Dr. B. Ranganathan, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Amrita School of Pharmacy, received the best research paper award at the recently concluded 3rd Annual National Convention of Association of Pharmacy Professionals (APP).

The convention conducted by the Dharmsinh Desai Univerisity, Nadiad, Gujarat on January 18, 2014 explored the theme, Novel Drug Discovery and Development: Current Status and Challenges Ahead.

Hosted in the pharma hub of Gujarat, the convention attracted delegates from all corners of the country including cities like Tiruchirappalli and Imphal.

Delivering a lecture as part of the proceedings, Dr. Ranganathan shared some of the preliminary findings at his laboratory in the area of anti-inflammatory chalcones. The talk titled Synthesis and In-Vitro Evaluation of Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Selected Monosubstituted Chalcones was a classic medicinal chemistry lesson on the systematic evolution of Structure Activity Relationship (SAR).

Dr. Ranganathan’s talk was based on his work involving the rational design of focused chalcone libraries, published in 2012 in the Bulletin of Pharmaceutical Research journal – a tri-annual international research journal of the Association of Pharmacy Professionals (APP).

This contribution along with his co-workers featured Design and In-silico Analysis of Ring – A Monosubstituted Chalcones as Potential Anti-inflammatory Agents (Vol. 2, No. 2, Page no. 70- 77) ranked first in the Drug Design and Medicinal Chemistry category and was honored with the Best Research Paper Award at the convention.

Dr. Ranganathan received the award from the eminent academician and prolific author, Prof. Ashutosh Kar from Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (DIPSAR), New Delhi.

January 22, 2014

School of Pharmacy, Kochi