Open to opportunities

Maithili Datta

@maithilidatta

I discover and engineer enzymes for natural-product biosynthesis, connecting sequence variation to biochemical function.

Germany

Message

What I'm looking for

I'm looking to apply enzyme discovery, protein engineering, and biochemical analysis to collaborative research on natural products, biocatalysis, or sustainable biotechnology.

At the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, I lead an interdisciplinary PhD project discovering enzymes in iridoid biosynthesis and examining how enzyme activities evolve independently across species. I combine transcriptomics-guided candidate selection, recombinant expression, enzymology, metabolite profiling, phylogenetics, and structural modeling.

I've designed cloning and screening workflows for more than 160 protein candidates, validated approximately 30 enzyme activities, and built Python and R workflows for biochemical, transcriptomic, and phylogenetic data. Earlier at IISER Kolkata, I engineered a β-glucosidase variant with 15% higher catalytic activity and nearly twofold improved thermal half-life for sustainable biofuel production.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Doctoral Researcher (PhD)

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Jan 2022 - Jan 2026 (4 years)

Led an interdisciplinary PhD project on enzyme discovery and protein evolution, integrating transcriptomics, recombinant expression, enzymology, and structural modeling. Developed quantitative assays and validated over 30 enzyme activities in the iridoid biosynthesis pathway.

Protein Engineering Enzyme Kinetics GC MS Molecular Cloning Phylogenetics Structural Modeling Python R Assay Development Data Analysis Visualization

Master's Thesis & Research Assistant

IISER Kolkata

Jan 2019 - Jan 2021 (2 years)

Conducted genome mining to discover and characterize a thermotolerant, seawater-tolerant β-glucosidase for sustainable biofuel production. Engineered a variant with 15% higher catalytic activity and nearly twofold improved thermal half-life.

In Silico Gene Mining Beta Glucosidase Protein Engineering Site Directed Mutagenesis Enzyme Kinetics