-RGCB
Position : Project Associate
Current Position: PhD scholar, Vellore Institute of Technology