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Subhecchha Baidya

Subhecchha Baidya

phd

Fellowship: ICMR

Biography

PhD Scholar | Researcher at Hazra Lab

My research spans the areas of antibacterial drug-resistance, concerning Beta-Lactamase enzymes. To be more precise, I characterize Metallo-Beta-Lactamase (MBL) enzymes, against which no clinically approved inhibitor is available currently. These enzymes destroy all the Beta-Lactam antibiotics (Penicillin, Cephalosporin, Carbapenem) which are the most prescribed antibiotics globally. We have recently shown that a synthetic (not yet available in nature) mutation, distant from the catalytic site, has overpowered the native IMP-1 (an MBL). Our crystallography study clearly indicated a Tryptophan residue in the L3 loop, responsible for the substrate accommodation in the active site, has been reoriented by a single F218Y mutation. This change is obtained by replacing only a nucleotide, which is very easy to perform by nature.

We have also designed BL-Testers (BLT), a device and method to monitor environmental (Environmental BLT) as well as human health (Advanced BLT). Another latest work came from collaboration with IACS Kolkata is characterization of two Cationic amphiphilic peptides, showing promising activity against MDR pathogens collected from hospitals. These compounds are thought to be a potent medicine in the era of growing drug-resistance.

Academic Background

2019-Present: PhD. Scholar, Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Roorkee.

2016-2018: MSc. Pondicherry University.

2013-2016: BSc. Presidency University, Kolkata.

Selected Publications

  1. Baidya, S., Dhankhar, K., Karan, R., Hazra, M., Adhikary, R., Sen, T., & Hazra, S. (2026). Structural and functional characterization of an active site-influencing variant (IMP-1-F218Y) in IMP-1 metallo-β-lactamase. The FEBS journal, 10.1111/febs.70474. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.70474
  2. Dhankhar, K., S R Nair, A., Hazra, M., Alhmeidi Alkhatib, A. E., Baidya, S., Mishra, N. C., & Hazra, S. (2025). Structural Insights into the Role of the Stereochemistry of the Cyclopropyl Ring in the Inhibitory Activity of Xeruborbactam against SME-1 Class A Carbapenemase. Biochemistry, 64(19), 4217–4231
  3. Bhattacharya, S., Junghare, V., Pandey, N. K., Baidya, S., Agarwal, H., Das, N., Banerjee, A., Ghosh, D., Roy, P., Patra, H. K., & Hazra, S. (2021). Variations in the SDN Loop of Class A Beta-Lactamases: A Study of the Molecular Mechanism of BlaC (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) to Alter the Stability and Catalytic Activity Towards Antibiotic Resistance of MBIs. Frontiers in microbiology, 12, 710291.
  4. Self-Assembling Amphiphilic Cationic Peptide Driven Nano-architecture for Soft Nanomedicines with Potent Antimicrobial Activity against Clinically Isolated Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria. (Under Review. Journal: Small.

Patents:

  1. A System, Method and Device for the Detection of Drug-Resistant Pathogens: Advanced BL Tester (Application No. 202411001056; Status: Published).
  2. A Method for Detecting Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria from Environmental Samples: Environmental BL Tester (Application No. 202411040598; Status: Published).
  3. Self-Assembling Amphiphilic Cationic Peptides (SAACPs): Antibacterial Agents with Anti-MBL Activity for Combating Drug-Resistant Bacteria (Application number: 202511122752, Status: Under review).

Posters & Conferences

  1. Best Poster Award: Structural and Function characterization of an active site influencing variant (IMP-1-F218Y) in the backdrop of IMP-1 Metallo-β-lactamase. International Conference on Advances in Biotechnology, Bioprocessing & Structural Biology (ICABSB 2025) (Dec 11-14, 2025) at IIT Roorkee.
  2. Best Poster Award: From River stream to Bloodstream: The Frugal BL-Tester Revolutionizing Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR) Detection Without a Laboratory Set-up.International Conference on Biomaterials and Healthcare 2025 (27th-30th Oct, 2025) at IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand.
  3. Best Poster Award: Characterization of a novel carbapenemase cum active site influencing variant (F218Y) overpowering IMP-1.National Conferenceon Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) Research Priorities & Action Plan (5th-6th April, 2024) at SRHU,, Jolly Grant, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
  4. Poster presentation on Investigating the drastic relocation of a W64 residue in the active site: High resolution crystal structure analysis of IMP MBL variant at the 50th National Seminaron Crystallography, CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh (22-24 Nov 2023).
  5. Short oral talk on Characterization of a novel variant of Metallo-Beta-Lactamase IMP-1 to understand the molecular mechanism behind the Stability and increased rate of drug hydrolysis at the 49th National Seminaron Crystallography, University of Jammu, Jammu (28-38 Nov, 2022) .
  6. Short oral talk on Characterizing a novel Metallo-Beta-Lactamase Bla2 toward understanding the structure-function relationship to come up with new ideas of therapeutics at Convention and the International ConferenceBREEECH-2021 at CSIR-IIP, Dehradun(1-4 Dec, 2021).