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Dr. Kaur
Faculty
Faculty

Gagandeep Kaur, Ph.D. (She/Her)

Assistant Professor

gagandeep.kaur1@howard.edu
https://www.gagandeepkalsi.com/

Department/Office

  • Chemistry

School/College

  • College of Arts & Sciences

Additional Positions

  • Assistant Professor
    Department of Chemical Engineering, CEA

Biography

Dr. Gagandeep Kaur is a tenure-track Assistant Professor within the Department of Chemistry at Howard University. She possesses significant expertise in the design and engineering of biomaterial-based platforms for applications in drug delivery and broader biomedical contexts. Dr. Kaur received her Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), India. Her doctoral research centered on the synthesis, characterization, and application of peptides and peptide-based biomaterials, with a specific focus on investigating their roles in Alzheimer’s disease and cancer diagnosis tools.

Following the completion of her doctoral studies, Dr. Kaur pursued postdoctoral research at Texas A&M University in College Station. During this period, her research focused on exploring the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells based extracellular vesicles in the treatment of various autoimmune disorders, including type 1 diabetes, lupus, autoimmune uveitis, and Sjogren's syndrome. This experience broadened her expertise to encompass cellular therapies and their application in complex disease models.

Dr. Kaur has accumulated over ten years of professional experience in multidisciplinary research, demonstrating a consistent commitment to advancing scientific knowledge across diverse fields. Her scholarly contributions are evidenced by her authorship of 20 peer-reviewed research publications in reputable scientific journals and one granted patent, further complemented by two pending patent applications.

Currently, Dr. Kaur's research program is dedicated to design, development and implementation of precision biomaterials and innovative immunotherapeutic strategies for both the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases and cancerous conditions. Her work seeks to create targeted and effective interventions that address critical unmet medical needs.

Office: Rm. 211, Chemistry Building, 525 College Street, N.W., Washington DC 20059.

Lab: Rm. 212, Chemistry Building, 525 College Street, N.W., Washington DC 20059.

Students:

Ms. Nzube Amaeze (PhD Student)

Ms. Kaylyn Steward (Undergraduate student)

Ms. Elizabeth Roberts (Undergraduate student)

Ms. Nnenna Nwankwo (Undergraduate student)

Ms. Ella West (Undergraduate student)

Ms. Brianna Harris (Undergraduate student)

Education & Expertise

Education

Ph.D.


Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

M.Sc


Panjab University, Chandigarh

B.Sc.


Panjab University, Chandigarh

Expertise

Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, Stem cells, Extracellular Vesicles, Regenerative medicine

Academics

Academics

CHEM 003 General Chemistry

4 credit course.

Deals with the fundamental principles of chemistry, the chemical and physical properties of the elements and their most common compounds, and methods of qualitative inorganic analysis.

Prerequisite: CAR math 

Text books and other materials: Chemistry: The Central Science (14th Ed), by Brown, LeMay, Bursten, Murphy, Woodward and Stoltzfus; Pearson, Prentice Hall. 

Non-programmable Calculator (TI-30x recommended)

Periodic Table of Elements (in any form)

CHEM 145 Organic Chemistry Laboratory

3 credit course.

Experimental studies in the isolation, purification, and synthesis of organic compounds.

Prerequisite: CHEM 141 or CHEM 142

Textbook: Bakare, O. Ed. Experimental Organic Chemistry. 2014-2015 Howard University Edition; Academx Publishing Services: Sagamore Beach, MA. 2014.  

CHEM 141 Organic Chemistry I

3 credit course.

Lecture course analyzing the chemistry of the compounds of carbon. Topics will include bonding, reactivity, reaction mechanisms, reactions of alkanes, alkenes, alkynes and alkyl halides, conformation, substitution and elimination reactions, stereochemistry, NMR and FTIR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. 

Prerequisite: CHEM 004.

Textbook: “Organic Chemistry”, 9th Edition, John McMurry, Brooks/Cole.

Research

Research

Specialty

Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, Stem cells, Extracellular vesicles, Regenerative medicine

Group Information

Website: https://www.gagandeepkalsi.com/

Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=E6VfVLYAAAAJ

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4227-2306

Publications

(Published) (* = corresponding author; # = equal contribution; † = highlighted)

