Chemical engineering graduate student Dipayan Chakraborty has been awarded the 2024 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Separations Division Graduate Student Research Award for Crystallization & Evaporation for his work on cholesterol crystallization.
"Many people in the United States and all over the world have problems with high lipids, or high cholesterol, in the body. This can ultimately lead to plaque formation in the heart, which can lead to heart attack," explained Chakraborty.
Currently, the only pharmaceutical approach to this problem relies on reducing blood cholesterol levels. Once cholesterol accumulates in the heart, however, there is no drug to treat the crystallized plaque; only surgical intervention is curative. This is the problem Chakraborty aims to address: understanding the mechanisms of lipid crystallization with the ultimate goal of finding new drugs to inhibit the process.
"We are trying to understand, at the very mechanistic level, how the cholesterol molecule itself forms a crystal," he added.
This research also has significant implications for the prevention and treatment of gallstones, which are formed as a result of the same process of lipid crystallization.
"I have some personal reasons for wanting to do this particular cholesterol work," said Chakraborty. "I lost my father to cardiac arrest when I was five years old. When I found this opportunity, it was a big motivation for me to work in this area. Having lost my father, my mother and my elder sister always supported me at every step of my life. We were in emotional and financial crisis for a long, long time, but they always supported me in whatever I wanted to do. Where I am today totally belongs to them."
Chakraborty has been a member of AIChE since 2023 and describes it as "a great place for networking."
"Being a member is a very valuable aspect of my career," he adds.
Chakraborty completed both his BS and MS in chemical engineering in India before joining the William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Houston in 2020. Though he was initially interested in pursuing medicine, Chakraborty says he "somehow" ended up pursuing chemical engineering early on in his education.
"I still wanted to do research on things that impact human health, so because chemical engineering has a very broad spectrum of research opportunities available, it came to me that I can mix the engineering background with some application toward the medical field. In Dr. Jeffrey Rimer's lab, we focus on pathological crystallization mechanisms, and we look for modifiers that can stop that pathological crystallization," he said.
Rimer, who is also the department's Director of Graduate Studies, noted that there was "serious competition" for this award.
"AIChE told us that there… were a number of impressive candidates, so the fact that Dipayan won is a significant achievement that speaks to his impressive resume and body of work. It turns out that this subject has been more challenging than we initially anticipated; however, Dipayan's ability to overcome numerous obstacles is attributed to his intellect, motivation, and persistence," said Rimer. "It is truly remarkable to see the progress he has made with this project, and its potential impact on applications of key importance to human health. He is truly deserving of this award from AIChE."