Organic chemistry has numerous applications in the real world, especially in the realm of medicinal chemistry. Due to the complexity within organic chemistry, there is a great potential for developing molecules with several applications.
When he was a child, Pratik Yadav, assistant research professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, was interested in observing and doing chemistry experiments at school. Soon he realized that organic chemistry had more scope for experimentation than other areas of chemistry, given the large number of molecules.
“The application of organic chemistry is huge. I could see the products of organic molecules in my day to day life, particularly, therapeutic drugs,” he said. “I saw that many technologies were moving towards organic materials. So, I wanted to make molecules which were designed for certain purposes.”
At present, Yadav is focused on solely doing research at Notre Dame. He works with the doctoral students in the lab of Herman Sintim, the Grace-Rupley Professor of Chemical Biology and Associate Director of Harper Cancer Research Institute. They work on building molecules designed specifically for different cancer targets and modulating their properties through chemical modifications. He strives to incorporate new methods into his research, like multicomponent reactions, photocatalysis, and radical reactions aiming to improve upon his already established methods.
As a former postdoctoral fellow at Purdue University, Yadav mostly worked on anti-cancer compounds. Since coming to Notre Dame, he has expanded his research in drug development, exploring novel compounds and mechanisms for targeted cancer therapy as well as anti-inflammatory diseases. He aims to make certain synthesis reactions simpler by reducing the steps required and bringing in new methodologies. This will allow his research team to efficiently study how to use those molecules for different diseases.
Yadav completed his doctoral and master's study in chemistry from the University of Delhi. Then he moved to TU Kaiserslautern, Germany as a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) fellow to work with Lukas J. Goossen in the area of organic synthesis and catalyst. He also worked as an assistant professor at the University of Delhi for more than four years, where he taught undergraduate chemistry courses and mentored both graduate and undergraduate students.
He moved to the United States in 2021, working on boron-based therapeutics with Long Island University, Brooklyn. This brought him to chemical biology, studying how enzymes and drugs interact.
That experience led to his interest in cancer research, especially the secondary mutant kinase, a mutation that can lead to drug resistance to cancer treatments. This new interest in cancer research brought Yadav to Sintim’s research group at Purdue. Now the Associate Director of the Harper Cancer Research Institute at Notre Dame, Sintim motivated Yadav to move to Notre Dame alongside him, as an assistant research professor.
In his free time outside of research, Yadav loves to travel, visiting new places whenever time allows. He spends lots of time with his son, going to parks and doing activities around the city. He has also taken a liking to cooking and exploring different cuisines.
Yadav didn’t think of Indiana as an amazing place to be with family, moving from New York and the bustling East Coast, but when here, he said he found it incredibly pleasant. He enjoys access to the Chicago area and the Great Lakes. He admires that the research in Indiana is abundant and accessible at universities including Notre Dame, Purdue, and Indiana University, with great access to scientists.
Being new to Notre Dame, Yadav said that he’s excited “to bring knowledge into the community and teach students who are at beginning levels of their studies!”
Originally published by at science.nd.edu on February 03, 2026.