  1. Damus, B.; Amaeze, N., Yoo, E.; Kaur, G.* “Ethoxy Acetalated Dextran-Based Biomaterials for Therapeutic Applications” Polymers2024, 16, 2756.
  2. Kaur, G.; Bae, E.; Zhang, Y.; Ciacciofera, N.; Barreda, H.; Paleti, C.; Oh, J. Y.; Lee, R. H. “Biopotency and surrogate assays to validate the immunomodulatory potency of extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem/stromal cells” J. Extracell. Vesicles., 2024, 13, e12497.
  3. Arjariya, R.; Kaur, G.; Sen, S. Verma, S.; Lackinger, M.; Gopakumar, T. “Kinetic Versus Thermodynamic Polymorph Stabilization of a Trimesic Acid Derivative at the Solid-Liquid Interface” Nanoscale, 2023,15, 13393-13401.
  4. Oh. J. Y.; Kim. H.; Lee, H. J.; Lee, K.; Barreda, H.; Kim, H. J.; Shin, E.; Bae, E. H.; Kaur, G.; Zhang, Y.; Kim, E.; Lee, J. Y.; Lee, R. H. “MHC class I enables MSCs to evade NK-cell-mediated cytotoxicity and exert immunosuppressive activity” Stem cells, 2022, 40, 870-882.
  5. Rogers, R.; Haskell, A.; White, B.; Dalal, S.; Lopez, M.; Tahan, D.; Pan, S.; Kaur, G.; Kim, H.; Barreda, H.; Woodard, S.; Dai, J.; Han, A.; Lee, R. H.; Kaunas, R., Gregory, C. "A Scalable System for Generation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Derived from Induced Pluripotent Cells Employing Bioreactors and Degradable Microcarriers” Stem Cells Transl. Med., 2021, 10, 1650–1665.
  6. Kim, H.; Zhao, Q.; Barreda, H.; Kaur, G.; Hai, B.; Choi, J. M.; Jung, S. Y.; Liu, F.; Lee, R. H. "Identification of Molecules Responsible for Therapeutic Effects of Extracellular Vesicles Produced from iPSC-derived MSCs on Sjögren’s Syndrome" Aging Dis. 2021, 12, 1409-1422.
  7. Bhandaru, N.; Kaur, G.; Panjla, A.; Verma. S. “Spin Coating Mediated Morphology Modulation in Self Assembly of Peptides” Nanoscale, 2021,13, 8884-8892.
  8. Thomas, A.#; Kaur, G.#; Verma, S. “Small Molecule Inhibitors for Amyloid Aggregation” Wiley Book Chapter 2021, https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527811014.ch6
  9. Kim, H.; Lee, M. J.; Bae, E.-H.; Ryu, J. S.; Kaur, G.; Kim, J. Y.; Kim, H. J.; Barreda, H.; Jung, S. Y.; Choi, J. M.; Shigemoto-Kuroda, T.; Oh, J. Y.; Lee, R. H. “Comprehensive Molecular Profiles of Functionally Effective Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles in Immunomodulation” Mol. Ther. 2020, 28, 1628-1644.
  10. Kaur, G.#; Arora, M.#; Ganugula, R.#; Kumar, M. N. V. R. "Double-headed nanosystems for oral drug delivery" Chem. Commun.2019, 55, 4761-4764. († Featured on the back cover)
  11. Kaur, G.; Arora, M.; Kumar, M. N. V. R. “Oral Drug Delivery Technologies-A Decade of Developments” J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2019, 370, 529-543.
  12. Arora, M.; Ganugula, R.; Kumar, N.; Kaur, G.; Pellois, J.‐P.; Garg, P.; Kumar, M. N. V. R. “Next-generation non-competitive nanosystems based on gambogic acid: in silico identification of transferrin receptors binding sites, regulatory shelf-stability and their preliminary safety in healthy rodents” ACS Appl. Bio Mater. 2019, 2, 3540-3550. († Featured on the cover, † media coverage: DownToEarth; BioTechTimes; ResearchStash)
  13. Kaur, G.; Kumari, S.; Saha, P.; Ali, R.; Patil, S.; Ganesh, S.; Verma, S. “Selective Cell Adhesion on Peptide–Polymer Electrospun Fiber Mats” ACS Omega 2019, 4, 4376-4383.
  14. Tomar, K.; Kaur, G.; Verma, S.; Ramanathan, G. “A Self-assembled tetrapeptide that acts as a "turn-on" fluorescent sensor for Hg2+ ions” Tetrahedron Lett. 2018, 59, 3653-3656.
  15. Mitra, S.; Kandambeth, S.; Biswal, B.; Khayum, A. M.; Choudhury, C.; Mehta, M.; Kaur, G.; Banerjee, S.; Prabhune, A.; Verma, S.; Roy, S.; Kharul, U.; Banerjee, R. “Self-Exfoliated Guanidinium-Based Ionic Covalent Organic Nanosheets (iCONs)” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 2823-2828.
  16. Halder, A.; Kandambeth, S.; Biswal, B. P.; Kaur, G.; Roy, N. C.; Addicoat, M.; Salunke, J. K.; Banerjee, S.; Vanka, K.; Heine, T.; Verma, S.; Banerjee, R. “Decoding the Morphological Diversity in Two Dimensional Crystalline Porous Polymers by Core Planarity Modulation” Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 7806-7810.
  17. Kaur, G.; Shukla, A.; Sivakumar, S.; Verma, S. "Soft structure formation and cancer cell transport mechanisms of a folic-acid dipeptide conjugate", J. Pept. Sci. 2015, 21, 248-255. († Special issue article invitation)
  18. Das, G.; Biswal, B. P.; Kandambeth, S.; Venkatesh, V.; Kaur, G.; Addicoat, M.; Heine, T.; Verma, S.; Banerjee, R. “Chemical Sensing in Two Dimensional Porous Covalent Organic Nanosheets” Chem. Sci. 2015, 6, 3931-3939.
  19. Kaur, G.; Thomas, A.; Verma, S. “Heterocyclic scaffolds and carbohydrate appendages in synthetic peptides", Indian J. Heterocycl. Chem. 2015, 24, 487-494.

  20. Kaur, G.; Abramovich, L. A.; Gazit, E.; Verma, S. "Ultrastructure of metallopeptide- based soft spherical morphologies", RSC Adv. 2014, 4, 64457-64465.